New Grad Course at UVic “goes social” with Local NGO Content

The UVic KM Unit is excited to announce that UVic Graduate Studies will be offering a new Interdisciplinary Research Practicum course for graduate students that will give students an opportunity to work with NGO’s in Victoria, BC on research questions identified by front-line social service providers.

Modeled after the very successful GS 500 Interdisciplinary Graduate Courses that have been offered in collaboration with various BC Government Ministries and Health Authorities, this course will be themed around “Social Services”, and aims to provide graduate students with practical experience working on applied research in a non-profit setting. The Knowledge Mobilization Unit and Office of Community Based Research is in the process of consulting with several Victoria NGO’s in the development of the course content and research questions. This proves to be an exciting partnership between UVic and the non-profit community, and the Office of Community Based Research and Knowledge Mobilization Unit is thrilled to be working in a brokering role in the facilitation for this innovative initiative.

The course is set to begin in January 2010. The KM Unit anticipates interest from students in various disciplines who may be interested in applying their skills and expertise to research identified by an NGO.

For more information about this course, please contact kts@uvic.ca

Everything is ready to go for another GS 500 Interdisciplinary Graduate course at the University of Victoria!

These courses match interdisciplinary graduate students up with real life research questions coming from a partnering agency in the community. For the fall 2009 course the Community partner is the BC Ministry of Housing and Social Development. Questions coming from the Ministry will focus on topics such as: homelessness in our community; rental market and market housing; housing needs in Aboriginal communities; sustainable and green housing, and much more.

The course will be co-taught by Dr. Bernie Pauly from the UVic faculty of nursing, and Dr. Cecile Lacombe, director of housing research for the BC Government. The Knowledge Mobilization Unit will facilitate the matching of graduate students to research questions appropriate for their area of study. The students will then work one on one with a research partner from the BC Ministry of Housing and Social Development, with a focus on action and recommendations to the Ministry. The end of the term will be marked by student presentations at a knowledge dissemination event that will open to all people who are interested in the topic.

ResearchImpact wishes Sarah Dickie all the best in her move to Prince George, BC.

Sarah has been the Administrative Coordinator for the UVic Office of Community Based Research for almost two years. Along with being a bright and smiling face in the office and dealing with the piles of day-to-day administrative tasks, Sarah has been vital to OCBR’s Community outreach work, and has also been the main coordinator for countless OCBR events and workshops. Sarah leaves very big shoes to fill, and will be missed dearly by those of us in the Office, across the campus, and also by our community partners and friends.

Good luck Sarah! Come back and visit soon.

UVic Summer Interns 2009

The interns for UVic’s KM/CBR Sumer Internship program have been selected! Through the ResearchImpact initiative, the UVic Office of Community Based Research is sponsoring ten graduate students to work hands on with a local Community Organizations on a piece of research relating to social policy. The UVic KM Coordinator received 27 outstanding proposals, and an evaluation panel comprised of both academic and community voices narrowed it down to ten projects. The project partners include AIDS Vancouver Island, Our Place Society, Blood Ties Four Directions Center, the Sto:lo Resource Management and Resource Center, to name a few. The students are currently working on their Human Research Ethics proposals, and then the real work begins! The UVic Office of Community Based Research and Knowledge Mobilization Unit are thrilled to be able to provide this opportunity for deserving graduate students to respond to research needs in their community.

UVic Research Partnership Strategies Recognized in Europe

Knowledge Mobilization Coordinator Laura Milne, who works in the UVic Office of Community Based Research, was invited as a guest speaker to the STACS (Science Technology and Civil Society) Policy Meeting at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium to discuss UVic’s innovative approach to collaborating with Community and Government organizations on Research Partnerships.

The various researchers involved in the STACS project have recognized that Canadian Universities, and UVic in particular, have taken a leadership role in engaging stakeholders from multiple sectors in research that relates to social issues and public policy. The Knowledge Mobilization initiative and the Office of Community Based Research are two excellent examples of how UVic supports Civic Engagement and continues to make the connection between the university research and the larger community, and the opportunity to discuss these strategies with researchers and policy makers in an international context is extremely valuable.

Student Led Research Symposium

For the last two years, the Knowledge and Information Services branch of the BC Ministry of Labour and Citizens Services has given all 9 BC Universities $30,000 each to award graduate student grants for Research in the Field of Social Policy.

On February 27th, the UVic Knowledge Mobilization Unit collaborated with the Knowledge and Information Services branch to organize a Symposium for the students who received these grants to present their work to Government officials and University representatives from across BC. There were over 80 attendees from various Ministries, Community agencies, and University departments, and the research that was presented by the graduate students was extremely well received.

The Knowledge Mobilization Unit at UVic has been responsible for administering these grants at UVic, and continues to work closely with the BC Government to encourage Government-University research partnerships and to support evidence-informed policy and decision making.

