B6: Evidence-Based Research in Action: A Dialogue
Evidence-based research is an important resource in developing policies, programs and communication strategies. Community organizations are faced with the challenge of accessing sound quantitative data that they can use to develop programs and services, write proposals and reports, and to effectively communicate the impact and results of their work. This interactive seminar will let participants engage in a dialogue with three very different stakeholders, as they hear about their efforts to undertake evidence-based research.
Moderator: Jehad Aliweiwi has been the Executive Director for Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office (TNO) since 2004. Prior to joining TNO he was the regional director for Catholic Cross-Cultural Services, Metro Region and the national executive director of the Canadian Arab Federation. Currently he serves on the Board of Directors of The Ontario Science Centre, Housing Connections, OCASI and Fred Victor. In 2010 he was the recipient of the Canadian Urban Institute’s Local Hero Award. He is a graduate of York University.
Panelists:
Beth Wilson is a Senior Researcher with Social Planning Toronto (SPT), a nonprofit community organization engaged in research, public policy analysis and community engagement. SPT works to advance issues of social and economic justice to improve the quality of life of all Toronto residents. Beth’s research has explored a broad variety of issues including working conditions in Toronto’s immigrant- and refugee-serving sector, mental health issues among Afghan youth, socio-demographic trends in Toronto, the health of social assistance recipients and the working poor in Ontario, food bank use in Canada, and the status of young families in Toronto. Her current work focuses on housing issues, the nonprofit community sector and the recession, and the City of Toronto’s budget process.
Maryse Lemoine is the Coordinator of the Toronto Immigrant Employment Data Initiative. She has a Master’s degree in geography from York University for which she explored the settlement patterns and housing experiences of francophone migrants in Toronto. She previously completed a Master in Library and Information Studies and managed the Government Information Service of the McGill University Libraries.
Grace-Edward Galabuzi is an Associate Professor in the Politics and Public Administration Department, Ryerson University, Toronto and a Research Associate at the Centre for Social Justice in Toronto. He is the author of Canada’s Economic Apartheid: The Social Exclusion of Racialized Groups in the New Century (CSPI, 2006) and co-editor of Race and Racialization: Essential Readings (CSPI, 2007) and Colonialism and Racism in Canada (Nelson/Thomson, 2009). He is also an active member of the social justice community in Toronto and has been involved in a variety of social justice campaigns. His is a Board member of the United Way of Toronto, the Atkinson Charitable Foundation and the Stephen Lewis Foundation. He holds a Ph.D in Political Science from York University.
