Job Summary:

Responsible to lead the implementation of the Access Strategy, including the oversight of the project budget, evaluation of progress, and reporting to the various Committees, community stakeholders, Colleges and Universities. Facilitate action in the following primary activities: policy development and implementation, outreach to community organizations and local school boards, supporting the admission process for potential students, coordinating existing efforts, and ensuring students are successful through use of retention services. Act as an expert and main point of contact for community groups, Faculties, student support departments, students, applicants and their parents on issues related to access for underrepresented groups.

by December 7, 2018.

This position oversees and develops the Office of Community Engagement’s community-engaged education portfolio with an orientation towards capacity building for students, staff, faculty, and community groups to develop principled community campus partnerships. The role will also include developing a focused communications plan to improve awareness of the minor and associated courses at all levels of the University.

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The deadline for applications is Sunday November 18.

Taking a community first approach to community-campus engagement (CCE) is a cornerstone to the work CFICE does, but it’s impossible to be community first without the input and participation of community organizations.

Community-based organizations (CBOs) such as non-profit, non-governmental, or charitable organizations, representing either the community-at-large, or a particular concern or segment of the community, are vital to community first research, learning, and fostering positive change.

CCE occurs when members of academic institutions and members of the community come together with a shared goal and the intention of accomplishing more together. Shared resources, such as funding, time, space, and labour, are an added benefit of CCE.

If you are a CBO considering a CCE partnership with an academic institution, here are a couple different types of CCE partnerships you might pursue.

Symbiotic partnerships: Community-service learning

(CSL), also known as service-learning or community-based learning, is a practical educational tool involving students in community service work as a part of rounding out their education. By making connections between what they’re learning in the classroom and their practical experience in the community, the goal is for students to develop a stronger sense of social responsibility, improve their critical thinking skills, and actively reflect on their connection with the community.

ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´â€™s definition of community service-learning points out that this model differs from volunteerism in that volunteerism suggests a “charity model,” whereas “service is about mutual learning…[and] a reciprocal relationship between participants and the community members they work with.”

Members of the GottaGo! team, including students ©GottaGo!

The premise is that while students get the added benefit of learning practical skills, networking with potential future employers, and further self-reflection, community organizations receive extra helping hands where they are needed. That said, community service-learning requires a lot of collaboration on the part of academic faculty, community partners, and students themselves.

Stephen Hill, an academic co-lead with CFICE’s Student Pathways for Community Impact Working Group, sees the value of community service-learning, even when it means a lot of extra work for himself: Every year he organizes service-learning placements for more than 300 students in his first year environmental science course.

In a blog post for CFICE Stephen wrote that the partnerships “emerged organically over the years with different partners gradually joining the mix.” The benefit for the students, he said, is having “the opportunity to learn about and work with the community in their first month of university…[which] is so important for building student engagement in the course and with the material.” As the partnerships progressed, he also stressed that “the community partners absolutely depend on the students in their projects.” In addition to providing needed human resources to different community partners, students can also contribute new and innovative ideas. This sort of symbiotic partnership is exactly what CCE is meant to be about.

Community service-learning vs Work-integrated learning

To clarify some terminology (since it can get confusing in the CCE world), community service-learning also falls under what the Ontario government is calling work-integrated learning (WIL). Work-integrated learning, also known as experiential learning, involves the integration of academic curriculums with workplace experience.

Recently, the Ontario government has recommended that all postsecondary students engage in at least one work-integrated learning opportunity before graduation, as part of . Work-integrated learning encompasses all experiential learning, whether that be through systemic training such as apprenticeships, a structured work experience like a co-op placement or internship, or institutional partnership, like community service-learning.

Community-based research: With the community and for the community

In addition to working with students through programs that facilitate community service-learning, community-based organizations can also enter into a CCE partnership by participating in community consultations, or community-based research.

, also known as participatory research, is conducted in the community with active participation from community partners. The end-goal is to benefit community partners and have a positive impact on the community. While community service-learning can be primarily about improving and enhancing student education, community-based research provides a space for community-based organizations to speak directly to academics on issues that are practically relevant to the community.

In the context of community-based research, community members actively participate in all parts of the research process, from defining the research question to interpreting and writing up the research results. While their level of involvement can be negotiated to meet the community’s needs, this type of deep engagement ensures the most beneficial outcome for the community can be achieved. Additionally, embedded research assistants, working closely with the community partner, can often act as liaisons between the community and academic partners in community-based research. Ultimately, this approach is collaborative rather than unilateral.

Collaboration is a constant at the Trent Community Research Centre! ©Elizabeth Thipphawong

Some community partners might be wary of being the subject of academic research due to previous experiences where power dynamics damaged relations between the academic and the community members. However, if both academic and community partners prioritize community first engagement, then power differentials in the research process can be discussed and negotiated in a respectful manner.

One example of community-based research within CFICE’s Poverty Hub occurred with the CCE partnership between the and McMaster University. This research project assessed barriers to implementing a living wage experienced by small- to medium-sized business. By conducting the research in a community first way, this partnership successfully developed strategies for encouraging businesses to pay a living wage, and even had some research subjects already committing to being living wage employers by the end of the study.

Students engaged in community service-learning might contribute ideas to ongoing projects with CBOs, but within community-based research, the intention from start to finish is to develop practical and action-oriented results for positive social change in the community.