ResearchImpact 2009 Funding Opportunities

York University and the University of Victoria, as founding members of ResearchImpact -  Canada’s emerging knowledge mobilization network, are pleased to announce the following  opportunities for research funding. Please visit www.researchimpact.ca for more details on these opportunities. These investments are intended to maximize the impact of research toward  efficient and effective human services, more responsive public policies and greater cultural  understanding.

Joint Funding Opportunities

1.  Housing and Homelessness Research – One grant of up to $30,000 to be awarded

2.  Child and Youth Mental Health Research – One grant of up to $30,000 to be awarded

These awards require a joint application between York and U Victoria researchers and relevant non-academic partners and must adhere to all guidelines identified in the application.

Graduate Student Internships

1.  University of Victoria – 10 Internships available for the summer of 2009. Click here for  application details.

2.  York University – Internship opportunities in conjunction with ACCELERATE Ontario. Click here for details.

Supporting Social Innovation in York Region

Consultations with leading partners in York Region have identified two priority areas as themes for targeted KM activity:

1.  Child and Youth Mental Health  – One grant of up to $30,000 to be awarded

– Up to 6 internships worth $15,000 to be awarded

2.  Immigration and Human Services – One grant of up to $30,000 to be awarded

– Up to 6 internships worth $15,000 to be awarded

Click here for application details.

ResearchImpact visits the Community-Campus Partnership Program (CUPP), University of Brighton

In September 2008, UVic knowledge broker Laura Milne visited the University of Brighton while on a vacation in the UK. The University of Brighton is the home of the Community-Campus Partnership Program (CUPP), which is an organization that builds collaborative relationships between the university and its surrounding community. Given the similarities in mandate between CUPP and ResearchImpact, Laura Milne was invited to attend several meetings and give a brief presentation to the researchers and administrators involved in CUPP.

The University of Victoria and the University of Brighton both operate a “Research Help Desk”, which aims to match up research needs identified by community groups with researchers at the university. By exchanging ideas, models, and experiences from operating the “Research Help Desks”, both institutions were able to examine their efforts and reflect on new approaches.

The model that UVic’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit has used to create Interdisciplinary Graduate Courses that respond to needs in the community was of particular interest to CUPP and the Research Help Desk operator. After Laura Milne gave a brief presentation on the model and structure of these courses (known as GS 500 at UVic), further discussion and ideas about the benefits of engaging not only faculty, but also graduate students in Knowledge Mobilization were constructive and educational for all in attendance.

As the fields of Knowledge Mobilization and Community-Based Research continue to grow, the value of these exchanges and meetings cannot be understated. The University of Brighton and CUPP are hosting a conference on April 2nd and 3rd 2009, which will bring together community members, academics, students, administrators, policy-makers, and funders to discuss the importance, relevance, and utility of community-university partnerships.

Networking and Strategy Session on Housing and Homelessness hosted by UVic

On October 30th, UVic hosted a Networking and Strategy Session on Housing and Homelessness. This event was intended to create dialogue around the various issues related to housing and homelessness in Victoria, and to broker connections between academics, policy makers, and community members. Over 50 people from various non-profit organizations, government branches, local businesses, and faculties attended. Representatives from the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness shared their research objectives with the group, and BC Government official spoke about the provincial government’s perspective on the issues. Success stories were emphasized, as the group discussed the need to support models that are already working, and to share ideas, visions, and resources in order to solve the problems associated with homelessness and lack of housing.

This was also an excellent opportunity for researchers to talk about their work in this area, not only to other researchers, but also to the community and key government officials.

Sponsored by the UVic faculty of Human and Social Development, the Office of Community Based Research, and the United Way of Greater Victoria, this event was a wonderful success. A second event, focused on Housing Policy and Politics, is being planned for spring 2009.

Meet a Mobilizer – Laura Milne, University of Victoria

My name is Laura Milne. I grew up in Calgary Alberta, but moved to BC 10 years ago to go to the University of Victoria. After graduating in 2003 with a double major in Sociology and Anthropology, I worked a research assistant in Social Psychology for a while, waitressed on the weekends, and then somewhat spontaneously moved to Xi’an, China in 2006 to spend a year teaching at an English College. Upon returning to Canada in 2007, I stumbled upon the fascinating world of Knowledge Mobilization and Community Based Research, and was offered a job as Coordinator of Knowledge Mobilization here at UVic. The best part of my job is the challenge of coordinating the research needs of various stakeholders and encouraging and supporting collaboration. I also get great satisfaction of seeing how the experiences of individuals and communities can both influence research as well as impact policy.

Outside of work, I enjoy cooking, gardening, reading, attempting to surf, travelling as much as possible, and good, strong coffee. When I am not in my office, I am rarely seen without my dog, Parker. Parker and I really enjoy the active lifestyle and mild climate here on beautiful Vancouver Island, and spend a lot of time hiking and camping with friends. I love music and collecting CDs and vinyl, and I can often be spotted with friends checking out live bands in Victoria, Vancouver, and Seattle.

Laura and Parker

Laura Milne