Mission

• To increase the capacity of community-based organizations in Ottawa to carry out research and evaluation and use evidence-based information to more effectively serve the community and improve quality of life

• To facilitate research/evaluation partnerships and promote sharing and dissemination of information and best practices among universities, community based organizations and the broader community.

Vision

CBRNO aspires to be an inclusive, collaborative, community/university partnership that focuses on community based services and social change through shared evidence-based information.

• Teaching/Learning by Focusing on Skill Building
• Linking/Brokering
• Building and Sharing Knowledge
• Influencing the Social Policy Process
  

Principles/Values

• A participatory/collaborative inclusive approach
• A multidisciplinary approach
• A recognition of equal partnership between universities and the community
• A transparent, open process leading to participatory decision-making
• A flexible and adaptable approach
• Promotion of respectful and constructive interpersonal relationships
• Community Based Research (CBR) which values:
  - The use of a wide range of research models to support CBR
  - The importance of useful, user-friendly research/evaluation that is beneficial to the community
  - The importance of high quality research/evaluation that focuses on the process of community engagement, is technically competent and uses a range of methods and reporting mechanisms.
  

Background

The impetus for the establishment of the Network grew out of experience in the graduate research course at the Carleton University School of Social Work in which agencies submit proposals for student research or evaluation projects. The number of proposals has increased steadily over time, clearly demonstrating a need. Subsequent discussions between faculty and community agencies resulted in the establishment, in 1999, of the Network.

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Current Activities

Lunch and Learn Sessions:

• CBRNO has been hosting the highly popular bi-monthly Lunch & Learn sessions since 2001.
• Topics have ranged from Law Reform and community research, to how to write a successful research funding proposal.

Peer Learning Sessions:

• Peer learning sessions began in the fall of 2004 as an effort to harness local expertise by bringing grassroots practitioners and community people together to share their knowledge about a given topic. They consist of 3 or 4 sessions, facilitated by local experts in the field.
• Our first session focused on the question: How can we evaluate community development and advocacy work?
• More recently, Sean Moore (a public policy expert) led a series on effective public policy advocacy for NGO Board members, agency executive directors and staff.

Community Based Research Workshops:

• CBRNO will be hosting a series of workshops on community based research (CBR) in partnership with the Wellesley Institute (Toronto). Carleton University's Faculty of Public Affairs will award a Certificate of Participation to those who complete a certain number of workshops.
• A first series of (6) topics was given monthly from January-June 2007: An introduction to CBR, ethical issues in research, how to run a focus group, how to design client satisfaction surveys, how to conduct individual interviews, and how to do a literature review.
• A second set of topics is planned for the fall 2008/2009. For more information consult Upcoming Events.
  

CBRNO: A Success Story

You just never know where the ripples will go when you drop a pebble!
CBRNO has always been on the lookout for ideas from the community for workshops and skill development. In 2003 we heard from several people interested in methods for evaluating community development. Many of the participants in our Lunch and Learn and Peer Learning Sessions were community developers working across the city and through the peer learning sessions they came together as a group and successfully applied for funding from United Way/Centraide Ottawa to implement their designs. They coordinated their efforts and built a practice based on solid evidence.
This proves once again that a little support and encouragement can go a long way, and that developing tools builds a culture of learning communities.

Steering Committee Members:

• Amethyst Women's Addiction Centre
• Eastern Ontario Council on Mental Health and Deafness
• Centretown Community Health Centre
• Family Services à la Famille Ottawa
• M. Rowe Consulting Services
• Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organisation (OCISO)
• School of Social Work, Carleton University
• Social Planning Council of Ottawa
• United Way/Centraide Ottawa

CBRNO would like to express its high appreciation to the United Way/Centraide Ottawa for its administrative and logistical support provided under the UW/CO Network Support Initiative.

CBRNO Evaluation

The Community Based Research Network of Ottawa has just released "Evaluation Report 2004: Community Based Research of Ottawa (CBRNO)"

CBRNO undertook an evaluation process to take the pulse of the network's members - to understand their knowledge of CBRNO activities, their feelings about how CBRNO is doing, and to solicit input for possible future directions. 60 members responded to an email survey, or participated in semi-structured interviews.

THE FINDINGS:

The response to the activities currently provided by CBRNO was overwhelmingly positive:

• There is a real urgency in the community for research and evaluation. The network fills a gap which other social research agencies cannot fill (e.g.: the value and promotion of community-based research).
• CBRNO itself is seen as highly valuable
• The workshops, symposiums and website are extremely successful, and have contributed to a positive appreciation for community based research in Ottawa. They have also provided much appreciated skills and resources.
• A majority of survey participants stated that the network had helped them to increase their capacity to conduct research and evaluation

Recommendations for future work included:

• Build stronger links with universities
• Provide in-depth training opportunities for both practitioners and students
• Continue to advocate around the importance of community based research

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