York Researchers Receive Federal Funding for Knowledge Mobilization Projects

Originally published by YFile (26 October 2023)

By Corey Allen, senior manager, research communications

Four York University researchers are among the latest recipients of Connection Grants from the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). 

Richard Saunders, Johanne Jean-Pierre and Yvonne Su from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, and S. Nombuso Dlamini from the Faculty of Education, were awarded the funding for various knowledge mobilization activities related to their different research projects.  

The grants fund activities like research events, workshops and community outreach, and are intended to spark new connections between academic and non-academic partners, and collaboration between the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. 

Saunders’ project, “Resource Nationalism and African Mining Policy Innovation: Mobilizing New Research and Engaging Key Stakeholders,” received $49,991. Saunders and his team will organize several outreach activities, including policy workshops on mining reform in Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, an international research conference at York, and a policy seminar in Ottawa for government officials, African diplomats and non-governmental organizations. Saunders, along with undergraduate and graduate students, will also produce policy briefs on mining sector reforms for distribution across multiple African and Canadian platforms. 

Jean-Pierre’s project, “Symposium: Designing a flourishing future and researching with Black communities in Canada,” received $13,934. The grant supports a conference to be held at York on Nov. 20, bringing together French- and English-speaking Black interdisciplinary scholars to discuss how to conduct research with Black Canadian communities ethically and effectively. Findings from the conference will be shared in a research brief and two open-access, peer-reviewed articles to improve research methods for social scientists and health scholars who engage with Black and other historically excluded populations.   

Su’s project, “Stories of Change: Listening to Global South Perspectives on Climate-Induced Migration,” received $49,945. The SSHRC funding will support a 10-episode educational podcast that will highlight Su and her colleagues’ research, while also focusing on the voices and stories of marginalized people and groups most impacted by climate change – displaced people and migrants, Indigenous communities and grassroots organizations in the Global South. Launch events for the podcast will also be held in Toronto, Nairobi and Berlin.  

Dlamini’s project, “Exploring Connections between Black Youth Civic Participation & Identity,” received $40,636. The project, which also includes York’s Godfred Boateng and Tannaz Zargarian from the University of Fraser Valley, will involve a workshop and two webinars on the access and management of data on the contributions of Black people to Canada. The events will highlight existing and new Canadian research on Black youth civic participation and bring together scholars, youth and community service workers. A hands-on “DIY toolkit” on data access, collection, analysis and management will also be developed for students and service worker participants.  

The four York researchers were among the 64 awardees across the country to receive the latest round of Connection Grants from the SSHRC totalling $1,910,441.  

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