A positive result of CCE: Mobilized knowledge and enhanced networks

An important aspect of any CCE partnership’s success is sharing the knowledge that was learned through the process. Knowledge Mobilization is the process of creating knowledge that is useful and used by the public, communities, and policy makers. Within the context of CCE projects, knowledge mobilization is the process of sharing the results in ways that benefit the community—even if it’s a matter of learning what not to do in the future. This can include making sure the research findings are curated into final products that can be shared with new and existing partners.

Knowledge mobilization is key to the ongoing success of partnerships because it provides a foundation of knowledge that future community partnerships can then build and improve upon. As well, it helps ensure that community-generated knowledge is shared with other stakeholders, including governments, local businesses, and other institutions. Having access to this knowledge helps stakeholders and networks respond to community needs more effectively.

Ultimately, CFICE has found that engaging in community first CCE can bring out the strengths of all participants, particularly when considering how the skills and capabilities of academic partners and community partners can be different, but complimentary. These partnerships also build lasting networks that extend beyond the partnership itself, which ultimately has the added benefit of connecting knowledge with practice and vice versa.

• Being a community-based broker
  • Introducing the Trent Community Research Centre (TCRC) and how the TCRC brokers community-based research opportunities
• Being a campus-based broker
  • Introducing the McMaster Office of Community Engagement and how McMaster brokers community-based research opportunities
• Discussion: Reflecting on the similarities and differences between community and campus-based brokers

If you missed out on the day-of presentation, not to worry. We’ve made it accessible below.

Resources

• Being a Community-Based Broker
• Being a Campus-Based Broker
• McMaster University’s

Presenters

John Marris completed his PhD in Canadian Studies at Trent University in 2013, and has been the executive director of the Trent Community Research Centre since October 2015 previously working for the TCRC as director of community-based research since September 2014. John brings a wealth of community research and teaching experience to the Centre, alongside his established relationships with Trent University faculty and students. John has a history of community development work both in Peterborough, Ontario and over a twenty-year period in the U.K. As part of his work at TCRC John is part of a number of collaboratives that address mental health, addictions, social justice and youth issues in the Peterborough community. He has a specific interest in youth engagement and the use of creative practices in community development.

David Tough has a double role at the Trent Community Research Centre, co-ordinating students’ work on the Centre’s research projects and conducting his own research on Community-Based Research. He brings to this work a lot of experience in teaching, research, scholarly writing, and journalism, and a deep familiarity with the social and cultural landscape of Peterborough. David is a scholar of inequality, taxation, and the welfare state who has a PhD in Canadian history from ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University and whose first book, The Terrific Engine: Income Taxation and the Modern Political Imaginary in Canada, 1910-1945, will be published by UBC Press in 2017.

Dave Heidebrecht Since graduating from McMaster’s Masters in Globalization Studies program in 2010, Dave has worked directly with academic, non-profit, and community organizations to help them work towards their goals. In this time, Dave has collaborated with local, national, and international groups to foster and support organizational strategies that produce positive, sustainable, and effective change. Especially interested in the intersections between environmental, political, and social issues facing our global society, Dave is very excited to be working with the Network for Community-Campus Partnerships to strengthen relationships amongst colleagues — both at McMaster and in the community — who are working to address these issues in our communities.

1. SPRC & McMaster Colleagues Seeking Community Partners for Input to Community-Based Research Toolkit

Colleagues at McMaster and SPRC are putting together a list of 15-20 invitees to attend a workshop which willlead to the development of a community based research toolkit. If you have any names of people across various sectors in the community who have some experience working with academic researchers please pass these suggestions along to Erika Morton at SPRC at emorton@sprc.hamilton.on.ca. They’re seeking a range of voices/perspectives at this workshop.  Participants will be selected so that this range is assured:

1. Range of roles in research projects (advisory board, collaborator, co-applicant, peer researcher)
2. Range of types of communities (non-profit/social services sector; arts and culture sector; environment; health)
3. Level of experience (from very experienced working with academic researchers to one-time experience)

Please note that peoples experience with academic research can include working with McMaster, as well as other other communities/cities. If you have any names of potential invitees during the next week that would be much appreciated. Feel free to send these directly to Erika.

2. 100in1 Day Hamilton | June 6

A dedicated team of Hamilton volunteers are working in collaboration to organize a city-wide event taking place on Saturday, June 6th called . 100in1Day is a growing global movement that is changing how people interact with their cities. Originating in Bogotá, Colombia in 2012, it has encouraged hundreds of one-day community-based interventions in cities around the world. Interventions can include things like street art, urban gardens, beautification projects, social events, improvements in city infrastructure, or simply waving to strangers

All interventions are all being profiled on the same day in a city-wide festival which profiled on an interactive online map. This year, Hamilton will be joining cities around the world, along with Toronto, Vancouver, and Halifax, to strive for 100+ community led projects all being profiled on Saturday, June 6th. Register your urban intervention at 

3. Trailhead Ontario Conference – The Benefit of Trails|June 7-10 2015 @ McMaster

Ontario Trails, McMaster University and Hamilton Burlington Trails Council are thrilled to be releasing the Trailhead Ontario Conference 2015 Official Program Package. You will find the Program Package . Please feel free to contact nature@mcmaster.ca if you have any questions.