Recap of the Year: 

​

Highly successful year! 

• Growth in CBRCanada membership, program participation of our regular monthly programs of co-learning and showcasing 

• Excellent participation in our special programs, including National Excellence Awards, Award Gala, Membership Meetings and AGM 

• Packed Summer – Active role in the Living Knowledge Conference in Europe, CBRCanada First Summer Institute on Community Based Research, development of two grant applications 

• Growth in CBRCanada alumni/champions on fundamentals and excellence in community-based research (five cohorts of 16 people each) 

• Growth in national/global engagement, including supporting MacEwan University in C2UExpo 2025, organizing international advisory committee and facilitating the Bilingual Advisory Group  

• Second year of CBRCanada functioning independently 

​

Next Steps:  

• Cultivating more opportunities for connection or mentorship among members working in similar areas   

• Increasing collective action to advocate for community-based research to funders and institutions  

• Deepening integration of anti-oppressive and de-colonized research frameworks into all work 

• Ensuring all our members are taking full opportunity to engage with our programs 

• CBRCanada began operating as an independent non-profit organization and is now housed at Laurier University 
   

• C2UExpo 2023: Connected Communities. Collective Change. was hosted in-person by Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario from June 5-8, 2023 with 350 participants from across Canada and internationally. CBRCanada was active at C2UExpo 2023, including offering: opening & closing remarks, a pre-conference workshop, a CBRCanada National Awards celebration, and an international panel of world leaders in community-university networks 
   

• The 2023 e-Learning series was on the topic of “Moving the Dial” showcasing 10 action-oriented community-based research projects (average 82 registrants) 
   

• CBRCanada facilitated monthly Community of Practice gatherings focusing on important topics in community-based research. Starting in September, monthly infographic summaries were created (640 members were registered) 
   

• The first CBRCanada Orientation Session was offered in October 2023, exposing new people to community-based research (both members and non-members) 
   

• The 2023 AGM was held on November 16th gathering all CBRCanada members online. The agenda included: 1) an overview of the 2023 annual report of activities and achievements, presented by Joanna Ochocka and Amanda Demmer. 2) C2UExpo 2023 reflections from Lakehead University (Andrew Dean, Jocelyn Bel, and Roopa Rakshit), and 3) a showcase the award winner of the 2023 CBRCanada Emerging Researcher Award recipient's work by Dr. Krystal Kehoe MacLeod, with Sarisha Philip. The meeting was facilitated by Julia Coburn with an Indigenous opening from Shaun Hains and closing remarks from Martin Taylor.
   

• CBRCanada recognized two award recipients. The Excellence in Community-Campus Research Partnership Award recipient was First Nations and Métis Math Voices Research Partnership and Honorary Mention WiseGuyz Research Partnership (14 nominations). The Emerging Community-Based Researcher Award recipient was Dr. Krystal Kehoe MacLeod (University of Ottawa) and Honorary Mention Dr. Anne-Marie Livingston (McMaster University) (16 nominations) 
   

• The CBRCanada Board of Directors appointed Mélanie Pelletier (UQAM), as a new Director 
   

• Stephanie Wall joined the team as CBRCanada’s Laurier University Liaison 
   

• The Community-Based Research Fundamentals and Excellence Certificate Course was offered twice, in the Fall and Spring, with cohorts of 15 participants 
   

• CBRCanada offered tailored training in community-based research to Indspire and the UofT Scarborough Urban Just Transitions Cluster 
   

• The e-News began to be published as a monthly digest in September 2023, keeping the pulse of community-based research news across the country (1719 subscribers) 
   

• Online resources were updated, including the Resource Centre, a growing collection of resources to support best practices in community-based research, with monthly contributions from members of news, events and resources 
   

• CBRCanada was engaged in a bi-yearly dialogue with a Pan-Canadian group of organizations to coordinate efforts towards more effective community-campus engagement and community-based research nationally. The members included: Research Impact Canada, Community Campus Engage Canada, Ashoka Canada, Carnegie Foundation and CBRCanada 
   

