SSHRC Supports $950,000 Community-University Research Program

Posted January 31, 2003


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 31, 2003 2003-01-19-AR

SSHRC Supports $950,000 Community-University Research Program

With the help of a $400,000 federal grant, University of Saskatchewan
researchers and their Saskatoon community partners will undertake an almost
$950,000 research program aimed at helping to solve local problems such as
child poverty, housing shortages, and community health issues.

In 1999, the Community-University Institute for Social Research (CUISR)
received $1.3 million over three years from the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and other community and university
partners. Now with another $400,000 from SSHRC and $546,920 in cash and
in-kind support from the U of S and community partners for the next two
years, the institute will review and expand its action-based,
community-oriented research.

The new funding will provide for 20 new projects. So far, more than 40
projects have been undertaken by CUISR in collaboration with its community
partners.

"The projects undertaken by CUISR have helped to build a more caring and
inclusive community and have provided extensive graduate student training
opportunities," said Bryan Harvey, U of S Acting Vice-President Research.
"This is not research that sits on a shelf - it's research that is having an
impact on many aspects of the social and economic lives of Saskatoon
residents and will assist policy makers."

Among CUISR's preliminary research findings:

- Street prostitutes were arrested three times more often than "johns",
received harsher sentences and were on average 23 years younger than the men
charged, according to a study of Saskatoon arrests made under section 213 of
Canada's Criminal Code (communicating to buy or sell sex). Local initiatives
such as the community-based rehabilitation program Operation Help are
addressing social and economic problems that drive women to sell sex. This
research may bring about changes in the Criminal Code.

- Community groups and business partners are working on a design concept and
business plan to develop neighborhood-based grocery stores along with a
warehouse for local produce and a resource centre for on-the-job training.
The departure of Saskatoon's full-size grocery stores from low-income
neighborhoods has made shopping difficult for people with little access to
transportation.

- Gays, lesbians, and bi-sexuals have a shorter life expectancy and face a
greater rate of health problems, such as depression, suicide, smoking, and
substance abuse, than the heterosexual population. These problems result
from coping with society's negative responses to sexual orientation. The
result is that homophobia is costing Canada millions of dollars annually.
www.usask.ca/cuisr/Publications/currentnews.pdf

- In partnership with CUISR, The Star-Phoenix newspaper published a special
26-page insert on January 20, 2001 entitled "Taking the Pulse" that
describes and interprets the Saskatoon quality-of-life survey results. This
was an innovative way of sharing new knowledge with citizens in 76,000
homes, in addition to the more traditional academic journal articles.
www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/specials/pulse/pulsecity.html

The SSHRC grant is a "testament to the co-operation and trust that has been
fostered among community groups and university academics over the past three
years and that will continue into the future," said CUISR co-director and
geography professor Jim Randall.

"Although we are still going to be taking on new projects and will continue
to build relationships across organizations, we are now entering a phase
where we will be assessing our impact on policy change, on building research
capacity, and determining whether our activities have made a difference in
the lives of Saskatoon and Saskatchewan residents."

"CUISR is a solid partnership between community and university researchers
determined to find better answers to chronic problems plaguing our city,"
said community CUISR co-director Kate Waygood, a Saskatoon city councillor.
"This research gives more people in Saskatoon a voice in policy discussions
and debates, and is having a cumulative impact on the community."

To date, 36 reports have been published from the research and more than 13
peer-reviewed articles have been published or are in the works.

There are 14 researchers and eight community partners involved with the
latest grant: City of Saskatoon, Quint Development Corporation, Saskatoon
Health Region, the United Way of Saskatoon, the Saskatoon Credit Union,
Saskatoon Communities for Children, the Saskatoon Regional Economic
Development Authority, and The StarPhoenix.

CUISR will host an international conference May 8-10 at the Saskatoon Delta
Bessborough on how partnerships among universities, community groups,
government, and the private sector are initiated and maintained. More
information is available at: www.usask.ca/cuisr/cuexpo

For more information about CUISR, visit: www.usask.ca/cuisr For information
about SSHRC, visit: www.sshrc.ca
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For more information, contact:

James Randall
Professor of Geography
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-5678
jim.randall@usask.ca

Councillor Kate Waygood
Community Development Worker
Saskatoon District Health
(306) 655-4950
waygoodk@sdh.sk.ca

Kathryn Warden
Research Communications Officer
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2506
kathryn.warden@usask.ca

Dore Dunne
SSHRC Media Relations Officer
(613)-992-7302 or 371-0105
dore.dunne@sshrc.ca