Eight researchers at St. Francis Xavier University are sharing more than $315,000 in federal funding to support projects that bring together researchers, community organizations and policymakers to tackle a wide range of societal challenges.
The funding, provided through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), will support research into climate action in Mi’kma’ki, early literacy education, responsible quantum technology governance, women’s participation in municipal politics and digital humanities.
According to David Bruce, Director of Research Grants in the University’s Research Services Group, the funding is important because it provides researchers with the resources they need to work alongside community partners on issues that matter.
“This funding allows faculty members to have the necessary resources to carry out research projects that they, along with community partners and others, have identified as being of interest and importance to them,” Bruce said. “Without those financial resources, it’s very difficult to cover the costs of doing that kind of work.”
Bruce says the benefits extend well beyond the researchers themselves.
Students involved in the projects will gain practical experience by working directly with faculty members, while other students across campus will benefit as research findings are incorporated into classroom instruction.
“They will be learning critical research skills, developing their confidence and abilities… to do interviews, to manage data, to present work in public forums,” Bruce said. “This sets them up for success in their future endeavours.”
The largest grant, nearly $200,000 over three years, was awarded to Dr. Jon Langdon for a project that will bring together Mi’kmaw water protectors, environmental organizations and researchers from across Atlantic Canada to explore approaches to decarbonization, democratization and decolonization in Mi’kma’ki.
Bruce says one of the strengths of the project is that it creates opportunities for organizations already doing similar work to collaborate more effectively.
“Many of these local and regional community-based nonprofit organizations are working more or less on their own… and often they don’t have the time or resources to connect with one another in a meaningful way,” he explained. “The basis of this project is going to create those opportunities and spaces for groups across the Maritimes to regularly get together and do that very important work of learning from one another.”
Bruce says partnership grants like these also provide significant value to municipalities, community organizations and non-profit groups by connecting them with university expertise.
“These funding programs… create really important opportunities for communities, community groups, municipalities, and many other entities to tap into the expertise and abilities of researchers at universities like StFX at little or no cost to them,” Bruce said.
He added that community organizations with research questions or emerging challenges are encouraged to reach out to the university, noting that StFX faculty are often eager to collaborate and help identify funding opportunities that can support projects benefiting communities across Nova Scotia.
