George Brown College social innovation research projects will receive nearly $2 million in funding over the next three years. They include projects aimed at connecting young children in urban areas to nature, improving workplace supports for people with disabilities and addressing food insecurity and isolation among college and university students.
Six George Brown research projects were funded to create improved solutions to societal challenges while forging important community and industry partnerships and providing hands-on learning opportunities for students.
Ana Rita Morais, Chair of the School of Design, is leading the PEACE (PrE-surgicAl CarE) project that will bring design and health care data together to improve pre-surgical patient care. Morais and her team will be working with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
“Design holds tremendous powers of making data, information and ultimately knowledge at large more accessible to the public. In the face of COVID-19, initiatives like PEACE could help streamline procedures and ensure that healthcare professionals have the time and energy to focus on essential services," says Morais. "We feel incredibly blessed to be working with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and we’re looking forward to further cultivating this partnership.”
Dr. Robin Yap, a professor at the Centre for Business, will focus his research on Canadian newcomers in AI and robot-enabled workplace cultures.
“I’m excited about learning what human competencies will emerge when we start working in environments where there’s convergences of advanced technologies like AI-enabled robots and mixed realities," says Yap.
A communal meal program aims to address issues around student well-being at colleges and universities. Jennifer Mitsche, a professor at the Centre for Preparatory and Liberal Studies, will lead the project, which had to be revised due to COVID-19.
“I’m looking forward to the reimagined online element of the project. In response to physical distancing requirements, the research team is developing a website which will be a virtual table where students can meet and share resources, be guided to create meals, learn how to stock a pantry and plan meals, and participate in virtual community lunches," Mitsche says. “The online presence will complement the in-person lunch project when students eventually return to colleges and universities, providing hybrid opportunities for students to stay connected and develop food knowledge.”
The nearly $2 million provided by the College and Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) will be awarded over three years. George Brown has launched 20 CCSIF projects involving 23 community and eight post-secondary partners to date.
research & Innovation at George Brown College
George Brown College’s 2020 CCSIF-funded projects
Design thinking to optimize PrE-surgicAl CarE (PEACE): using big data for holistic and integrated patient care
Principal Investigator: Ana Rita Morais
Partner: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
In Ontario, medical professionals perform approximately 350,000 complex surgeries per year requiring a preoperative assessment to evaluate patient health, coordinate care needs, and assess the risk of adverse events. With an aging Canadian population, patients require more complex care putting an immense pressure on clinics to perform full preoperative assessments in a timely manner. At Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre alone, over 700 patients are seen each month. The PEACE project will create an e-health platform for pre-surgical patient care in collaboration with healthcare professionals, interactive designers, patients and caregivers to support sustainable and progressive patient care.
Designing and implementing environmental inquiry strategies in urban early years programs in Canada to support healthy development and environmental awareness
Principal Investigator: Dr. Monica McGlynn-Stewart
Partners: Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study Laboratory School at the University of Toronto, The Learning Enrichment Foundation, Toronto Early Learning and Child Care Services
This project will explore the complexities of connecting young children to nature in urban areas and address the gap in knowledge on children’s active engagement in environmental inquiry and the training that early years educators receive. Changes, challenges, growth, and practices will be documented to develop a framework and identify the necessary resources for integrating environmental inquiry, including Indigenous perspectives on land-based learning to transform existing early years’ environmental inquiry programs. It will be made available to Canadian childcare centres, schools, and educator pre-service programs.
Impact of a Canadian newcomer's country of origin's culture on AI and robot-enabled Canadian workplace culture
Principal Investigator: Dr. Robin Yap
Partners: CultureLink Settlement and Community Services, TELUS, TD Bank, XYZ Storage
The Canadian workplace is rapidly evolving with the introduction of new technologies to increase productivity. Concurrently, many workplaces are employing Canadian newcomers with a diverse set of backgrounds and experiences. For companies and organizations to thrive in the coming decade and beyond, they must be able to leverage new technology and the strengths of newcomer talent. However, the challenges lie in varying work ethics and work culture experience. This research will answer the question: What is the impact of a newcomer’s culture on Canadian workplace culture where artificial intelligence and robotics are installed?
Job Talks Access: Innovative National Surveys and Video Series of Workers with Disabilities
Principal Investigator: Dr. Jon Callegher
Partners: Canadian National Institute for the Blind Foundation, Q.I. Value Systems, The Career Foundation
Job Talks Access will conduct two national surveys and create a video series to understand the underlying values, emotions and goals among persons with disabilities to support the development of employment support programs and toolkits for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind Foundation, the Career Foundation, and their partners. These resources will benefit employers, particularly those in the private sector who are less prepared to hire persons with disabilities. It also seeks to comprehend the underlying drivers related to job satisfaction, especially as the proportion of employees with disabilities increases as the workforce ages.
Supporting Peer Work
Principal Investigator: Dr. Griffin Epstein
Partners: Toronto Drop-In Network, Working for Change
The transformative potential of the peer work service remains under-utilized and under-realized as peer workers in drop-in programs face structural and funding barriers to adequately perform their duties. The Supporting Peer Work project takes a community-based participatory research approach to improve service outcomes for members of Toronto’s marginalized communities by increasing the drop-in sector’s capacity to integrate relevant, equitable and sustainable peer work. The project will sustain and expand peer work by developing resources for drop-in Boards of Directors, managers and supervisors to create innovative training and employment opportunities for peer workers.
The Communal Lunch Project: Building capacity in programming to support student well-being
Principal Investigator: Jennifer Mitsche
Partners: Joshna Maharaj, Meal Exchange, Peer Mentor +
The Communal Lunch Project addresses two issues disproportionately represented in the post-secondary student population: food insecurity and social isolation. In partnership with Meal Exchange and Joshna Maharaj and with support from George Brown College's Peer Mentor + program, a weekly recipe is broken down and each student is asked to bring one ingredient. On the day of the lunch, students collectively build a healthy, inexpensive meal, interact and learn from their peers, and develop self-care strategies. The program will develop, pilot, and assess a communal lunch framework and training program to support post-secondary student well-being across Canada. It will also include a website which will address the challenges that students may face in the next year. The lunch project website will be a virtual table where students can meet and share resources, be guided to create meals using the ingredients they have in their homes, learn how to stock a pantry and plan meals, and participate in virtual community lunches.
