About SPICE
The Strategic Projects Insight Centre in Engineering connects rigorous research to the real decisions shaping Canada’s largest projects.
Mandate
Major-project evidence is scattered across public inquiries, auditor reports, regulatory filings, owner publications, and academic studies. SPICE connects that record in a national, source-traceable evidence base.
Build a consistent Canadian evidence registry covering 1996–2025.
Run structured studies from national patterns to deep cases.
Convene industry, governments, universities, and Indigenous organizations around the evidence.
University affiliation
SPICE has its own identity and is affiliated with the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. The affiliation is clear without collapsing the centre into the university’s brand.
Head of Centre · Hal Kvisle Professor in Engineering Project Management
University of Alberta profileGovernance
The centre is led by the Hal Kvisle Professor, supported by a research team, and will be guided by an advisory board spanning industry, government, and academia.
Trajectory
2026 · Complete REVIEW Confirm the establishment date.
Professorship appointed and SPICE constituted within the Faculty of Engineering. REVIEW A $3M founding endowment and a signed memorandum were removed from this entry because neither could be confirmed. Restore them only with written confirmation, and name the funder.
2026–2028 · Current
Advisory board, four streams, case studies, Working Paper No. 1, partnerships, and the inaugural forum.
2028–2030+
A fully operational centre of excellence with national and international reach.
Funding and support
SPICE will acknowledge here the funding and support that make its work possible. The funding page sets out the funders, the terms of that support, and how research independence is protected.
See the funding page REVIEW The funder has not been confirmed. NSERC was suggested in the meeting but never verified. Name the real funder before launch.