The Canadian Police Knowledge Network

Description

In 2004, Holland College formed a not-for-profit organization with the Canadian policing community and National Research Council to create the Canadian Police Knowledge Network (CPKN). In 2011, CPKN is Canada's leading provider of e-learning solutions for Canadian law enforcement, with more than 60,500 registered learners - including customers such as the Regina-based Royal Canadian Mounted Police and INTERPOL. To date, these learners have successfully completed more than 161,000 course events. Despite CPKN's recent successes, its president believes there is significant potential for growing the organization and he is looking for ways to reach new customers and improve the financial performance of the organization.

Learning Objective

This case is intended for use in undergraduate and graduate courses in entrepreneurship, strategy, and not-for-profit management. It incorporates the challenges of developing new products, services, and forms of delivery within a not-for-profit setting. More specifically, this case focuses on the issues of pedagogical principles and innovative teaching tools to create an engaging and effective learning environment. There are also several issues that may be used to help guide the discussion on the case. Specifically, students are challenged to consider the extent to which CPKN should remain committed to its original mandate of serving the policing community versus expanding its activities to a more generalized e-learning company. As well, there is the issue of how CPKN's legitimacy as a non-profit organization may be put at risk if it pursues (potentially) lucrative opportunities beyond the realm of Canada's police services.

Keywords

canada e-learning Education Growth strategy Hill Non-Profit Organization Police Services