• CBRCanada’s social media presence expands to 1467 Twitter and 1408 LinkedIn followers 
   

• CBRCanada grows to 61 organizational members, 34 post-secondary institutions, 8 institutes/umbrella organizations, 19 community organizations and 150 individual members 

​

​

• CBRCanada launched the Community-Based Research Certificate Course: Fundamentals and Excellence, an 8-week online course, the first of its' kind in Canada. The course was instructed by Dr. Joanna Ochocka and Amanda Demmer (PhD Candidate). 
   

• The theme of the Fall e-Learning Series was "Celebrating Community-Based Research Excellence" and showcased the research of three CBRCanada National Award recipients.
   

• The theme of the Winter and Spring e-Learning Series was "Community-Based Research and COVID-19: Addressing Widening Inequities and Amplifying Community-based Visions for Change", and included four webinars and four live discussions (average of 80 registrants).
   

• A bi-monthly Community-of-Practice was held to engage the network in discussions about topics in community-based research practice (210 members were registered).
   

• CBRCanada announced Lakehead University as the host of C2UExpo 2023 in Thunder Bay, Ontario on June 5-8, 2023.
   

• The CBRCanada Board of Directors appointed Dr. Chantel Trudel (Carleton University), as a new Director
   

• The 2022 AGM was held on November 2nd gathering all CBRCanada members online. The agenda included: 1) an overview of the 2022 annual report of activities and achievements, presented by Joanna Ochocka and Steve Dooley. 2) Introducing C2UExpo 2023 at Lakehead University (Andrew Dean, Charles Levkoe), and 3) a showcase of CBRCanada member: Communities, Alliances & Networks (CAAN) by Andrea Baedak, Claudette Cardinal, Ann Favel, and Renée Masching. The meeting was facilitated by Julia Coburn with an Indigenous opening from Shaun Hains.
   

• The C2UExpo2022 Mini Gathering and Awards Gala held on June 1, 2022 brought together over 80 CBRCanada members in an online program with two main parts: 1) a panel about entitled "Community-Based Research at the Crossroads: Equity, Social Justice and Change", with panelists: Sam Tecle, Jennifer Adams, Jude Fransman, and Barnie Pauly, moderated by Martin Taylor. and 2) and the CBRCanada Award celebration. The meeting was facilitated by Joanna Ochocka and Steve Dooley, with an Indigenous opening by Shaun Hains.

​

• Out of fifteen exceptional nominations, CBRCanada recognized two award recipients: Melissa Tremblay, University of Alberta - the 2022 Emerging Community-Based Researcher Award and the Maskwacis Maternal, Child & Family Wellbeing, University of Alberta, as the 2022 Excellence in Community-Campus Research Partnership Award. ​​​

• CBRCanada offered tailored training in community-based research to the UofT Scarborough Urban Just Transitions Cluster, that included two workshops. Training was delivered by Joanna Ochocka and Amander Demmer.

​

• The e-Newsletter magazine was published three times highlighting CBRCanada events, new membership profiles, stories on community-based research, and multi-media resources. (over 1000 recipients)

​

• CBRCanada was in quarterly dialogues with a Pan-Canadian group of organizations to coordinate efforts towards more effective community-campus engagement and community-based research nationally. The members included: Research Impact Canada, Community Campus Engage Canada, Ashoka Canada, Carnegie Foundation, Universities Canada, McConnell Foundation, and CBRCanada.
   
• CBRCanada was actively engaged internationally at the 8th Living Knowledge Conference in Groningen, the Netherlands, giving three presentations: 1) Community Based Research Canada: Successes, tensions, and dilemmas, by Joanna Ochocka, Sarah Switzer, and Janna Martin; 2)  Community Based Research capacity-building among students - Two views from North America, by Joanna Ochocka and Beth Tryon; and 3) ’'The second-best way to do things’: A Community-based evaluation with people living with dementia during the pandemic, by Joanna Ochocka, Amanda Demmer, and Hsiao d'Ailly.
   

