The Honourable Kathleen Weil at a press conference at Concordia on April 23, 2018.
Of the total amount, $350,000 will go to support QUESCREN, a unit of the School of Community and Public Affairs, and the remaining $600,000 will support research and outreach activities by the unit’s community partners.
“This furthers our mission of community engagement by supporting QUESCREN in developing research projects in collaboration with our Quebec community partners,” says Chedly Belkhodja, principal of the School of Community and Public Affairs and QUESCREN co-director.
QUESCREN’s projects include supporting the priorities of its Inter-Level Educational Table, as well as building and developing research capacity in studies related to English-speaking communities of Quebec — a research field that has historically been underfunded.
The grant will also allow QUESCREN to build a core team of researchers and stakeholders to plan and apply for major grants. Four students will be hired and tasked with priority research projects, one of which will be a baseline study to lay the foundation for an internship program with the provincial government.
In addition, QUESCREN’s conferences and community events, as well as its forum, “Minority Community Vitality through Education,” will receive funding support. A feasibility study that explores the possibility of establishing a Centre for Excellence in Social Economy in the School of Community and Public Affairs will also be conducted in collaboration with QUESCREN’s partners.
“We are most grateful for this grant that will position QUESCREN as a leader in research on English communities across the province of Quebec,” says André Roy, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science.
Partners in research
This project is funded by the Secrétariat aux relations avec les Québécois d’expression anglaise.
Launched in November 2017, the Secretariat works in close collaboration with English-speaking community organizations and institutions as well as government ministries and bodies to ensure that the concerns of English-speaking Quebecers are taken into account in government directions and decisions.
QUESCREN is a collaborative network of researchers, stakeholders, educational and other institutions that was established in 2008 to improve how Quebec’s English-speaking communities are understood and to promote their vitality.
Find out more about the School of Community and Public Affairs and the Quebec English-speaking Communities Research Network.
