Centres and Institutes

The Participatory Action Research and Training Centre on Food Security

The Participatory Action Research and Training Centre on Food Security (PARTC-FS) supports collaborative, community-based participatory research, training and knowledge mobilization related to: 1) understanding individual, household, and community food security; and 2) building capacity for policy change related to food security. Established in 2009 with funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the centre hosts and supports the research of Dr. Patty Williams, Director of the Centre and Associate Professor in Applied Human Nutrition and Tier II Canada Research Chair in Food Security and Policy Change, and her team. The research involves individuals affected by food insecurity, as well as other community, government and academic partners across various disciplines and sectors, in innovative research rooted in real community needs to advance our understanding of food security and food security-related policy change, and ultimately, improved ways of building food security in Nova Scotia and beyond.

For more information on the PARTC-FS and the issue of food security we invite you to visit our website: http://www.foodsecurityresearchcentre.ca/

Social Economy and Sustainability

A mother takes her child to the community swimming pool. A volunteer from Meals on wheels delivers lunch to a senior. A couple gets their first mortgage at their local credit union. A community group works with local fishers to co-manage their fishery. All of these people are participating in Atlantic Canada's social economy. The social economy provides jobs for thousands in our region, pumps millions of dollars into our economy and provides services many couldn't live without, yet few people have even heard of it. A new $1.75 million research project at Mount Saint Vincent University (2005) will help shed some light on this hidden economy. The study, The Social Economy and Sustainability: Innovations in Bridging, Bonding and Capacity Building, brings together university researchers and community partners from around Atlantic Canada. Their goal is to uncover the true value of the social economy, find better ways to support it and help participating organizations share knowledge and strategy. "Atlantic Canadians have a history of getting together to meet our needs," says Dr. Leslie Brown, Professor at MSVU and lead investigator of the research project. "We've been doing it for generations. This project will bring the social economy out of the shadows and leave the region with a social economy network like it has never had before."

The Atlantic Centre for the Study of the Information Society (ACSIS) is an innovative research centre studying issues of equity, youth, and information-communication technology. The centre hosts and supports the research interests of Dr. Dianne Looker, Professor in Sociology and Anthropology and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Equity and Technology. Dr. Looker is the Director of ACSIS.
ACSIS studies issues associated with Information and Communication Technology (ICT), particularly as it relates to issues of equity in access to and facility with ICT. The focus of the research on ICT recognizes the rapidly changing technological environment in both education and work, creating both challenges and opportunities. The explosion of the Internet and the information and communication resources it makes available create a potential for overcoming many traditional barriers and linking communities in innovative ways. ACSIS enthusiastically supports the collective goal of enhancing the research capacity of academics and better connecting academic research to communities, in the pursuit of creating a university that is beneficial and accountable to all members of our community. (see http://www.acsislab.com/).

Atlantic Seniors Housing Research Alliance (ASHRA)

ASHRA is a five year research project (2005-2009) investigating the housing needs of aging Atlantic Canadians. The study brings together seniors, academics, service providers, housing developers and government departments from all four Atlantic provinces to determine how to meet the housing needs of this rapidly aging population. Principal Investigator is Dr Donald Shiner (donald.shiner@msvu.ca) a member of the Department of Business Administration and Tourism and Hospitality Management. Funding for the study comes from a $1 million dollar grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada - Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) program. An additional $181,000 comes from the government of Nova Scotia-Department of Community Services, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Dalhousie University, the University of Prince Edward Island, Memorial University of Newfoundland, the University of New Brunswick and MSVU." 

 

Nova Scotia Centre on Aging

The Nova Scotia Centre on Aging, Mount Saint Vincent University, conducts research in areas related to quality of life for older adults and their families. Specific research areas include: community supports for family caregivers; autonomy for residents in long term care facilities; community-facility relationships; older parents providing care for adult sons/daughters with lifelong disabilities; everyday technologies and older adults; evaluation research related to educational materials and assessment instruments. The research shapes and is shaped by the continuing education and community outreach initiatives of the Centre.

Please use the CIRHD application form found on the Forms & Applications page.