​

• CBRCanada's social media presence expanded to 1,355 Twitter followers and 864 LinkedIn followers
   

​

• CBRCanada membership grew to 33 post-secondary institutions, 9 institutes/umbrella organizations, 10 community organizations and 90 individual members.

​

​

​

• The CBRCanada Board of Directors appointed: Dr. Lanyan Chen (University of Nipissing), Dr. Shaun Hains (Saybrook University, Hains Consulting), and Dr. Renee Monchalin (University of Victoria) as new Directors
   

• The C2UExpo2021 Mini Gathering and Awards Gala brought together over 150 CBRCanada members in a two-hour online program which consisted of two main parts: a panel discussion about the future of community-based research in Canada (panelists: Dr. Kevin Hall, Dr. Dominique Bérubé, Elayne Greeley, Renée Masching, and Carrie Bourassa, moderated by Dr. Robert Rosehart) and the CBRCanada Award celebration. Thanks to Social Sciences and Humanities Research Canada for sponsoring our national awards. The event was facilitated by Joanna Ochocka and Steve Dooley. 

​

• The 2021 recipient of the Emerging Community-Based Researcher Award was Dr. Maryam Khan, Wilfrid Laurier University (chosen from 15 nominations received). The 2021 recipient of the Excellence in Community-Campus Research Partnership Award was the Parent Advocacy Project Team from Alberta (chosen from 17 nominations received). Dr. Budd Hall was recognized by the CBRCanada Board of Directors by receiving the Community-Based Research Leadership Award.​

​

• The very successful Winter and Spring Learning Series on Decolonizing Community-Based Research included six webinars (237 registrants on average) followed by live discussions (70 registrations on average). Thank you to Dr. Charlotte Loppie for her leadership and contributions.

​

• Two Community of Practice groups were launched, one on community-based research praxis and the other on promoting community-based research organizational culture for senior administrators.

• The Community-Based Research Excellence Tool (CBRET) training has been adapted to an online workshop.
   

• The 2021 AGM was held on November 10th gathering all CBRCanada members online. The agenda included: 1) an overview of the 2021 annual report of activities and achievements, presented by Joanna Ochocka and Steve Dooley. 2) Research Institution Story of Impact by Jonathan Newman, Wilfrid Laurier University, and 3) a Research Project Story of Impact by The Young Indigenous Women's Utopia Partnership. The meeting was facilitated by Joanna Ochocka with an Indigenous opening from Elder Barbara Dumont-Hill.

​

• The e-Newsletter magazine was published three times in 2021, and highlighted upcoming CBRCanada events, new membership profiles, stories on community-based research, and multi-media resources.

​

• CBRCanada initiated quarterly dialogues among a Pan-Canadian group of organizations to coordinate efforts towards community-engagement and community-based research nationally. The members included: Research Impact Canada, Community Campus Engage Canada, Carnegie Foundation, Ashoka Canada, Universities Canada, McConnell Foundation, and CBRCanada.

​

• CBRCanada's social media presence expands to 1,093 Twitter followers and 410 LinkedIn followers

​

• CBRCanada membership grows to 25 post-secondary institutions, 4 institutes/umbrella organizations, and 4 community organizations.

​

​

​

• The CBRCanada Board of Directors appointed Dr. Charlotte Loppie, Professor in the School of Public Health and Social Policy and the Associate Dean of Research for the Faculty of Human & Social Development, University of Victoria. Welcome Charlotte!

​

• New CBRCanada website with expanded features was launched in Summer 2020. Thank you to Julia Coburn, Joanna Ochocka and Janna Martin for all the content and visualization.

​

• Three e-Newsletter magazines were published providing updates on the latest news, resources, and opportunities in Canadian-led community-based research. 

