Research and Reports

Photo Credit: Colin Way

CityXLab Reports

The CityXLab is an interdisciplinary research lab facilitated by Mount Royal University’s Institute for Community Prosperity. It conducts rigorous research on city-building issues by blending the insights and expertise of Calgary-based scholars and professionals from diverse disciplines. The Lab is led by Dr. David Finch of Mount Royal University.

To maximize the impact of our work, CityXLab is committed to the principle of open learning resources. Therefore, we endeavour to ensure that all our work is free and accessible. Below are reports and studies developed by CityXLab and our partners.

Policy Reports

Learning System Reform

LearningCITY Glossary

Calgary’s Skills Development Framework

Calgary Learning System Audit

Calgary on the Precipice Report 1

Calgary on the Precipice Report 2

Calgary on the Precipice Executive Summary

Youth Mobility

Alberta Youth Mobility Segmentation Study

Alberta Youth Mobility. Work to Live

Alberta Youth Mobility. The Places You Could Go

Alberta Youth Mobility. The New Alberta Talent Advantage

Why Calgary? Starting a Discussion

Why Calgary? The Reputation - Reality Gap

Pilot Projects

Community Embedded Learning Study

Apprenticeship Accelerator YYC Proposal

Trusted Skills 2.0 Proposal

Trusted Skills Project

Competencies for Life Program

In the Media

Reinventing how we learn: A report card (Calgary Herald)

Calgary on the precipice — reinventing our city starts with reinventing how we learn (Calgary Herald)

Alberta’s Economy is Diversifying, but it Still has Some Challenges to Overcome (Globe & Mail)

Study Sheds Light on Why Young Adults are Leaving Alberta – and How to Bring Them Back (Globe & Mail)

Thinking bigger as a city means thinking differently (Calgary Herald)

Why Calgary is no longer an Olympic city (The Conversation)

Calgary 2026 - What we learned from the Olympic-sized errors of the 2026 bid (Calgary Herald)

Calgary 2026 - Four inconvenient truths in Olympic rhetoric (Calgary Herald)

Calgary 2026 - How to face the complexity of a Calgary 2026 decision

Calgary has a secret weapon to keep its best and brightest (Calgary Herald)

Open Learning Lab Opens in Bow Valley Square

Why You Should Let Your Kid Be the Next BlackBerry (Huffington Post)

Don't Let Yourself (Or Your Kid) Be The Next BlackBerry (Huffington Post)

When sponsors face off with the NHL, the empowered fan wins (Globe & Mail)

LearningCITY Insight Briefs

A City that Adapts

Rethink Skills

The Learning Climbing Wall

An All-Access Learning System

The LearningCITY Lab

ApprenticeYYC

Research Studies

Labour Market Research

A Dynamic Capabilities View of Career Adaptation: An Exploratory Study

An Entrepreneurial View of Universal Work-Integrated Learning

What makes a Product Manager? A Dynamic Capabilities View of Product Management

A Dynamic Capabilities View of Employability: Exploring the Drivers of Competitive Advantage for University Graduates

So You Want to Work in Sports? An Exploratory Study of Sport Business Employability

A Dynamic Capabilities View of Talent Acquisition: Resource Verification and Risk Management

A Survey of Undergraduate Marketing Programs: An Empirical Analysis of Knowledge Areas and Metaskills

Preparing for Hybrid Careers

An Exploratory Study of Factors Affecting Undergraduate Employability

Education Policy

The Business School Scorecard: Examining the Systematic Sources of Business School Value

The Rigour–Relevance Gap in Professional Programmes: Bridging the ‘Unbridgeable’ Between Higher Education and Practice

Follow the Leaders? An Analysis of Convergence and Innovation of Faculty Recruiting Practices in US Business Schools

Institutional Biography and Knowledge Dissemination: An Analysis of Canadian Business School Faculty

Active Economy

Playbook 2030

A social capital view of an Olympic and Paralympic Games bid exploration process

Implications and Impacts of eSports on Business and Society: Emerging Research and Opportunities

Understanding the Active Economy and Emerging Research on the Value of Sports, Recreation, and Wellness

Creative Economy

CreativeCITY: Prosperity through the Creative Economy Strategic Guidebook.

CreativeCITY: Prosperity through the Creative Economy

Exploring Calgary’s Creative Economy

The Experience Economy

The New Experience Economy Series

The Future of Calgary’s Live Experience Economy