Working in groups of 2 or 3, students worked with community partners to complete several components of a program evaluation depending on the needs of the partner. Components included a program overview, exploratory assessment, logic model, evaluation questions and an evaluation framework. The instructor also hosted a workshop to inform participating community organizations about program evaluation.
Throughout the course, graduate students developed knowledge, skills and values related to the principles and practices of community-engaged scholarship (CES). Working with one community partner (varies each semester), they applied their knowledge to develop a product to solve a problem brought forward by the community partner.
As a major component of the course (65%), the class partnered with the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH) to update the OAITH Femicide Database that was designed by an earlier graduate-level sociology class. They also created a femicide list with biographies and pictures of victims. Throughout the term, students worked in collaborative learning teams (3-5 students per group) to complete different elements of the project, before the class congregated to collaboratively construct the final product.
As one component of the course, students completed a community-focused learning project where they researched an organization whose mandate is related to crime-prevention. After selecting an organization, they planned a way that they could personally contribute to this organization and (after receiving approval from the course instructor) worked to enact their plan.
The evaluation of the Targeted Walk-In Service program (TWIS) was conducted in collaboration with Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington (CMHA-WW). This evaluation is made up of two components; a key informant interview study and a literature review. The key informant interviews were conducted with TWIS service providers to explore their insights regarding service delivery of the program and the implementation of client satisfaction surveys.
Author(s):
Kimbereley Goh, Melanie Davis, Aarabhi Rajendiran, Karen Nelson
Product(s):
Evaluation
Literature Review
Report
Program(s):
Research Shop
Project Partner(s):
Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington
This literature review was conducted by CESI's Research Associate for the Woman Abuse Council of Toronto as a part of the Canadian Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Committee (MARAC) Model program. It aims to review literature pertaining to risk factors that predict women’s vulnerability to intimate partner violence or intimate partner homicide, as well as identify current domestic violence risk assessment tools and provide an overview of their strengths and weakness.
This project was conducted in collaboration with the Community Resource Centre of North and Centre Wellington (CRC). Researchers designed and conducted a literature review to explore strategies or methods that can help identify, reach out to, and connect with youth who are experiencing (or are at risk of) homelessness in rural areas. The findings will inform the CRC's efforts to expand its outreach activities in rural Wellington County to provide support and services for youth who are experiencing or who are at risk of homelessness.
Author(s):
Jessica Lukawiecki, Alexandra Sawatzky, Viktorija Arsic, Dustin Brown
Product(s):
Literature Review
Report
Program(s):
Research Shop
Project Partner(s):
Community Resource Centre of North and Centre Wellington
This report was created in response to a request by Victim Services Wellington to examine victims' service use and referrals for Victim Crisis Assistance Ontario (VCAO). The project aimed to highlight the current state of affairs with respect to victims' service use, and better understand the policies and practices that may help increase the number of people using and being offered support by VCAO. Researchers conducted a literature review and a survey of VCAO sites across Ontario.
This project summary offers a short description of a project undertaken by the Community Engaged Scholarship Institute in collaboration with local consulting firms. Researchers produced an annotated bibliography and a literature review for the Nishnawbe Aski Nation in order to inform community-based food system planning and evaluation processes within four remote Ontario First Nations communities.
Author(s):
Melisa Choubak, Carla Giddings, Mary Ferguson, Emmett Ferguson, Janet Murray