​

• Live Online Discussions were held on the themes, 1) Exploring challenges in conducting community-based research at a distance and 2) Community-Based Research with Racialized Communities. The events were facilitated by Julia Coburn and averaged 74 registrants.

​

• Spring Webinar Series on Patient-Oriented Research.

​

• Fall Webinar Series on Community-Based Research with Racialized Communities.

​

• Winter Webinar Series on Institutional Structures for Community-Based Research.

​

• The Community-Campus-Exposition (C2UExpo2020) scheduled for May in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario was cancelled due to the global pandemic. Thank-you Algoma University for all your efforts organizing this event.​

​

• CBRC changed its acronym to CBRCanada to reflect a growing national network.

​

• CBRCanada membership grows to 23 post-secondary institutions, 4 umbrella organizations, 3 community organizations, and 2 associations/centres.

​

• Stephen Dooley becomes Board Co-Chair alongside Joanna Ochocka

​

• CBRCanada appointed three new board members: Crystal Tremblay, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Dave Heidebrecht, Manager, Office of Community Engagement, McMaster University and Steven Hermans, Partnership Development Officer to the Vice-President Research and Innovation, University of Toronto

​

• The CBRCanada Annual General Meeting was held in-person in Ottawa on April 26 (attended by Budd Hall, Martin Taylor, Karen Schwartz, Crystal Tremblay, Dave Heidebrecht, Kendra Schnarr, and Monica Mulrennan and prepared and facilitated by Joanna Ochocka).

​

• Three CBRET workshops were held in Ottawa (facilitated by Joanna Ochocka and Rich Janzen), Vancouver (facilitated by Joanna Ochocka and Tanis Dagert), and Toronto (facilitated by Joanna Ococka and Rich Janzen) with a total of 67 people. Read about the workshops here.
   

• A new structure for CBRC Board of Directors was suggested by forming four sub-committees: strategic planning, program, member recruitment and communication, and C2UExpo.

​

• The Spring/Summer Webinar Series engaged the network on How community-based research Theory is Put into Practice

​

• CBRC membership grew to 17 universities, 3 colleges, 3 research institutes, and 3 community organizations
   

• The CBRCanada launched two new programs: 1) the CBR National Mapping initiative to map all community-based research leaders across Canada and 2) monthly webinar series
   

• CBRCanada Board of Directors appointed 4 new board members: Michele Peterson-Badali at the University of Toronto, Catherine Graham at the National Association of Friendship Centres, Ken Carter at Memorial University, and Stephen Dooley at Simon Fraser University
   

• The first Community-Based Research Excellence Tool (CBRET) workshop launched in Spring 2018 in Waterloo, Ontario. The second CBRET workshop took place in Fall 2019 in Hamilton, Ontario. The workshops engaged over 80 researchers and were facilitated by Joanna Ochocka and Rich Janzen.
   

• In the fall, CBRCanada changed its governance structure from one Board Chair to two. Joanna Ochocka and Martin Taylor are the Co-Chairs of the Board of Directors.
   

• Several CBRCanada Members attended Engage 2018, hosted by the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) in Scotland.
   

• C2UExpo2017: For the Common Good takes place at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and Surrey, British Columbia, gathering 600 people from Canada and across the globe. Joanna Ochocka, on behalf of CBRCanada, made opening remarks. The inaugral Community-Based Research Leadership Award was  presented to Dr. Katherine Graham. Thank you to SFU President Andrew Petter, as well as the conference organizers: Steve Dooley and Michele Nilson. Well done!
   

