Research Questions:

There are five major questions being considered:

1. What were the contextual factors and advocacy efforts that led to the creation of the citizen appointee position on the Hamilton Police Services Board?
2. How was the decision made to create this position, and who were the key stakeholders involved in this decision-making process?
3. How was the citizen appointee selected? How were the community members selected to serve on the selection committee, and what criteria guided their selection?
4. What is the intended purpose and scope of the citizen appointee role as originally envisioned?
5. How has the role functioned in practice during the appointee’s term?

Research Activities:

HARC will actively collaborate with the project team throughout the research process. This includes facilitating introductions to potential interview participants, providing access to relevant documentation and historical materials, participating in team meetings as needed, maintaining regular email communication, and assisting with the interpretation and presentation of findings. HARRC’s community connections and institutional knowledge will be essential to ensuring the project captures diverse perspectives and produces actionable recommendations.

Additional research activities may include:

• Conducting semi-structured interviews with key informants. These interviews will capture diverse perspectives on the decision-making process, implementation challenges, and opportunities for improvement.
• Analysis of relevant board meeting minutes, policy documents, terms of reference for the position, municipal reports, and any public communications about the citizen appointee role.
• Review comparable models of community participation in police oversight from other jurisdictions (if they exist) to identify best practices and alternative approaches.

The combined findings will inform recommendations for strengthening community engagement mechanisms and enhancing the effectiveness of future citizen appointee roles.

Research Questions: 

There are four major questions being considered:

1. What are the demographics?
2. How familiar are they, if at all, with FC’s existing programs and services?
3. How satisfied are they, if at all, with FC’s existing programs and services?
4. What direction should FC move in the community? What role do clients believe FC should play?

Research Activities:

The project will involve a quantitative survey study approach. FC will be available as needed to help with project scoping, onboarding, and troubleshooting. As well as, compiling a list of contactable clients and supporters for the survey and actively collaborating with the project team as needed.

Additional research activities includes:

• A filtering approach to accommodate respondents who may be both clients and supporters, while capturing segment-specific feedback where appropriate.
• The research will involve surveying FC’s clients and supporters, including volunteers, donors, and holiday gift program participants, through email and/or telephone.
• Analyze responses to identify demographic patterns, satisfaction levels, program awareness, and strategic priorities for organizational growth and development.

This research will be used internally to support strategic planning efforts and help FC better understand and serve their community programming and services.

Research Questions:

There are two major questions being considered:

1. What services, educational programs, resources, and supports currently exist in Hamilton to respond to and prevent elder abuse? 

• • Which organizations provide these services?
  • What types of elder abuse do these services address (financial abuse, neglect, physical/emotional abuse)?

2. What are the current gaps in services and supports for elder abuse prevention in Hamilton? 
   • What priority areas should HEAPN focus on for improved education and awareness programming?

Research Activities:

HEAPN will actively collaborate with the project team by inviting students to attend HEAPN monthly meetings, participate in team meetings as needed, maintain regular email communication, facilitate connections with HEAPN member organizations for interviews, and assist with all aspects of the approach, including the interpretation and presentation of findings.

The student team will be conducting an environmental scan of existing elder abuse programming, services, resources, and educational materials in Hamilton. As well as, supplementing this scan with key informant interviews with HEAPN member organizations.

The combined findings will determine the need for and feasibility of a subsequent project involving primary data collection with older adults in the community regarding their awareness of and access to elder abuse prevention supports.

Research Question:

There are two major questions being considered:

1. What does existing literature reveal about the achievement gap and sources of discrimination facing Black students in elementary schools (grades 3-8)?

o What have Black high school and post-secondary students in Hamilton reported about their elementary school experiences in existing community-level studies?

2. What community-based programs currently work with Black students in Hamilton, and what grade levels do they serve?

Research Activities:

ACCPI will actively collaborate with the project team throughout the project. This includes participating in team meetings as needed, maintaining regular email communication, and assisting with all aspects of the approach, as well as the interpretation and presentation of findings.

The student team will be reviewing academic/grey literature relating to the achievement gap and discrimination in elementary schooling, with a sub-analysis of community reports relating to elementary school experiences in Hamilton. As well as, Conducting an environmental scan mapping community-based programs working with Black students, identifying grade levels served and service gaps.

The project results will provide an evidence based report that  will support ACCPI in understanding the educational barriers facing Black elementary students in Hamilton and will serve as an internal resource to secure funding for a comprehensive research project.

Research Questions:

There are three major questions being considered:

1. What is the current landscape of palliative and end-of-life care service providers in Hamilton?
2. • What organizations, programs, and initiatives currently exist?
   • What populations do they serve and what services do they provide?
   • What populations do they serve and what services do they provide?

2. How do these organizations currently collaborate with one another?

3. What barriers exist to effective collaboration between palliative care agencies?

Research Activities: 

Compassionate Hamilton will actively collaborate with the project team throughout the project. This includes assisting with all aspects of the approach, facilitating connections with relevant stakeholders, and contributing to the interpretation and presentation of findings.

Additional research activities will include:

• Conducting an environmental scan of Hamilton’s palliative care service providers, including healthcare organizations, community agencies, faith-based groups, and volunteer networks.
• Conduct key informant interviews to assess the comprehensiveness of the mapping and fill in any gaps.

• Survey organizational representatives to understand collaboration patterns, resource flows, and identified gaps.

The project results will support Compassionate Hamilton in understanding the structure and gaps within Hamilton’s palliative care ecosystem. The findings will inform the organization’s role as a connector and facilitator, guide the development of their annual event and ongoing programming, and identify opportunities for strengthening collaboration among service providers.

Research Questions:

There are five major questions being considered:

1. Do taxi-based and/or other on-demand specialized transit models exist in other jurisdictions? Where have they been implemented (Ontario, Canada, internationally), what are their key design features and implementation considerations?
2. What does published literature (e.g., evaluations) reveal about the comparative performance of different specialized transit models in terms of cost-effectiveness, service quality, passenger satisfaction, and accessibility?
3. How do different specialized transit delivery models align (or not) with legislative requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and Ontario Human Rights Code, particularly regarding on-demand service, passenger-facing policies, and service equity?
4. Based on existing City of Hamilton data (ATS quarterly/annual reports, DARTS budgets, trip data), what are the actual operational costs of the current shared-ride system broken down by trip type, contractor, and service component?
5. Using cost modeling informed by Phase 1 findings and best practices from other jurisdictions, what would be the projected costs of implementing a taxi-based on-demand model in Hamilton.

Research Activities: 

Accessibility Hamilton Alliance will be:

• Sharing relevant background materials, including historical correspondence with City Council and previous advocacy materials.
• Assisting with identification and potential access to key data sources, particularly ATS reports and DARTS operational data.
• Providing expertise on the history of specialized transit in Hamilton and the disability community’s experiences.
• Reviewing and providing feedback on interim findings and draft deliverables
• Supporting interpretation of results in the context of Hamilton’s specific political and operational environment.

The student team will be:

• Conducting a comprehensive environmental scan of specialized transit delivery models with a particular focus on taxi-based and on-demand systems prioritizing Ontario jurisdictions, then expand to other Canadian provinces, and finally examine prominent international examples if needed.
• Reviewing both published academic research and grey literature (government reports, transit agency evaluations, policy documents) to identify information relevant to the phase 1 questions.
• Synthesizing findings to map the landscape of alternative models, identify transferable lessons for Hamilton, and assess alignment with AODA requirements and OHRC obligations.

The combined findings will provide an internal resource to support Accessibility Hamilton Alliance in building an evidence-based advocacy case for specialized transit reform.