In the summer of 2009, as part of the initial grant for KM pilot projects at York University and University of Victoria, the two institutions developed a competitive, adjudicated process for Faculty Incentive Grants for teams of researchers and their partners to address research issues with relevant public policy and/or professional practice implications. Here is a summary of one of these projects:
Drs. Stephen Gaetz (York) and Bernie Pauly (UVic) were Principal Investigators on a project designed to establish a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of programs that address ways of ending homelessness. Their project activity included research and development of an evaluative framework, which resulted in a one-day workshop held on September 24, 2009 at York. The workshop focused on reviewing the project findings, as well as discussing next steps.
The project team identified the following outcomes:
Completion of two literature reviews- Building research relationships between the two institutions
- Strengthened links between academic researchers and community partners
- Creation of new knowledge (evaluation, best-practices, KM framework)
- Future KM planning in homelessness program evaluation
- Completion of an application to the Homeless Partnering Strategy for October 2009
- Supporting local program evaluation efforts through information sharing from literature reviews
Despite the tight timelines, the deliverables along with strengthened and (in some cases) expanded relationships have made this project a success. In the words of the PI’s,
“We were successful in creating a functioning research team and creating the knowledge of program evaluation and best practices.”
“The two literature reviews were useful not only as a process for learning, but a key outcome are the summaries of this important work. York is preparing a final report summarizing evaluation practices and UVic is developing a report highlighting best practices in ending homelessness and evaluation in the homelessness sector”.