Partnership Engage Grants awarded to UBC Applied Science projects 

Three UBC Applied Science-led projects have been awarded Partnership Engage Grants, including the COVID-19 Special Initiative version of the Partnership Engage Grant, from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). 

Partnership Engage Grants support small-scale, stakeholder-driven partnerships between postsecondary researchers and organizations from the public, private or not-for-profit sectors. Their goal is to enable partners to “access each other’s unique knowledge, expertise and capabilities” in order to “respond to immediate needs and time constraints facing organizations in non-academic sectors.” 

For the June and September 2020 Partnership Engage Grant competitions, SSHRC is also supporting COVID-19-related projects in the social sciences and humanities that explore the “longer-term impacts of the pandemic — and the ensuing economic slowdown — on individuals, businesses and communities.” 

Projects are selected based on their aim and importance, as well as their feasibility and capability of succeeding. They must seek to improve our understanding of “what we think, how we live, and how we interact with each other and the world around us.” 

The grants were announced today by the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. Over $4 million in Partnership Engage Grants were awarded to 172 projects across Canada, and over $3 million has been awarded nationally to 139 projects that addressed the special call for COVID-19-related research. 

For a list of all UBC projects that received funding, please see the announcement on the website of UBC's Office of the Vice-President Research and Innovation.

Partnership Engage Grant 

Spatial indicators and neighbourhood types: Evaluating a method for planning future resilient cities 

Applicant: Ronald Kellett (School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture) 
Collaborator: Cynthia Girling (School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture) 
Partner: City of Vancouver 
Funding: $24,945 (1 year)

Partnership Engage Grants - COVID-19 Special Initiative 

Arts-based reciprocity to support collective resilience for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in prison and on parole: A community in-reach partnership program 

Applicant: Helen Brown (School of Nursing) 
Co-applicants: Amanda Slaunwhite (School of Nursing) and Colleen Varcoe (School of Nursing) 
Partner:  Fraser Region Aboriginal Friendship Centre Association 
Funding: $24,995 (1 year)

Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on inclusive education for students with disabilities in British Columbia's public education (K-12) system 

Applicant: Jennifer Baumbusch (School of Nursing) 
Co-applicant: Jennifer Lloyd (School of Nursing) 
Partner: Partner: BCEdAccess
Funding: $25,000 (1 year)