The Centre for Community-Based Research (CCBR) collaborated with Dr. Hema Ganapathy-Coleman from University of Toronto to design and deliver three interactive online training workshops for six to seven research assistants. CCBR led the development and facilitation of these workshops to strengthen their skills in community-based research methods, focusing on in-depth interviewing, ethnographic observation, qualitative data analysis, and strategies for acting on findings and sharing knowledge with communities.

CCBR partnered with the Community Alliance for Accessible Treatment to collaboratively design and conduct an evaluation of the Rainbow Resilience Program. The Rainbow Resilience Program addressed the critical health equity needs within 2SLGBTQ+ immigrant and refugee communities impacted by HIV/HCV with the intention of understanding and addressing gaps in sexual health services in Ontario. CCBR also provided coaching on research and evaluation to strengthen CAAT’s capacity to promote the health and wellbeing of people living with HIV (PHAs) who are facing access barriers related to their precarious status in Canada.

The Centre for Community Based Research collaborated with the KDE Hub to support the Youth Substance Use Prevention Program (YSUPP) by contributing its expertise in community-based research, capacity-building, and the development of training tools.

This capacity-building project was tailored to early childhood and prenatal programs in the Ontario Network of CAPC/CPNP projects. CCBR built an interactive website toolkit with custom training material and piloted them at workshops with Ontario CAPC/CPNP in order to further refine the toolkit.

CCBR in partnership with MACC led a 2.5-year project to explore ways to overcome the barriers for Muslim women (e.g., language, status, Islamophobia, health limitations, disabilities) in Halton region in (a) disclosing gender-based violence and (b) seeking support from formal services and informal networks (e.g., family, friends, and community leaders).

CCBR designed and conducted a three-part photovoice training workshop and three coaching sessions for Research Assistants (RAs) working with Dr. Ganapathy-Coleman at the University of Toronto Mississauga. It aimed to enhance the RAs' capacity in developing and facilitating photovoice workshops.

CCBR collaboratively designed and conducted two phases of a process and outcomes evaluation of the Substance Use Hub at the Inner City Family Health Team (ICFHT) clinic in Toronto. Through the Hub, patients have access to life-saving drugs, peer support, and a team of trained physicians, nurses, and support staff. The Hub also offers a safer supply program to prevent overdose and other harms by decreasing reliance on the unpredictable, unregulated drug market.

The Centre for Community Based Research and The Knowledge Development and Exchange Hub (KDE) will work collaboratively to develop a series of events and resources on community-based evaluation to be hosted on the KDE hub website, providing support for its funded projects in promoting the mental health and well-being of Canadians.

The Supporting Peer Work project is a community-guided research project that explores the employment experiences of peer workers in “low barrier” social service agencies in Toronto throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The project aims to support agencies to break down structural barriers to equitable employment and learn from the transformative practices of workers with lived expertise.

CCBR partnered with the Research & Innovation Committee of the Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities (SCHC) to plan and deliver activities to build organizational capacity for community-based research. These activities, including a workshop series and interactive planning retreat, helped SCHC determine research priorities and procedures for conducting internal community-based research and engaging with external research partners.

Located at Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, the Trip! project is a youth-led harm reduction information service for the dance music scene and youth who use drugs. CCBR partnered with stakeholders to conduct a community-based evaluation that explored how well the program model aligned with:1) current drug using trends amongst youth; and 2) PQWCHC’s values, vision, & mission.

CCBR supported the Bell Brass Family Resource Centre evaluation through a series of capacity-building and coaching events. These events equipped BBFRC to use a community-based approach when conducting an internal evaluation of its CAPC/CPNP & other Early Years programming. Topics covered included theories of change, surveys, data analysis, and reporting and acting on findings.