Recent Community-Based Research
LSPIRG supports both graduate and undergraduate community-based research projects and knowledge mobilization. For example, in April of 2025, LSPIRG supported Lexi Salt, MA in Community Psychology at WLU and Founder & Director of Leading Authentically, in the development of the Community Report about her academic research to make learning from her thesis much more accessible for more people to learn from. We also supported her Community Roundtable event, which was a panel discussion on campus where some research participants spoke to some of the key themes, takeaways and calls to action that stemmed from her work. To learn about women of colour's lived experiences with gender-based violence in the Toronto & Kitchener-Waterloo Latin dance communities, please check out the Community Report here.
In 2024, LSPIRG supported the research project "Increasing LGBTQ+ resilience on and off-campus" by Emily Rank, Christopher Hewitt, and Ketan Shankardass. This planning study investigated places within Wilfrid Laurier University’s Waterloo campus neighborhood that elicit stress or support for LGBTQ+ students for the purpose of contributing to a more resilient environment for current and future students. This thesis project is part of Smart Citizens Enabling Resilient Neighbourhoods (SCERN) and used the engaging method of participatory mapping. Participatory Mapping is an approach to resilience planning and involves the creation of maps by local communities through collective knowledge and priorities. To learn the key findings of where LGBTQ+ students found supportive and stressful and the researchers' recommendations for creating meaningful change, please click here.
Laurier Centre for Community Research, Learning and Action (CCRLA)
CCRLA is an interdisciplinary research centre located within Laurier's Faculty of Science. Their work is focused on developing community partnerships and producing research, learning and action that advances community well-being and social justice.
CCRLA facilitates community-based research by establishing links between community partners and Laurier students and faculty researchers. They also organize a public lecture series and relevant workshops for community members, students, and faculty members. LSPIRG is proud to have funded three 8-month-long applied academic, community-based research internships in 2018-2019. These projects were a collaboration between Laurier undergraduate students and the following community organizations:
Coalition for Muslim Women of Kitchener-Waterloo
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Waterloo Region
Aids Committee of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Area (ACCKWA)
Our Research and Action Groups’ Projects
LSPIRG also conducts grassroots in a variety of ways. Some of our Research and Action Groups do really impactful research for social change. For example, Advocates for a Student Culture of Consent (ASCC) has gathered and showcased survivors’ stories told through art, and are currently working on creating a Brant Health Guide that will communicate what each local organization offers in regards to sexual and reproductive health, and whether the organizations are accessible and inclusive.
(Un)Silenced
A participatory art project
Independent Grassroots Research Projects
We also support and fund students and community members who want to conduct their own grassroots research for social or environmental justice. This takes many forms! This year, we’re collaborating with a student on conducting a survey about people’s experiences menstruating on campus. This data will be used in our advocacy efforts to get free menstrual products in Laurier washrooms. Another student, Ocean Miller, was an undergraduate student and filmmaker who wanted to talk to students about their Black identity and experience at Laurier, a predominantly white institution. We loaned her the tech equipment she needed to conduct the interviews and produce her film, and funded her film premiere. Her film is not only art, it also is empirical, grassroots research about racial justice and community. Check out her film, ROOTS, below!
Our Radical Library
Our Waterloo office has a library filled with tons of books that have to do with social and environmental justice. All members can borrow books for your growth, term paper or research project. Zines and books range from heavily academic to activist toolkits to more informal. Some of our main categories include disability justice, racial justice, feminism and gender, queer and trans, food justice, organizing & direct action, Indigenous, immigrant justice, gendered violence and anti-fascism. We are currently relaunching our library, so stay tuned for our new catalogue coming 2025!