• The CBRCanada Board of Directors appointed four new Board Members: Tanis Dagert at Vancouver Island University, Dr. Kathy Sanford at the University of Victoria, Dr. Monica Mulrennan at Concordia University, Dr. Karen Schwartz at Carleton University
   

• The CBRC Program Development Report is released, based on a fall 2016 survey of CBRC members, stakeholders and key informants. The report identified three recommendations: 1) to develop a CBRC Capacity Building program, 2) to be a leader and convenor in the creation of a national community-campus engagement network and action plan with key partners, networks and funders, and 3) to develop a communications plan and strategy that includes social media functions and a simple searchable CBRC Directory and map
   

• CBRCanada Board members, Drs. Martin Taylor and Joanna Ochocka presented about community-based research and Social Development Goals at the UNESCO Knowledge for Change Consortium organized in Ottawa in March 2017. This panel discussion gathered about 60 academic senior administrators and funders and was chaired by Dr. Budd Hall, UNESCO Co-Chair in Community Based Research and Higher Education.

​

• The Engaging Communities Through Research Capacity Building event was held on November 24-25, 2017 in Waterloo, Ontario, equipping faith-based campuses from across Canada and their constituent partners to collaborate on community-based research.
   

• In November 2017, the CBRCanada Secretariat moved from the Office of Community-University Engagement in University of Victoria, B.C. to the Centre for Community Based Research (CCBR), a non-profit organization located at St. Paul's University College, University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario.
   

• In April 2016, CBRCanada became incorporated into a national non-profit organization with the Secretariat located at the Office of Community University Engagement at the University of Victoria.
   

• CBRCanada’s inaugural Board Members were Martin Taylor (Chair) at the University of Victoria, Joanna Ochocka (Co Vice-Chair) at the Centre for Community Based Research, Marcel Simoneau (Co Vice-Chair) at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Geri Briggs at Carleton University, Leslie Brown at the University of Victoria, Jody Butler Walker at the Arctic Institute of Community-Based Research (AICBR), Warren Dodd at the University of Guelph, Katherine Graham at Carleton University, Budd Hall the UNESCO Chair in CBR, Linda Hawkins at the University of Guelph
   

• CBRCanada transitioned to a membership-based organization and started to generate funds from membership fees
   

• CBRCanada hosted 5 webinars in a Winter Webinar Series on topics related to the theme of Mobilizing the Power of Community-Campus Engagement and Research Partnerships
   

• CBRC Fall Survey Report was released.
   

• CUExpo 2015 took place in Ottawa at Carleton University. CBRC facilitated two preconference workshops and helped to organized the conference of around 300 people. Joanna Ochocka, on behalf of CBRC, gave a plenary presentation about the C2UExpo movement and announced SFU as the next host of C2UExpo 2017.

​

• The SSHRCC Partnership Grant application, "Pursuing Excellence in Community-Based Research: National Partnership for Research and Action" was developed to establish 6-8 regional Hubs of Excellence across Canada, each pursuing cross-sectorial CBR projects to solve societal problems. The application was led by Joanna Ochocka with 105 partners from a variety of organizations, universities, local governments and businesses, 

• Thirteen Canadian universities become CBRC Canada institutional members.
   

• CBRC 2014-2017 Strategic Plan is completed and launched.
   

• CBRC sponsored the Community-University (CUVic) Conference and Engaged Practice Day at the University of Victoria in May 2014. Joanna Ochocka and Sylvie de Grosbois represented CBRC
   

• CBRCanada supports a two-day National Summit titled, "Pursuing Excellence in Collaborative Community-Campus Research" on November 3-4, 2014. The Summit was led by Joanna Ochocka at the Centre for Community Based Research and sponsored by a SSHRC connection grant. 60 researchers, university staff and SSHRC senior administrators participated in the summit, including guests from the UK. The summit gave the beginning of the Community-Based Research Excellence Tool (CBRET) and two academic publications.

​

• CBRC conducted a national fall survey with members to explore network activities and prioritize CBRC communications and services.
   

• CBRC supported the UK Engaged Practice Learning Exchange Initiative and presented at the Engage Conference in Bristol, England in December 2014.
   

• CBRC supported the launch of UNESCO’s Co-Chair for Higher Education and Social Responsibility for Community Based Research, which was shared between Canada and India from 2013 to 2018.
   

