At Community First: Impacts of Community Engagement (CFICE), we are inspired to work every day because of our enthusiastic, dynamic, and successful team, which aims to really make a difference in their respective communities. Lily Haines is CFICE’s current Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) Research Assistant (RA) and is a fourth year undergraduate student in Biology and Journalism.

Lily Haines values making research accessible. “CFICE is all about knowledge mobilization…it’s about disseminating research in a way that is understandable to anyone and everyone,” she says. “It’s a bridge between the academic community and the Ottawa community.” Lily is always working hard to translate knowledge into infographics, podcasts, and other creative outputs to help people understand CFICE’s reports and research.

Lily’s work with CFICE has also inspired her to develop new connections in her community. In October 2015, she founded a new organization at ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University called the ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University Student Riverwatchers (CUSR). This group’s goal is to inspire youth to become involved in nature preservation, as well as ensure the Rideau River’s cleanliness alongside the . Both organizations also work in collaboration to ensure the public has access to a clean, safe, and healthy environment. This year, the CUSR plan to participate in climate marches, river cleanups, and fundraising events.

After all the exciting work she has conducted during her undergraduate degree, Lily plans on going on to graduate school to study Marine Biology in Vancouver. Her goal is to preserve nature, and she’s excited by the possibility of moving to a new city.

To students that are just starting their undergraduate, Lily offers them this really valuable piece of advice: “Develop a relationship with your professors, because three years later you’re going to need them as references when applying to graduate school!” Lily also encourages students to get out of the classroom and get involved in their community, whether it’s with extracurricular activities or helping out with fundraisers and charity events for non-profit organizations.

Five years ago, a research proposal landed on Todd Barr’s desk. It happened to be CFICE’s grant application for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, passed along for review. Little did he know, the paper actually marked the beginning of a new chapter in Todd’s life and career.

Todd Barr, former CES community co-lead, is ready for new adventures.

In 2011, Todd took on a role as the community co-lead of the Community Environmental Sustainability hub at CFICE, in addition to his role as executive director of the small, non-profit in Peterborough (now known as the Trent Community Research Centre). Todd, a “jack-of-all-trades,” worked tirelessly with CFICE and the centre to build bridges between post-secondary institutions and communities for empowered learning, with an end-goal of improving local economic, social, cultural and environmental conditions.

Although he retired from his leadership role with CFICE last October, Todd’s legacy with the action-research project lives on in his accomplishments.

“Our greatest success I think was graduate student involvement,” he said. “The partnership between CFICE and the Trent community centre provided paid research assistant-ships that have opened the door to working with different community groups here in Peterborough.”

“There’s one master’s student that sticks out in my mind…her name is Tessa Nasca,” he recalled. “For research assistants at CFICE….well it’s kind of like a job on the side for most students, but for Tessa it’s actually now become a fellowship,” he said.

Tessa’s work with CFICE directly ties in with her master’s research thesis in sustainability studies and “Happy, Healthy Neighbourhoods” at Trent University. CFICE locked in a two-year funding plan for Tessa, which even became part of her offer of acceptance to Trent University. “A bunch of stars aligned in her favour,” he said. “Now she’s a bit of an entrepreneur here.”

CFICE is a huge project, Todd said, with many different players and partners. “It’s not quite there yet, but I hope CFICE will be the start of a community-campus engagement movement that leverages resources to address issues in communities and build collaboration,” he said. “I would hope CFICE can contribute to the bigger conversation, and shift the landscape in how community-campus partnerships address challenges in universities and communities.”

What’s next for Todd?

Todd plans to continue his work as a social innovator and consultant. He found inspiration and a desire for change in reading Al Etmanski’s book, “Impact: Six Patterns to Spread Your Social Innovation.” In a nutshell, he said, this practical guide summarizes where his future is headed.

“I see myself as a social innovator,” he said. “I’m really interested in good processes that effect positive change in our communities…so I’m going to keep doing that!”

Todd made it his mission to catalyze community action through research, and here at CFICE we are very lucky to have had him serve as a Community Environmental Sustainability hub co-lead.

Knowledge mobilization helps us do research that is useful and used. But the field itself is fraught with a dizzying array of terminology and concepts, leaving researchers and their community partners unsure about what knowledge mobilization means in their situation.

As a result, developing a knowledge mobilization strategy takes thoughtful planning. And CFICE is happy to help!

Check out the link below for more information:

To download the infographic, click here: