Research Questions:

1. There are three major questions:
   What are the practical, decision-making outcomes of Ontario municipalities’ implementation of provincially-mandated Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committees?
2. Are municipalities making binding decisions based on recommendations/motions/requests from MAACs (i.e., motions that make physical changes to space, create bylaws, spend funds, etc.)?
3. What is the demographic makeup of MAACs in select cities in Ontario?

Research Activities:

The project will involve secondary research, including analysis of meeting minutes and related documents from select municipalities over the past two to four years. The research will focus on single-tier municipalities governed under the Municipalities Act and will not include the City of Toronto or counties due to additional legislative complexity. Hamilton and Guelph will be included as priority cases.
Additional research activities may include:

• Review of city council minutes to track implementation of MAAC recommendations
• Analysis of accessibility reports and committee structures
• Consultation with city clerks’ offices to understand document storage and reporting processes
• If time permits, interviews with MAAC members from various cities about their experiences

Research Questions: 

The primary research questions include:

1. Perception & Recruitment Impact
   How does this film influence public perceptions of female firefighters and affect interest/recruitment in fire service careers?
2. Audience Reach & Engagement
   What is the reach of the film across different screening venues and demographics? How do various audiences (e.g., general public, young women, current firefighters) respond to the film’s messaging and representation?
3. Promotion & Amplification
   Which social media strategies and promotional content are most effective in amplifying the film’s visibility and impact?

Research Activities:

The project will involve a mixed-methods impact assessment approach including:

Primary Research:

• Post-screening surveys (QR code-linked) distributed at film festival venues, symposium events, camp FFIT sessions, and focus groups
• Focus groups (in-person or virtual) with different target audiences (e.g. youth – in partnership with the YWCA youth group, general public, current firefighters)
• Online screenings and virtual focus groups used to expand reach and include diverse participant groups

Secondary Research:

• Social media impact analysis tracking reach, engagement, and audience response across platforms
• Attendance and viewership data collection across screening venues

Analysis of promotional content effectiveness

Research Questions:

• Who is Mishka currently serving across all programs? What are the key demographic characteristics of clients?
• What data collection gaps exist, and what additional questions should be incorporated into intake processes?

Research Activities:

A student team will begin by cataloguing, classifying, and cleaning existing data from all program intakes across Mishka’s eight Hamilton programs and Niagara services. The team will conduct initial analysis to identify demographic patterns, service utilization trends, and geographic distribution of clients (dependent on available data). Following feedback from Mishka staff and recommended stakeholders, the team will complete a comprehensive analysis and provide a detailed report on findings.

Research Question:

What is the economic impact of St. George Apple Fest?

Research Activities:

The project will use the Tourism Regional Economic Impact Model (TREIM) to estimate the economic impact of the festival based on visitor spending. This will require:

• Designing and implementing a comprehensive visitor spending survey to capture expenditures on accommodation, food and beverage, transportation, shopping, and entertainment
• Develop and execute a systematic random sampling strategy across the festival weekend to ensure representative data collection
• Conduct on-site data collection during festival hours (September 20^th and 21^st)
• Obtain reliable weekend attendance estimates

If the research team has capacity, they may also develop and administer a vendor feedback survey to understand business impacts and satisfaction.

Research Questions:

• What barriers do equity-deserving families (e.g., racialized, low-income, newcomer, Indigenous, single-parent, disabled families) face when navigating the CWELCC system in Ontario?
• What demographic patterns exist in program waitlists?
  • What questions could be added to intake processes to better understand these dynamics?
    • Ethical/principled approaches to collecting data
  • What mechanisms (e.g., prioritization criteria, targeted supports) could be used to ensure equitable access during CWELCC implementation?
    • What role can childcare service providers and municipalities play in advancing equitable access?

Research Activities: 

A student team will start with a scan for published research and other literature exploring: a) access barriers to public childcare programming in Ontario/Canada, and b) national and international practices on equitable access and waitlist management. If available, the team will also analyze available waitlist data provided by Today’s Family. Upon reviewing these results, the Research Shop manager will explore the need for and feasibility of a subsequent project involving primary data collection.

Research Activities:

The primary activity will be interviews with workers who filed ESA claims from 2020 to 2024. During the claims process:

1. Did claimants feel informed about their rights?
2. How accessible and user-friendly was the process?
3. What challenges or barriers did they face during the claims process?
4. What additional resources or supports could have improved their experience?

If sufficient time/capacity, the Research Shop team may also conduct a small number of key informant interviews with legal clinic staff/other frontline staff who’ve supported workers with preparing and submitting ESA claims to get their perspective on the barriers.