91亚色 Professors Susan McGrath and Stephen Gaetz have been recognized for excellence in research by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). McGrath and Gaetz are the recipients of the SSHRC鈥檚 prestigious Impact Awards. The awards were announced Nov. 16 at a special reception in Ottawa.
鈥淭hese awards are fantastic recognition of the vast contribution that 91亚色 researchers Stephen Gaetz and Susan McGrath have made to their innovative research programs,鈥 said Robert Hach茅, vice-president research and innovation at 91亚色. 鈥淭o have two of our leading researchers receive awards from SSHRC in the same year indicates the significance of the work of 91亚色's researchers and their commitment to scholarly excellence.鈥
Susan McGrath
As a professor in the School of Social Work in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Susan McGrath鈥檚 innovative work in leading the Refugee Research Network (RRN) has resulted in a successful research partnership that works to improve the well-being of refugees and forced migrants. McGrath received the Partnership Award, which is given to a partnership that, through mutual cooperation and shared intellectual leadership and resources, has demonstrated impact and influence both within and beyond the social sciences and humanities research centre.
The RRN, which was originally titled A Canadian Refugee Research Network: Globalizing Knowledge, was awarded a $2.1 million SSHRC Strategic Knowledge Clusters Grant in 2008.
It is composed of multiple networks and research clusters of experts in a variety of fields, who are charged with generating knowledge regarding refugee issues in their geographical regions. Participants include policy actors, academics from universities across the global north and south and researchers, all of whom stay in touch and share ideas through online platforms and as part of an annual meeting that takes place in Toronto in conjunction with the Conference of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration.
As they share knowledge amongst the partners, the networks in turn exchange knowledge with refugees and forced migrants, most of whom are located in nations of the Global South. The RRN鈥檚 Facebook page has over 19,000 users, including refugees and people who may become refugees. They post and gather information such as safe travel routes and are able to provide active feedback on the RRN鈥檚 reports.
McGrath, director of 91亚色鈥檚 Centre for Refugee Studies from 2004-12, was awarded the Order of Canada in 2014 for her contributions to refugee rights鈥 research and policy, as well as for nurturing scholarly collaborations.
As a professor in the Faculty of Education at 91亚色 and the director of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and the Homeless Hub, Stephen Gaetz has garnered international attention for his work on homelessness. He received the SSHRC Connection Award for his work to facilitate the flow and exchange of research knowledge both within and beyond the academic community. The award is given to an individual or team whose project has engaged the community on a particular subject, generating intellectual, cultural, social and/or economic impacts.
Stephen Gaetz
Gaetz has played a leading international role in knowledge mobilization in the area of homelessness. 91亚色 played host to 2005鈥檚 Canadian Conference on Homelessness 鈥 the first research conference of its kind in Canada. In addition, 91亚色 now hosts the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and the Homeless Hub, the first comprehensive and cross-disciplinary web-based clearinghouse of homelessness research in the world. The focus of this network is to work with researchers across Canada to mobilize research so that it has a greater impact on homelessness policy and planning.
He is the lead author of the State of Homelessness in Canada (2013; 2014), as well as two recent reports on youth homelessness:聽A Safe and Decent Place to Live: Towards a Housing First Framework for Youth聽(2014) and聽Coming of Age: Reimagining our Response to Youth Homelessness in Canada聽(2014). He is also the author of The Canadian Definition of Homelessness听(2012),听The Real Cost of Homelessness. Can we save money by doing the right thing?听(2012),听Can I See Your ID? 聽The Policing of Homeless Youth in Toronto (2011) and聽Family Matters: Homeless youth and Eva鈥檚 Initiatives 鈥淔amily Reconnect鈥 Program (2011).
Gaetz is committed to a research agenda that focuses on social justice and attempts to make research on homelessness relevant to policy and program development. His research on homeless youth has focused on their economic strategies, health, education and legal and justice issues, and more recently, he has focused his attention on policy and in particular the Canadian response to homelessness.
He was associate dean of research and professional development in the Faculty of Education. Prior to his time at 91亚色, Gaetz worked in the community health sector, both at Shout Clinic (a health clinic for street youth in Toronto) and Queen West Community Health Centre in Toronto.
The annual Impact Awards recognize the highest achievements from outstanding researchers, students and research partners in social sciences and humanities research, research training, knowledge mobilization and scholarship funded partially or completely by SSHRC.