The Ontario Council of Alternative Businesses is committed to local and community levels of support, research and opportunity.

Grassroots Research: Community Based Research and Peer Research Consultants

As part of our mandate to develop new and innovative employment opportunities, the Ontario Council of Alternative Businesses (OCAB) has conducted a variety of community based research projects for other non-profits, community agencies, and academic institutions.

Over the past few years, more and more organizations and academic institutions are recognizing the importance and usefulness of community based research. Individuals who live in or are part of a particular community are often very effective in carrying out research projects as they typically have an in depth understanding of issues such as poverty and homelessness and they may be able to engage research participants more effectively than a professional.

The peer researchers learn a number of transferable skills through the training they receive. They also gain information about a variety of issues (boarding homes, bed bugs, peer support) while earning an hourly wage that is usually significantly higher than the provincial minimum.

The OCAB Co-Directors, Dr. Joyce Brown and Becky McFarlane who both have considerable research expertise, supervise each project.

The process

At the outset of each research project, the community based researchers attend a number of training sessions on topics such as:

• Research ethics and confidentiality
• The difference between qualitative and quantitative research and how to decide on the appropriate methodology
• How to develop a questionnaire
• Interviewing techniques
• Facilitation training and practice in conducting a focus group
• The importance of note taking
• Data compilation and analysis

The community researchers work with an experienced research professional throughout the entire process and attend a number of meetings as the work progresses. When the data is gathered and collated, the community researchers participate in analyzing the results. The senior researcher then writes a draft report, which is circulated to the community researchers for further comment.

Since 2004 the Ontario Council of Alternative Businesses has partnered with several organizations to advocate for consumer/survivor employment.

OCAB's History in Community Based Research

• In 2004 OCAB trained 6 peer researchers to conduct interviews with PARC members to gather data on their work histories as well as their employment aspirations. Voices from the Street evolved in part as a response to the desire of PARC members to be more involved in social service/advocacy work.
  
  
• In 2006, OCAB completed a research project for Trinity Square Enterprises, facilitating focus groups of program participants and conducting interviews with staff to evaluate the training aspect of the enterprise.
  
  
• In 2007/08 OCAB and Habitat Services undertook a research project to examine barriers to employment for tenants in Habitat Boarding Homes. The project trained five Habitat tenants in the process of community research. The training (7 half-day sessions) covered a variety of topics including: qualitative and quantitative research, issues of confidentiality, interview techniques, facilitation skills, and data analysis. Five focus groups were held with 47 Habitat tenants to obtain information on employment histories, barriers to employment experienced by boarding home tenants, and suggestions for change.
  
  
• In 2008, OCAB and members of Voices from the Street were contracted to conduct research on the efficacy of education on the issue of bedbugs in boarding homes. The researchers completed 134 interviews with boarding home tenants and 15 interviews with boarding home operators.
  
  
• Habitat Services, the Parkdale Activity-Recreation Centre and OCAB are currently working on a research project on peer support in the mental health sector. The results of this research will be used to develop a model of peer support for a new housing project. Five focus groups and approximately 20 individual interviews will be completed over the course of the project.
  
  
• OCAB is currently working with the Centre for Urban and Community Studies at the University of Toronto on a project that will gather information about the living conditions of tenants in rooming houses in Parkdale and document the gentrification that has occurred in the area over the past 15 years. Two focus groups and approximately 100 individual interviews will be completed.

Contact
Joyce Brown or Becky McFarlane
Phone: (416) 504-1693
Email: jmbrown@on.aibn.com or becky@on.aibn.com