• The United Kingdom’s National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement visited Canada. CBRC facilitated their meetings with key academics and with voluntary sector funders, the development of a Global Collaboration Framework and the creation of a UK-Canada pilot project.
   

• The Institute for Community University Engagement at UVic, which stemmed from the Office for Community-Based Research, became the new Secretariat for CBRCanada.
   

• Global University Networks for Innovation (GUNI) launched a partnership agreement with CBRC.
   

• CBRCanada supported and helped to organize CUExpo 2013 in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland.
   

• CBRC supported Dr. Joanna Ochocka from the CCBR in engaging leaders in Newfoundland and in organizing C2UExpo 2013 in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland. Thank you to the hosts: City of Cornerbrook, Grenfell Campus Memorial University of Newfoundland, and the provincial office of Public Engagement as well as organizers: Drs. Ken Carter and Bruce Gilbert. Well done!
   

• In a fall meeting in Montreal, CBRC creates their 2014-2017 Strategic Plan and Membership Outreach Plan focused on the Canadian Universities Plan.
   

• In May 2012, a delegation represented CBRC at the Living Knowledge Network conference in Bonn, Germany. The attendees included: Linda Hawkins, Budd Hall, Leslie Brown, Maeve Lydon, and Joanna Ochocka.
   

• CBRCs Steering Committee engaged in strategic planning and organizational renewal.
   

• CBRC’s membership reaches 300 individual members.

​

• The SSHRCC Partnership Grant was developed and submitted to the competition. The "Engaging Communities in Research: A Partnership to Strengthen the 'C' in C-U Research" was led by Dr. Joanna Ochocka with 17 partners (all CBR C members and/or directors).

• In May 2011, a successful CUExpo Conference was held in Waterloo, Ontario. The organizers were Drs. Joanna Ochocka and Rich Janzen from the Centre for Community Based Research along with University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, and Guelph University.  Almost 600 people (from 14 countries) attended the 4-day conference located at both WLU campus and various community venues. The steering committee for the conference included 30+ representatives of government, business and non-profit organizations in Waterloo Region.
   

• CBRC was invited to take part in the Campus Community Collaboration Initiative supported by the Governor General of Canada. Other organizations contributing to the initiative include CCPH, CACSL, Research Impact, United Way of Canada, Imagine Canada, Community Foundations of Canada and SSHRCC.

• In June 2010, CBRC partnered with Community Campus Partnership for Health and the Canadian Alliance for Community Service-Learning to hold a National Knowledge Commons Summit in Montreal.
   

• CBRC developed a grant submission to grow national centres for excellence. While the grant was denied, CBRC was proud to have 33 university and community bodies sign on to the application, led by Budd Hall. 
   

• CBRC’'s membership reaches 200 individual members.

• In May 2009, the CBRC Symposium “From Recession to Renewal: The Vital Contribution of Community-Based Research” was held at the University of Victoria. The event featured a special keynote on Aboriginal CBR and Knowledge in Canada given by Lorna Williams, who was the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Knowledge and Learning.
   

• CBRC-GACER produced a brief on CBR, Community Engaged Scholarship and Social Responsibility of Higher Education. The brief was presented in July at UNESCO’s World Conference on Higher Education in Paris.
   

• Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC) and International Development Research Centre (IDRC) funded Canadian and global best practice and funding model reports.

• The Pan-Canadian Coalition for Community Based Research, the precursor to CBRCanada, was founded at CUExpo in 2008.
   

• The Office of Community Based Research at the University of Victoria became the Pan-Canadian Coalition secretariat with Carleton University and the Université du Québec à Montréal as core partners.
   

• Founding Steering Committee members and partners included Centre for Community Based Research, Community Campus Partnerships for Health, the United Way, the Canadian Alliance for Community Service-Learning, and the Canadian Community Economic Development Network.
   

• A hundred people signed up to become CBRC’s first members.