Funding Architecture For Community-Based Research

Canadian CBR funding model report released today

A system exists in Canada to improve social conditions through the application of knowledge and research but to be effective, existing practices need to be consolidated and revitalized. That’s the conclusion of a report released in Ottawa today on policy issues related to funding of community-based research (CBR) in Canada.

The report entitled The Funding and Development of Community University Research Partnerships in Canada was prepared by the University of Victoria’s Office of Community-Based Research (OCBR) in conjunction with Carleton University, the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and Community-Based Research Canada (CBRC). The report was commissioned by the federal Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and produced in collaboration with the CBRC—a coalition of Canadian universities, research networks and community organizations created in May 2008 at the Community University Expo Conference hosted by UVic. Dr. Budd Hall, director of UVic’s OCBR, and Dr. Jean-Marc Fontan, director of UQAM’s Social Economy Community-University Research Alliances and CBRC co-chair, will present the report’s findings today in Ottawa.

Organizations, universities, individuals and community partners are working across the nation to uncover and address the root causes of complex community issues such as homelessness, child poverty, food security, Aboriginal health, and adaptation to climate change. The CBRC’s mission is to enable and empower community members, policy makers and CBR practitioners to access, produce and put into action the types of knowledge that make communities more sustainable, fairer, safer, healthier and more prosperous.

“Real solutions prompted by front-line research and knowledge mobilization are the linchpins of community health and integrity,” says Dr. Budd Hall, director of the OCBR. “This new funding report explores the capacity in the short term for the Canadian CBR movement to move forward in the future within this growing global trend.”

Copies of the CBR funding model report are available by contacting OCBR at 250-472-4171 or bhall@uvic.ca. Visit OCBR’s website at http://web.uvic.ca/ocbr/ and CBRC’s website at http://communityresearchcanada.ca/.
 

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