The Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) is an institute for advanced research, education, and outreach in the fields of global governance and international public policy. As a hub in a global network of scholars, practitioners and students, our mission is to develop new solutions to humanity’s critical problems, to improve global governance now and in the future, and to contribute to enhancing the quality of people’s lives around the world.

Founded in 2007 by philanthropist Jim Balsillie, BSIA is an equal collaboration among the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), the University of Waterloo (UW), and Wilfrid Laurier University (Laurier). The collaborating institutions bring to BSIA different but complementary strengths, so they have different roles and responsibilities. The two universities employ BSIA faculty and offer BSIA’s academic programs, while CIGI, as a think tank, uses its in-house expertise and its worldwide network of practitioners to help inform and guide BSIA’s outreach and collaborative research.

The BSIA is also the home to two research centres with an international profile, the International Migration Research Centre (IMRC) and the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (LCSFS), and several international research networks. Additionally, the school also publishes its own peer-reviewed journal called the Balsillie Papers and hosts regular international global governance and public policy events that are open to the public, often with a virtual attendance option.

In addition to offering three graduate programs in international public policy and global governance through the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, the BSIA provides certificate-based professional development through the Balsillie Executive Institute (BEI), including executive courses and masterclasses in the areas of Policy, Governance and Technology, custom courses, and a 5-week Executive Certificate in Governance and Innovation in the Age of Intangibles.

In 2023, the BSIA was the recipient of a $5 million dollar donation from the Balsillie Family Foundation for the establishment of the Technology Governance Initiative (TGI) at the School, which includes the development of projects such as the Balsillie Scholars Program, the Balsillie Case Studies, the Technology Governance Summer School, and the Annual Student Policy Challenge.

To learn more about the BSIA and its initiatives, please visit: https://balsillieschool.ca/