Conference Board of Canada
The Conference Board of Canada is a a major independent, not for profit, applied research organization. Its 500 member organizations include business, government and public-sector organizations. Its mandate is "to help our members anticipate and respond to the increasingly changing global economy...through the development and exchange of knowledge about organizational strategies and practices, emerging economic and social trends and key public policy issues." The Board publishes research on various topics of interest to its members, and communicates through research reports, meetings, conferences and on-line information services. It was established in 1954 as a division of the American National Industrial Conference Board Inc, which itself was founded in 1916 on the belief that many of industrial society's problems could be eased by discussion based on scientifically researched facts. The Conference Board, which acquired a separate legal identity in 1981, has 190 employees and is based in Ottawa.