Research & advocacy program
Community-driven research for social transformation
Bridging Concordia’s research capacity with our partners’ advocacy efforts to advance social transformation.
About the Program
SHIFT’s Research and Advocacy Program (RAP) connects Concordia researchers with community partners to drive social change. We help researchers address community priorities, build collaborations, and turn research into actions that make a difference.
Our program invites Concordia graduate students into a year-long collaboration with a Montréal community organization in a research project designed to serve the organization’s systems change goals.
Selected students work directly with community partners to understand their needs and create relevant research outputs that serve their work. At the same time, as a cohort, students participate in training and co-learning sessions to hone their capacity to conduct research that contributes meaningfully to social change work. Students also have access to SHIFT staff throughout their engagement for coaching and support.
How it works
The program has two phases.
Phase One: Groundwork
September 2025 - March 2026
Students are guided through the development of three sets of deliverables linked to their partner’s systems change goals:
- Power map
- Policy analysis
- Case studies
Phase Two: Activation
April - August 2026
Based on their work in Phase One, students develop and execute an "activation project” that supports their partner organization to put their findings to use. Examples include drafting public education materials, contributing to a campaign strategy, or creating presentations for community consultations.
DESTA Black Community Network
Expanding employment support for formerly incarcerated and soon-to-be-released people within the Black community
More information to come.
DESTA was founded in 2006 with a mandate to address both systemic and personal barriers to employment, such as justice involvement, housing, and lack of resources. DESTA’s mission centers on education, employability, and entrepreneurship.
Climate Justice Montreal: Beyond Fares
Turning existing popular support for free, expanded, and accessible transit into concrete wins
More information to come.
Climate Justice Montreal is a group pursuing environmental and climate justice through education, mobilization and collective action in solidarity with directly affected communities. The organization strives to act in solidarity by using anti-oppression and decolonization principles, making decisions by non-hierarchical consensus—these values inform and ground their public transit campaign.
Centre Kapwa
Advocating for more equitable and culturally relevant mental health services for Filipinx youths
More information to come.
Centre Kapwa is a non-profit organization decolonizing Filipinx-Canadian diaspora mental health and wellness through art, movement, and conversations. Its mission is to unlearn, unite, and uplift.
Growing A.R.C. : Flourishing for All
Meeting the needs of neighbourhoods vulnerable to displacement through urban agriculture strategies
More information to come.
As a self-described playground to activate, reciprocate, and cultivate relationships with earth and all beings, Growing A.R.C aims to increase biodiversity and strengthen ties with local natural resources.
Platform for the Self-determination of Racialized people in Research
Understanding ethics approval processes for by/for/with Black and racialized communities research projects
More information to come
The Platform for the Self-determination of Racialized People in Research (PSRR) creates collective spaces for those whose knowledge and lived experiences are often dismissed or invalidated in the research community, so they can come together, see themselves reflected in one another, and imagine new ways of doing things — together.
Welcome Haven: Family Reunification
Advocacy for decreasing timelines for family reunification for refugee claimants
More information to come.
The Welcome Haven Project is a community-based, participatory research project that brings regular psychosocial workshops to refugee claimant families in their communities in Montréal.
Brique par brique: Community Finance Knowledge Mobilization
Raising awareness about the transformative potential of community bonds in Quebec.
This research supports the impact and social activation campaign for a futurist documentary, produced using participatory methods, about community economic development. The project explores the history of social finance in Quebec, particularly lessons from local experiences with community bonds. The resulting video uses speculative approaches to explore future pathways for scaling up community bonds campaigns in Quebec. The research student works with the Brique par brique team to develop power maps, create targeted communications plans for the documentary, and support outreach to stakeholders for strategic screenings.
Brique par brique is a nonprofit organization founded in 2016 to respond innovatively to the need for affordable housing in the gentrifying and multicultural Parc-Extension neighbourhood. The organization raises community-based investments to fund the development of affordable housing and cultural spaces for residents facing systemic barriers.
Clark Street Reimagined: the JIA Foundation
Community-led housing and real estate for Montreal's Chinatown.
This research collaboration supports JIA Foundation's Clark Street Reimagined initiative by conducting a comprehensive overview of community-based real estate solutions including land trusts, community bonds, and real estate management co-ops.
Clark Street Reimagined is a community-led vision for housing and real estate in Montreal's Chinatown. The campaign focuses on three plots of land on Clark Street, which have been acquired by the City of Montreal with the intention of reselling to a community partner for developing non-market housing. In response to this opportunity, JIA Foundation launched Clark Street Reimagined to create a concept plan for a mixed-use housing project in collaboration with Chinatown residents, business owners, and non-profit organizations.
The research team will turn findings into community workshops on potential models for the Clark Street development. These sessions will provide space for neighbourhood stakeholders to offer input on JIA Foundation's proposal to the City.
Community Healing Days: Family Care Collective
Expanding access to alternative health services in Quebec.
This research collaboration supports the Family Care Collective’s efforts to expand access to alternative health services in Quebec through Community Healing Days, low-cost healing clinics offering traditional therapies to low income and marginalized folks who are underserved by the public healthcare system.
Tkà:nios (It Grows)
A sovereign, sustainable agri-food hub for Kahnawá:ke.