What People for Education does

People for Education is an independent, non-partisan, registered Canadian charity (Charitable No. 85719 0532 RR0001) founded in 1996-1997 in Toronto, Ontario, that operates as a research and advocacy organization focused on strengthening public education across Canada. The organization is funded through donations and grants from individuals, corporations, government, and foundations, with multi-year support from the RBC Foundation and The O'Neil Foundation among others. It employs 18 staff and is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors; ownership is typical of a charitable organization with no parent or controlling entity.

The organization's core offerings are research products and convening initiatives rather than technology products. Its flagship longitudinal instrument is the Annual Canadian School Survey (ACSS), launched October 2025 in partnership with Wilfrid Laurier University's Centre for Leading Research in Education and the Canadian Association of Principals, which replaced the 1999-2023 Annual Ontario School Survey and now covers all provinces and territories. Other core products include The Education Promise (a five-year pan-Canadian initiative launched June 2025 with a 30+ organization Advisory Board), Canadian Education Blueprints (an interactive pan-Canadian resource launched June 2026 covering nine policy change levers), Measuring What Matters (a competency framework launched in 2013), the Right to Education Framework (2020), and Pan-Canadian Education Data. The organization also convenes stakeholders through annual conferences, the Education Promise Summit, the Telling Tales Out of School fundraising gala, and the Kidder-Pascal Awards for Systems Change and Innovation in Education (inaugurated 2026).

The business model is donation- and grant-funded; the organization does not sell products or services and issues charitable receipts for donations over $10. Its go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, relying on research publications, media relations, digital channels (website, email newsletter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), policy engagement with provincial/territorial education ministries and the federal government, and partnerships with academic and advocacy organizations. The organization serves public education stakeholders including parents, educators, principals, school boards, policymakers, students, and cross-sector leaders across Canada.

Name

People for Education

Legal name

People for Education

Website

https://peopleforeducation.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

People for Education is an independent, non-partisan Canadian charity (founded 1996-1997, 18 staff, Toronto) that conducts research, policy analysis, and advocacy to strengthen public education across Canada, serving policymakers, educators, parents, and school boards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: People for Education is a registered charity funded through donations and grants from individuals, corporations, government, and foundations. Major funders include RBC Foundation (multi-year support for The Education Promise) and The O'Neil Foundation (ongoing multi-year funding). Charitable receipts are issued for donations over $10.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

People for Education is an independent, registered charity that conducts research, policy analysis, and public engagement to support and advance public education in Canada. It produces evidence-based research reports, annual school surveys, and policy frameworks, and convenes cross-sector stakeholders through initiatives like The Education Promise to influence education policy and funding decisions. Outputs are provided free to the public, educators, and policymakers; the organization is funded through donations and grants.

Product overview

People for Education is an independent, charitable organization that operates as a single unified offering focused on advancing public education through research, policy advocacy, and public engagement. The organization does not sell software products; instead, it provides research-based programs including The Education Promise (a five-year pan-Canadian initiative), the Annual Canadian School Survey (national survey infrastructure), Canadian Education Blueprints (interactive policy resource), Measuring What Matters (competency framework), and various reports and policy analysis. These offerings work together to support evidence-based policy development and public dialogue about public education in Canada.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Measuring What Matters: A multi-year initiative to identify competencies and skills that matter most in the 21st century for student success.
• Annual Canadian School Survey (ACSS)
• The Education Promise
• Kidder-Pascal Awards
• Canadian Education Blueprints

Products and services

• The Education Promise A five-year pan-Canadian initiative designed to bring together those who understand the evidence around Canada's biggest challenges with those who understand how to build upstream solutions in schools. It links Canada across geography, sectors, and generations through a pan-Canadian Advisory Board of 30+ organizations.
• Annual Canadian School Survey (ACSS) A first-of-its-kind national survey to track the real-life impacts of education policy and funding decisions in schools across Canada. Provides evidence on staffing issues, student and staff mental health, schools' policies on AI and phones, and classroom complexity.
• Canadian Education Blueprints Interactive pan-Canadian resource providing neutral, clear, and factual descriptions of how K-12 education works across the country across nine 'policy change levers'.
• Measuring What Matters (MWM) Multi-year initiative launched in 2013 to identify competencies and skills that matter most in the 21st century, and how measurement and assessment of these competencies could function as levers of positive change. Covers five domains: Citizenship, Creativity, Health, Social-emotional learning, and Quality learning environments.
• Pan-Canadian Education Data A scan of available Canadian health and education data related to children and youth and publicly funded K-12 school systems, identifying what exists, where it is housed, and where gaps are most pressing.
• Annual Ontario School Survey (AOSS) Survey conducted from 1999 to 2023 that tracked essential resources and programs in Ontario's schools and how they were affected by changes to provincial policy and funding. Over 1,000 principals responded each year.

