The Canvas for Community Engagement

Purpose-Built by Engagement Experts, for Engagement Professionals. CE Canvas is the next evolution in community engagement software — designed to bring structure, insight, and execution into one AI-guided platform.

From Industry Leaders to Innovation Pioneers

The story behind CE Canvas begins with real-world experience

Colin Ellis

CE Canvas Co-founder

Charles Connell

CE Canvas Co-founder

How we got here

CE Canvas grew from a simple observation after many years working in community engagement: the tools available to planners, communications teams, and engagement professionals were only solving part of the problem.

The idea builds on experience from the early days of modern digital engagement. Charles Connell and Colin Goudie were the original founders of Social Pinpoint, a platform that helped shape the modern era of online community engagement. Tools like interactive maps and surveys transformed how organizations gather community input. But while these digital tools are valuable, they only solve one part of the puzzle.

Community engagement is about people — the conversations we have, the trust we build, and the decisions we inform. And real engagement projects involve far more than just online input.

Across projects, we kept seeing the same challenges. Engagement plans were written but rarely revisited. In-person activities were disconnected from digital tools, and feedback lived in multiple places, making it difficult to track and analyze. Reporting was often rushed at the end of a project, and outcomes were rarely tied back to the original engagement plan objectives.

There was no single workspace designed to support engagement from planning through to outcomes.

At the same time, Colin Ellis and Charles Connell, working independently on opposite sides of the world, began exploring the same idea: how artificial intelligence could help make best practice engagement processes more accessible to planners, communications teams, and engagement professionals everywhere.

When they connected, they realized they shared the same vision.

CE Canvas was created as a dedicated workspace that brings engagement planning, management, analysis, and reporting together in one place—supported by responsibly designed AI grounded in best practice and organizational context.

Engagement Practice Advisory Board

The Engagement Practice Advisory Board brings together experienced community engagement practitioners who help guide the ongoing development of CE Canvas. Their role is to ensure the platform reflects real-world practice, professional standards, and the evolving needs of engagement teams. The board provides practical insight into how engagement is planned, delivered, and evaluated, helping shape product features, workflows, and guidance within the platform.

Importantly, the board also plays a role in ensuring that CE Canvas' AI capabilities remain grounded in professional judgement and recognised best practice. By contributing their expertise and ongoing input, the advisory board helps ensure the platform continues to support ethical, thoughtful, and effective community engagement.

Anne Carroll

CE Canvas Advisory Board Member

Anne Carroll has been a consultant and trainer in public involvement and strategic planning for many years, serving primarily the public sector in both the USA and Canada. She focuses on designing and implementing inclusive and meaningful community engagement on important public issues, reaching out to and engaging diverse groups of people and perspectives, and tackling complex and multi-stakeholder environments. She served for 16 years as an elected member of the citywide St. Paul (Minnesota, USA) Board of Education, and has served as a board member or committee chair with the International Association for Public Participation USA and the Minnesota Chapter, Minnesota Education Equity Partnership, and E-Democracy.org.

Colin Goudie

CE Canvas Advisory Board Member

Colin Goudie is a technology leader with more than 20 years of experience spanning embedded systems, custom hardware, SaaS product development, and engineering leadership. He was a co-founder of Social Pinpoint, the GovTech engagement platform acquired by MySite, and helped scale products used by more than 300 government agencies worldwide.

Colin brings deep expertise in technical strategy, cloud infrastructure, DevOps, and product delivery. His perspective helps ensure CE Canvas remains grounded in practical software execution while continuing to evolve as a robust platform for engagement professionals.

Our Mission: Painting the Future of Engagement

We believe community engagement is both an art and a science. CE Canvas provides the tools to create masterpieces.

Elevate the Practice of Community Engagement

Our mission is to support practitioners in delivering engagement that is structured, transparent, and genuinely impactful. Community engagement is a professional discipline. By providing proven frameworks, best-practice guidance, and practical tools, CE Canvas helps teams run engagement projects that build trust, inform decisions, and stand up to scrutiny.

Bring Structure to the Entire Engagement Process

Our mission is to connect the full engagement workflow — from planning through to outcomes. Engagement doesn't happen in a single tool or at a single moment. It involves planning, coordination, conversations, evidence, and reporting. CE Canvas brings these elements together in one workspace so teams can manage engagement projects with clarity, consistency, and confidence.

Use AI Responsibly to Strengthen Decision-Making

Our mission is to harness AI as a governed advisor that supports — not replaces — professional judgement. We believe AI should help practitioners apply best practice, stay organised, and analyse complex engagement data, while remaining transparent and grounded in evidence. CE Canvas uses AI to assist the work of engagement professionals, helping them deliver stronger insights and better outcomes for their communities.

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