Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions (CSDI)

Name

Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions (CSDI)

Legal name

Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions

Website

https://democracy.ubc.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Research Funding and Grants: CSDI operates as a university research center funded primarily through research grants from government agencies and research councils, including SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) funding.
2. Institutional Support: Operational support from the University of British Columbia and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CSDI is an academic research center that conducts interdisciplinary, publicly-engaged research on challenges to democratic institutions. It produces open-access policy reports, research briefs, and essay series on AI threats to elections, online harassment, platform governance, disinformation, and health communications, and convenes expert roundtables such as the Digital Policy Rounds series. All outputs are disseminated free of charge under Creative Commons licensing.

Product overview

CSDI is a research center at UBC that does not offer a commercial product or software platform. Instead, it provides research publications (reports, policy briefs, and essay series), hosts the Digital Policy Rounds event series, and conducts organized research through two streams (Platforms & Media and Health). All outputs are freely available scholarly and policy-oriented materials focused on democratic institutions, AI governance, and media integrity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Publications

Quantifiable outcome

• Research cited by World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe in pandemic communications guidance
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and major.

• Consulate General of Germany in VancouverminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2023Co-support for the Journalism, Disinformation, and AI workshop.
• UBC School of Journalism, Writing, and MediaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2023Co-support for the Journalism, Disinformation, and AI workshop.
• Centre for Law, Technology & SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 January 2022Partner in Digital Policy Rounds series on health communications.
• Leadership LabminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 January 2022Partner in Digital Policy Rounds series on health communications.
• School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (UBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSDI is part of the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at UBC, receiving institutional support and hosting its operations within this academic unit.
• Centre for Media, Technology, and Democracy at McGill UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint publication of the Platform Governance in Canada Essay Series and co-hosting of public events on internet regulation and platform governance.
• Bridge Research ConsortiummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunded by Canada's Immuno-Engineering and Biomanufacturing Hub (CIEBH), supporting research on online harassment of health communicators.
• Digital Democracies Institute at Simon Fraser UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on online hate, polarization, and digital threats to democracy including joint case studies and NLP text-model analysis.
• American Political Science Association (APSA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSDI hosted the Normative Working Group for the APSA Task Force on Negotiating Agreement in Politics in March 2013.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Stanford Internet Observatory: Stanford-affiliated research program studying abuse of digital platforms, election interference, and disinformation. Directly comparable academic research mission with similar methodology.
• Citizen Lab: University of Toronto-based interdisciplinary research lab focused on digital threats, online hate, surveillance, and democratic accountability. Closely comparable Canadian academic center with overlapping research portfolio.
• Digital Democracies Institute: Simon Fraser University institute collaborating with CSDI on online hate and polarization research using NLP methods. Closely comparable academic research unit with overlapping methods and themes.
• Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy: Harvard Kennedy School research center studying media, journalism, and democratic engagement. Highly comparable on journalism/disinformation research and policy convening.
• Centre for Media, Technology, and Democracy: McGill University-based research center co-publishing CSDI's Platform Governance in Canada essay series. Directly comparable in mission, academic-affiliated research model, and focus on platform governance and democracy.

Broad incumbents

• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Global think tank with programs on democracy, technology, and international governance. Overlaps with CSDI on AI and democracy, with significantly larger scale and international footprint.
• RAND Corporation: Large policy research organization with significant work on democratic resilience, online harms, and emerging technology governance. Compares on policy research methodology and government advisory role.
• Brookings Institution: Major U.S. think tank producing policy research on AI governance, elections, and democracy. Broader portfolio but overlapping topic areas including generative AI and democratic institutions.
• Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI): Well-established global governance think tank where CSDI's director Heidi Tworek holds a senior fellowship. Directly comparable on democracy and digital policy, with broader mandate and greater resources.
• Chatham House: International affairs think tank producing research on governance, technology, and democracy. Comparable on policy research model and convening of cross-sector stakeholders.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=Ow7R08ko9kA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-for-the-study-of-democratic-institutions-csdi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions (CSDI)