By Jeromy Corrigan

Community Enhancement Research at GPRC receives funding

Nov 27, 2018 | 9:17 AM

Tuesday morning the Grande Prairie Regional College announced their newest Community Enhancement Research project has been been approved for funding.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada will be contributing more than $200,000 to the project over the course of a two-year period.

Support is also going to be provided to the research from the City of Grande Prairie – Community and Social Development, Community Foundation of Northwestern Alberta, RCMP Grande Prairie Detachment, Sunrise House, and the Jasper Community Team for a combined value of around $18,000 with the College contributing an additional $19,000 in-kind.

Project Director Dr. Connie Korpan and Researcher Dawn Moffat McMaster, along with their co-searchers will be seeking input from several community stakeholders who serve youth when it comes to the development of community-relevant research protocols. Interview research will then be conducted in both Grande Prairie and Jasper.

They will also use the Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), which involves recruiting GPRC students and other young people in the community to act as co-researchers. 

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“This research represents the first regional use of YPAR,” stated Korpan in a press release from the GPRC.

“Using YPAR will help us address biases and blind spots that can otherwise skew research. Our hope is that the young co-researchers will gain a means of contributing to social change and feel empowered by the experience.” 

“Community Social Development is excited to partner in this project,” said Jeremy Landon, Youth Community Development Coordinator with the City of Grande Prairie. “Being part of a community collaboration like this allows us to strengthen our community partnerships and make sure that we collectively provide the best services to the youth of Grande Prairie.”

“It’s really exciting to be able to participate as a valued member on this project,” said Tracey Vavrek, CEO of the Community Foundation of Northwestern Alberta. “With Grande Prairie’s current demographics, our city having such a young population, this research is key for all of us to understand our community.”

“The College is grateful to have been once again selected for this funding,” said Dr. Andrew Dunlop, Director of GPRC Research and Innovation. “The reviewers have clearly recognized the value of supporting community-partnered social innovation. This project will break new ground in social science methodology, and, for the first time, extend one of GPRC’s major research initiatives into the West Yellowhead area.”

“GPRC continues to demonstrate excellence in social innovation research, which we are proud to support at the executive level,” said Dr. Kazem Mashkournia, Interim Vice-President of Academics and Research at GPRC. “We would like to express gratitude to our community partners in Jasper and Grande Prairie and to SSHRC for their confidence in this project.”

This project is a part of the Community Enhancement Research initiative at GPRC.