The Centre for Social Innovation in Agriculture (CISA) brings together a multidisciplinary team with complementary strengths in sociology, anthropology, agroforestry, agroeconomics, territorial development and the environment.
CISA is positioned as a hub for the agricultural and agri-food sectors in Quebec. Our mission is to conduct research projects aimed at transforming the major and complex issues of our clients into innovative solutions.
Read moreOur research conclusions have a direct impact on citizens, farmers as well as on society, and the results are concrete and positive. It is thanks to a unique approach to social innovation that our projects bring together people from different walks of life, taking advantage of group intelligence through the co-construction of solutions, research, training, transfer of knowledge, and civic education.
Recognized by the ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de la Science as a college centre for technology transfer (CCTT) whose mission concerns innovative social practices (PSN), CISA is the only research centre in Quebec that conducts applied research in the agriculture and agri-food social field.
Anchored in the tradition of the Cégep de Victoriaville, CISA embodies the establishment’s desire to become a benchmark in the organic world in Quebec.
It all started in 2008, during a time of great psychological distress for producers. A small team mandated by Cégep de Victoriaville then responded to a government call for tenders aimed at developing new research centres (known as college centres for technology transfer - CCTT). The government has adopted the Victoriaville project and its various avenues focusing on social innovations in the agri-food sector.
Read moreOfficially established in 2009, the Centre for Social Innovation in Agriculture (CISA) has become one of the first three centres of its kind in the college network in Quebec.
Over time, CISA has diversified its services to cover applied research, training, transfer of knowledge, technical assistance, and civic education. In 2018, it became an integral part of the National Institute of Organic Agriculture, which brings together teaching, research, and technology transfer activities in agriculture at Cégep de Victoriaville.
CISA’s know-how and activities have quickly spread beyond the borders of the region, allowing Cégep de Victoriaville to shine on the Quebec, national, and even North American scale.
Social innovation is a new idea, approach, or intervention that responds more adequately and sustainably to a well-defined social need, in order to generate measurable benefits for the whole community.
Focused on creativity, social innovation is at the heart of CISA’s projects. By investigating and questioning our processes and our paradigms, it becomes possible to redefine them to take a new path that sometimes leads to unexpected results.
Explore our job offers for a flourishing career in the field of social innovation in agriculture and agri-food in Victoriaville, Central Québec, and Montreal.
Job offersThe Centre for Social Innovation in Agriculture (CISA) brings together a multidisciplinary team with complementary strengths in sociology, anthropology, agroforestry, agroeconomics, territorial development and the environment.
