Applied Social & Community Research

For organizations and stakeholders concerned about their impact, applied social and behavioural science research offers many tools to help understand what is (or isn’t) working and why.

Since 2013, I have partnered with various community organizations and research groups in Canada and Guatemala to help individuals and organizations gain insight into the social impact of their programs, services, and interventions. Through my consulting work, I help guide teams through all stages of the research process from formulating research questions, to monitoring progress through data collection, analyzing the results, and communicating the findings back to stakeholders.

Since October 2022, I have worked with Impact Canada as a Behavioural Science Fellow within the Privy Council Office of the Government of Canada, helping government organizations and agencies to apply behavioural insights to inform public policy, program development, and outcome measurement.

While I enjoy directing and managing research projects, I am especially interested in collaborative approaches to planning and evaluation that aim to develop and strengthen organizational capacity to conduct practical, applied social research.

I am especially interested in the applications of social and behavioural sciences to improve the delivery of programs and services and inform evidence-based public policy. I am always interested in hearing from local organizations, practitioners, or researchers working in areas of applied social and behavioural research, particularly youth and community development, integration and settlement, civic engagement, and public health. If you have a research idea or dilemma you would like to discuss, or to find out more about my applied research experience, please feel free to reach out by contacting me.

Au plaisir de vous parler en français.

Me complace hablar con usted en español.

Conceptualize

Identifying needs, defining goals, and thinking through the logic of how a program or policy ought to work are critical steps toward gauging social impact. I help organizations and community leaders think through program logic and theories of change to identify key assumptions, define research questions, and determine the types of data that best suit their community and organization.

Monitor & Evaluate

I work with research teams and community organizations to conduct needs assessments and policy analysis to identify priorities and opportunities. A key part of this work involves helping teams identify, collect, manage, and make sense of different types of quantitative and qualitative data that, many times, may already be at their disposal.

Communicate

With the information we gather, I help teams bring data to life to make informed decisions about program planning and draw valid inferences about the evidence before them. I also help individuals and organizations report on their findings, both internally to other team members and to external partners such as community stakeholders, donors, and funding agencies.

Past partners and collaborators

Following my master’s training in applied social psychology at the University of Guelph, I began my community-based research under the mentorship of applied social researchers at Taylor-Newberry Consulting, operating in Ontario’s Peel Region, in the cities of Guelph, Kitchener, and Waterloo.

Prior to beginning my doctoral training at McGill University, I relocated to Guatemala to apply my training in program evaluation and applied social research to support the activities of various non-profit organizations working in youth and community development. Here, I became involved with CasaSito, supporting the organization with program planning and evaluation in both the Sacatepéquez and Cobán regions, as well as BuenaOnda Guatemala, an organization supporting experiential learning programs around the country. I also developed pro bono partnerships with several small non-profits, offering guidance to newly established non-profits in the areas of program planning, grantscrafting, and impact assessment.

Since returning to Canada for my doctoral training, I continue to partner with organizations and research teams to conduct applied research. In addition to my academic research and teaching, I have recently completed contracts and partnerships with Elections Canada, the Centre d’études sur les médias, and various Quebec-based research teams at McGill University, Concordia University, l’Université de Montréal and l’Université Laval working independently and in partnership with provincial and federal government ministries.