The Alberta Land Institute (ALI) is an independent research institute based out of the University of Alberta. We are committed to conducting and funding research that supports and enhances land use policy in the province of Alberta and beyond. ALI’s work focuses on the changing landscape and the ways that planning and policy design can ensure the long-term sustainability of Alberta’s agricultural sector, water and natural areas.
SANDEEP AGRAWAL, Director
Sandeep joined the Alberta Land Institute as Director in July 2023. He is Associate Dean, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, and is a Professor in the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences. He also served as an Associate Chair in the department and Inaugural director of the School of Urban and Regional Planning between 2013 and 2023. Sandeep is an urban and regional planner and his research interests include land use planning and design, international planning, climate resilience, multiculturalism and human rights.
Sandeep is also the University of Alberta Institutional Lead for the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) funded Bridging Divides project.
DAVID POULTON, Senior Advisor
Dave Poulton is a researcher and consultant focusing on conservation policy. His research interests include environmental compensation and offset systems, market-based conservation and decision-making in the environment field. He is Senior Advisor at the Alberta Land Institute. Previously he spent 11 years practicing law in Calgary, followed by 9 years advocating for parks and protected areas with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.
He holds a B.A. and M.A., in political science from the University of Calgary, and LL.B. from Dalhousie University, as well as an LL.M. from Natural Resources, Energy and Environment program at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law. Dave is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the School of the Environment at the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia, with his research focusing on federal (Canadian) perceptions of mitigation options in project development.
NILUSHA WELEGEDARA, Research Manager
Nilusha is the research manager at the Albereta Land Institute and the Urban Environment Observatory lab at the University of Alberta. She earned her Ph.D. in Land Reclamation and MSc in Animal science at the University of Alberta. She has expertise in the areas of environmental modelling, climate change, remote sensing, and GIS applications. Her research interests focus on climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems, greenhouse gas emissions from cities, sustainable agriculture, remote sensing and GIS applications in environmental monitoring and risk management.
WHAT WE DO
At ALI, we FUND and CONDUCT high quality research based on current and emerging land use issues. We do this through our:
1) Call for Proposals: A yearly competitive research grant competition, the Alberta Land Institute funds and conducts research in the following three categories.
- Discovery Research: Research undertaken to identify and examine emerging and future issues critical to the Institute’s mandate.
- Policy Research: Projects focusing on a specific issue of immediate and critical concern to ALI’s stakeholders, providing concrete analysis of policy alternatives, land use instruments, etc., and supported by comprehensive academic research.
- Educational Projects: Projects aimed at translating and transmitting existing or new ALI or other relevant knowledge beyond the academic community in order to shed light on issues specifically relevant to ALI’s partners and stakeholders and to support public discussion and policymaking in Alberta.
2) Self-initiated Research Studies: ALI conducts its own research studies in response to ongoing land use issues. We typically seek external funding to conduct these projects.
Student Capacity
We are committed to engaging students in all our research initiatives by providing the opportunity to train and supervise graduate and undergraduate students.
All of our research meets the highest academic standards and has resulted in many graduate theses and peer reviewed publication in leading journals.
FUNDING
ALI supports research across multiple disciplines. Through our call for proposals, ALI has funded over $2M in grant research aimed at enhancing land use policy. All of our research meets the highest academic standards and has resulted in many graduate theses and peer reviewed publication in leading journals.
KNOWLEDGE MOBILIZATION
Research findings are shared with policymakers, stakeholders, and the public. We also host and present at workshops and conferences around the world.
As Albertans make decisions that shape our landscape for generations to come, ALI is proud to contribute an objective foundation for discussion, consensus, and decision-making
We work with: