What is the Lab? 

The Guelph Lab is a joint initiative of the City of Guelph and the University of Guelph. We bring together municipal, community, and university expertise and knowledge to develop solutions to challenges faced by the community — through research and teaching — that cannot be solved without some form of government intervention, helping improve our communities’ quality of life. 

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How we work 

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We partner with the City and community organizations to identify and explore challenges facing local communities. These challenges are addressed in alignment with the City’s strategic priorities and broader community goals. 

 

We bring people together from the City, University of Guelph and the community to solve these challenges through new policies, programs or services. 

 

Our projects focus on research, collaboration and experimentation: 

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• We seek to address root causes to local challenges — striving for sustainable solutions.  

• We work with a diverse range of interest-holders — seeking to include those whose voices are not usually heard or who face barriers to participation. 

• We work and learn together — learning lessons from our projects and their outcomes.  

• We are transparent — sharing results with the public and our peers. 

• We work locally — drawing on ideas and knowledge from across the country and world, and sharing what we learn in return. 

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We share what we learn through a variety of channels, including social media, presentations, publications, and more, to inform and inspire our local communities, partners, academic audiences, and other municipalities.