Harpreet Jhinjar is the founder of Social Innovation Research and Applications (SIRA). Through SIRA, he brings over 20 years of frontline policing, academic research, and community engagement experience to developing sustainable, evidence-informed solutions to pressing social issues. Harpreet offers a rare combination of field experience, research expertise, and investigative and operational knowledge with innovative leadership. He has earned national and international recognition for his pioneering work in violence prevention, countering violent extremism, gang prevention, youth engagement, and systemic reform.

 

Born and raised in Punjab, India, Harpreet moved to London, UK, as an international student, where he earned a BA (Honours) in Criminology and an MSc in Criminology and Forensic Psychology from Middlesex University. He joined the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) in 2009, where he served in a variety of roles over the next decade—including patrol, equity and human rights, and offender management.

 

While in the EPS, he worked on the Countering Violent Extremism project. By reviewing the research and conducting community consultations and a needs assessment, he spearheaded and led the design, development, and implementation of a public engagement strategy and specialized police training. This project successfully combined his research background with on-the-ground knowledge of community needs and public safety dynamics.

 

In 2017, Harpreet was selected as a special guest of the U.S. Government’s prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program, an honour that reflects his growing influence as an expert in violence prevention and community engagement. For 2 years, he served as lead researcher on a TSAS-funded project (Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society) at the University of Alberta.

 

For 3 years, he served as a member of Canada’s National Security Transparency Advisory Group, offering unique non-governmental insights into transparency, equity, and public trust in national security policy. He also contributed to the Annual Expert Symposium on Bias Sensitivity, Diversity, and Identity in National Security, further shaping conversations about accountability and inclusion in law enforcement.

 

The consistent and dynamic trajectory of his academic and policing career has resulted in Harpreet receiving numerous accolades and awards. These include the Chancellor’s Scholarship for Academic Achievement; a Divisional Recognition for investigative excellence, integrity and professionalism, accountability, and community leadership; and a Favourable Notice for skillfully balancing religious protocol, community needs, religious freedom, and police demands—despite the seeming contradiction between these. For his problem-solving projects, he has received external recognition from police commissions and community organizations. Notably, he is a two-time recipient of the Motorola Webber Seavey Award by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, one of the profession’s highest honours, that recognizes innovation and tried-and-true solutions.

 

Harpreet currently serves as the Gang Prevention and Intervention Manager with the Abbotsford Police Department. During his leadership, he designed, developed, and implemented the groundbreaking PATHWAYS program for gang prevention and intervention.

 

Through SIRA, he offers organizations a bold vision of evidence-based, community-centred solutions for public safety. His work challenges convention and bridges worlds—academic and practical, governmental and grassroots—with an unwavering commitment to creating meaningful, long-term solutions to social issues that threaten public safety.

 

What sets Harpreet apart is not just what he does—but how he does it. His approach didn’t come from a textbook, but from the field—from the work he has done, the patterns he recognized in the challenges he has encountered, and the integration of his academic background, research expertise, and his frontline policing and lived experience. Rooted in empathy, community collaboration, and deep cultural fluency, his multi-faceted approach breaks through institutional norms to offer practical, impactful pathways to social transformation.

Harjot Mann, the co-founder of Social Innovation Research and Applications (SIRA), is a leadership and resilience coach and trainer with over 15 years of international experience in healthcare and education. During her professional journey, she has led multidisciplinary teams, mentored healthcare professionals, and coached leaders from a wide range of sectors.

 

Harjot holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Winnipeg and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Oradea. Her early career included working as a physician in adult psychiatry at a teaching hospital in Ireland, as well as managing a Canadian medical company, where she mentored internationally trained physicians transitioning into Canada’s primary healthcare system.

 

After being certified as a resilience coach and trainer over 7 years ago, she has built a thriving coaching practice that supports a diverse, professional clientele—including physicians, senior hospital leaders, corporate and nonprofit executives, entrepreneurs, coaches, social workers, and first responders. Whether working with individuals or teams, her approach is informed by deep listening, psychological insight, and a commitment to systems-level change.

 

Harjot’s education and professional experience in healthcare and leadership coaching are valuable assets to SIRA. Her approach draws parallels between evidence-based medicine and evidence-based policing and applies public health principles in program delivery to ensure that SIRA meets the core competencies of the programs it develops for its clients.

She supports leaders in addressing organizational challenges while implementing innovative solutions. She does this by challenging the common notion of evidence-based approaches as fixed “plug-and-play” solutions, advocating instead for layered, focussed strategies and deeper organizational change.

In her view, an organization cannot truly be evidence-informed unless its very foundation is shaped by the values and principles of evidence-based practice. Her work is rooted in the belief that sustainable change comes from within—and that creating cultures where innovation and evidence can thrive requires patience, precision, and the courage to engage with complexity.