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WIL: Community-Based Research Canada Workshop
March 21 @ 10:30 am - 1:00 pm
Facilitators: Amanda Demmer, Learning Specialist and Program Coordinator, and Joanna Ochocka, Executive Director, Community-Based Research Canada.
This interactive workshop will explore community-based research (CBR) as a community-driven, participatory, and action-oriented approach to research. This session will introduce key principles of CBR, emphasizing the collaborative nature of a CBR approach requiring strong community partnerships and shared control over research. Through discussions and practical examples, participants will learn theory what a community-based research approach entails and how it can be applied. By the end of the session, participants will understand the hallmarks, functions, and phases of CBR and what makes CBR different from traditional research approaches and will be equipped with tools to form equitable partnerships with community organizations for collaborative CBR projects. Participants will also be given resources for learning more about community-based research and engaging with Community-Based Research Canada.
Please let your instructors know and invite them to register. There is no cost for JIBC staff/faculty.
Click here to complete your registration.
Priority for registration is for practising JIBC instructors. If you are not currently in a teaching role, but you are interested in the workshop, you may still be able to join if there are enough spaces. If demand exceeds our capacity to deliver, we may also consider offering a second delivery at a later date.
Amanda Demmer is a community-based researcher, program evaluator, and a learning specialist. She has been practicing community-based research and evaluation for almost a decade, and teaching about it for over five years. Amanda is currently a PhD Candidate in Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo and holds a Master of Arts degree in Community Psychology. As a researcher, Amanda specializes in program evaluation within health, mental health, and social services, and as a PhD student her team won the Canadian Evaluation Society Student Evaluation Case Competition and went on to represent Team Canada at the World Evaluation Competition. Amanda has previously worked in research and evaluation roles within government, academia, and non-profit, including leading the Ontario evaluation within the national Roots of Hope community suicide intervention by the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
Joanna Ochocka is one of Canada’s top leaders and contributors in the field of community- based research. As Co-Chair/Executive Director of Community Based Research Canada (CBRCanada) and adjunct associate professor at the University of Waterloo, she practises daily her unique research methodology and its value by promoting community-university engagements through research, teaching, coaching and collaborative initiatives. She is also one of the founding members of CBRCanada.
For 25 years, Joanna served as the executive director of the Centre for Community Based Research (CCBR), a trailblazer in conducting community-based research outside academia (with over 400 research projects). Joanna was distinguished twice for her teaching when she received the Teaching Excellence Awards at both Wilfrid Laurier University in (2005) and at University of Waterloo in (2020). She helped establish the Community Research Ethics Office (CREO) and organized the C2UExpo conferences, which are the largest gatherings globally showcasing community-university partnerships from around the world. Joanna has led a National Summit on pursuing excellence in collaborative community campus research (a springboard for the community-based research excellence tool CBRET) and co-instructed the first national certified course on community-based research fundamentals and excellence (2022). Her list of publications includes a book, 58 journal articles and over 80 research resources.
Driven by her passion and dedication, Joanna sees community-based research as a tool for equity and justice within societies.