Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
July 2021 marks the twentieth anniversary of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). CIGI’s story began in 2001, when Research In Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie, along with other partners such as the Government of Canada, created the organization headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario. Together with the help of the Government of Ontario, they laid the framework for an institution tasked with helping solve the world’s most pressing challenges.
Early on, CIGI’s proposals for innovation at the Group of Eight led to the creation of the Group of Twenty (G20). While producing a wealth of rigorous analytical research on a range of international governance issues, CIGI addressed the urgent need for the establishment of the G20 as the world’s premier forum for addressing global problems.
Since then, CIGI’s research has evolved from its initial focus on international relations and the global economy to one of the most pressing issues of our time: digital governance. Today, areas of platform and data governance, digital trade, cybersecurity and intellectual property are presenting new and complex challenges. The current international structures were created before computers even existed, and they cannot address digital challenges in isolation — both in terms of geography and impact. Digital-era governance issues are crosscutting, multidisciplinary and intricate. Once again, CIGI finds itself at the forefront, charting a new course forward for international policy makers tasked with keeping up with evolving technologies in the digital sphere.
For media inquiries, usage rights or other questions please contact CIGI: cigionline.org/contact
July 2021 marks the twentieth anniversary of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). CIGI’s story began in 2001, when Research In Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie, along with other partners such as the Government of Canada, created the organization headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario. Together with the help of the Government of Ontario, they laid the framework for an institution tasked with helping solve the world’s most pressing challenges.
Early on, CIGI’s proposals for innovation at the Group of Eight led to the creation of the Group of Twenty (G20). While producing a wealth of rigorous analytical research on a range of international governance issues, CIGI addressed the urgent need for the establishment of the G20 as the world’s premier forum for addressing global problems.
Since then, CIGI’s research has evolved from its initial focus on international relations and the global economy to one of the most pressing issues of our time: digital governance. Today, areas of platform and data governance, digital trade, cybersecurity and intellectual property are presenting new and complex challenges. The current international structures were created before computers even existed, and they cannot address digital challenges in isolation — both in terms of geography and impact. Digital-era governance issues are crosscutting, multidisciplinary and intricate. Once again, CIGI finds itself at the forefront, charting a new course forward for international policy makers tasked with keeping up with evolving technologies in the digital sphere.
For media inquiries, usage rights or other questions please contact CIGI: cigionline.org/contact