Quantifiable outcome

• Canadian 15-year-olds rank among top 10 globally in reading, mathematics, and science (PISA rankings)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and minor.

• Centre for Leading Research in Education (CLRiE) at Wilfrid Laurier UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Partnership with CLRiE at Wilfrid Laurier University to develop and launch the Annual Canadian School Survey (ACSS), a first-of-its-kind national survey tracking real-life impacts of education policy and funding decisions.
• Canadian Association of PrincipalscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Partnership with Canadian Association of Principals and other principal/vice-principal organizations across Canada to develop and administer the Annual Canadian School Survey.
• Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER)keyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Member of The Education Promise Advisory Board, bringing business perspective to strengthen connections between public education and workforce development.
• Canadian School Boards AssociationkeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Member of The Education Promise Advisory Board, representing school boards' perspective on delivering the promise of public education.
• Canadian Teachers' FederationkeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Member of The Education Promise Advisory Board, bringing educator voice to cross-sector collaboration on education policy.
• UNICEF CanadakeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Member of The Education Promise Advisory Board, contributing international perspective on children's rights and education.
• Future Skills CentrekeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Member of The Education Promise Advisory Board, focusing on future skills and innovation capacity built in classrooms.
• Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC)keyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Member of The Education Promise Advisory Board, contributing to digital literacy, career exploration, and future skills development for Canada's digital economy.
• Samara Centre for DemocracykeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Member of The Education Promise Advisory Board, focused on enabling active citizenship through the right to education.
• Students Commission of CanadakeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Member of The Education Promise Advisory Board, ensuring youth voices are at the centre of education transformation.
• Brookings InstitutionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Historical collaboration with Brookings Institution on education policy research and analysis.
• UNESCO/Brookings Institution International Learning Metrics Task ForceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership exploring broader areas of learning and potential for broadening goals and measures of public education internationally.
• LEGO FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Skills for a Changing World initiative, exploring broader competencies and measures in public education.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Frontier Centre for Public Policy: Canadian public policy think tank publishing independent research on education and other policy areas. Comparable as a smaller, evidence-driven Canadian policy research organization.

Regional players

• UNICEF Canada: Canadian arm of UNICEF with significant education programming and advocacy. Member of People for Education's Advisory Board and comparable as an advocacy organization focused on children's rights and education outcomes.

Direct peers

• The Learning Partnership: Canadian charity focused on K-12 public education innovation, including research reports and programs like Take Our Kids to Work Day. Highly comparable as a registered education charity delivering research and programming across Canada.
• Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER): Canadian non-profit connecting business and post-secondary/education sectors on skills and workforce development. Member of The Education Promise Advisory Board and comparable as a cross-sector education advocacy organization.
• Future Skills Centre: Canadian non-profit focused on future skills and innovation capacity built in classrooms. Member of The Education Promise Advisory Board and comparable as an education-focused research and advocacy organization.
• Public Policy Forum: Canadian non-profit focused on improving public policy through dialogue and research across sectors. Comparable as a Canadian convening organization using evidence-based research to influence policy outcomes.
• EdCan (Canadian Council for Education): Canada's national education association connecting teachers, researchers, and policymakers. Directly comparable as a Canadian non-profit focused on advancing public education through research, advocacy, and member engagement.

Broad incumbents

• Brookings Institution: Major US-based public policy think tank with significant education policy research. People for Education has an explicit historical collaboration with Brookings on the UNESCO Learning Metrics Task Force, making it a directly named partner as well as comparable peer.
• C.D. Howe Institute: Canadian think tank producing evidence-based policy research across multiple sectors including education. Comparable as an independent, non-partisan research organization influencing Canadian public policy.
• Conference Board of Canada: Major Canadian research organization producing reports on economic and social policy including education and skills. Comparable as an evidence-based research body publishing influential Canadian policy reports.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/peopleforeducation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/people-for-education
• Instagraminstagram.com/peopleforeducation

Compliance2 records

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 People for Education