Two research partnerships between McMaster and the Hamilton community have been awarded funding to bolster their impact on the university’s hometown.
The Community-Engaged Research Awards recognized EMBOLDEN: Getting Out For Health and the 2SLGBTQ+ Community Archives during a recent celebration at McMaster’s One James North space in downtown Hamilton.
“Universities can change lives, neighbourhoods and cities for the better, and are about so much more than tuition and students, grants and labs, patents and publications,” said Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning) Kim Dej, the acting director of the Office of Community Engagement (OCE).
“It’s also about being genuinely anchored in the community, taking the role of the anchor institution seriously, and discharging that role in creative, inclusive, and inspiring ways. This day is an excellent demonstration of the work that we do in partnership with the Hamilton community.”
Mobility and health for older adults
The EMBOLDEN study, supported by an interdisciplinary team from the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA), received the $10,000 President’s Award for Community-Engaged Research (PACER), which aims to sustain or scale efforts of established projects with demonstrated impact.
Designed in partnership with community participants and care providers, the EMBOLDEN program, which promotes mobility, health and well-being in older adults, reports high satisfaction and meaningful improvements for participants who take part and help shape the program.
“We co-designed this intervention based on a deep understanding of the local context in eight neighbourhoods in Hamilton and two in Toronto, building on local assets and an understanding of gaps in the community landscape”, said study co-lead Rebecca Ganann, an associate professor of Nursing.
“This award is a recognition of what we’ve collectively achieved and will help us continue to grow this work in other communities.”
The 2SLGBTQ+ Community Archives
Documenting Hamilton’s queer past is the focus of the 2SLGBTQ+ Community Archives project, which was awarded $10,000 for Grassroots Community-Engaged Research through the OCE.
The archives have been built upon a founding donation from the estate of Michael Johnstone, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 72. His collection includes more than 50 years of 2SLGBTQ+ history in Hamilton recorded in documents such as news clippings, photos, and newsletters.
This project is co-directed by Amber Dean, professor of English and Cultural studies, with Cole Gately as the community steward.
Funding provided through this award will go toward documenting more storytelling from community elders and making the collection more accessible through the online portal, said Dean.
She recalled a young person coming up to organizers during a roundtable session with queer elders last summer and asking where they could learn more about local queer history, citing a lack of dedicated community space for 2SLGBTQ+ people in Hamilton.
“That moment emphasized to me why it’s important that we capture some of these stories about the queer and trans past in Hamilton; these very local stories that otherwise don’t get passed on to younger generations,” said Dean.
“I think that intergenerational component is what’s so exciting about the community building parts of this project.”
McMaster President Susan Tighe, who presented the winners with their awards, said she knows from her own community-based research in civil engineering that the work takes a lot of effort and patience that deserves to be celebrated for its impact.
“McMaster and the city of Hamilton have always been closely interconnected, and I believe we are both stronger together,” said Tighe.
The winners were selected by a committee comprised of representatives from McMaster and the broader Hamilton community, with a total of nine nominations overall.
You can learn more about the nominees for PACER and for the Grassroots awards here.
Strong community-campus partnerships
The CER Awards Celebration was part of a full day Community Engaged Research Conference hosted by McMaster’s OCE. This year’s conference brought together researchers, students, and community partners for a full day of collaboration and shared learning, centered on the theme of Knowledge Mobilization in Community-Engaged Research.
The conference highlighted how knowledge is created, shared, and activated through strong community–campus partnerships, featuring a keynote by Sarina Isenberg and David Rayfield, collaborators on the Roots of Wisdom project.
A day-long Research Gallery showcased a wide range of community-engaged projects led by students, faculty, and community partners, sparking dialogue, curiosity, and connection and underscoring McMaster’s growing commitment to community-centred research.