CURRENT AND RECENTLY FUNDED PROJECTS:
1. Smog & Mirrors: PR and the Climate Change Debate in Canada (Primary Investigator) – Funding: SSHRC, Strategic Research Grant (2009-10)
This project is examining the changing dynamics of contemporary environmental policymaking with a focus on public relations campaigns undertaken by environmental NGOs and activist groups, with special attention given to their traditional media outreach and new media strategies and activities. It also looks at the role of PR practitioners and the communications consultancy sector to understand how rising ecological awareness in the political arena, the corporate sector and civil society are transforming PR and being transformed by it.
2. Framing Homelessness and Social Housing in Canada: A Comparative Analysis of 4 Cities (Primary Investigator) – Funding: CIHR, Interdisciplinary Capacity Enhancement grant, Research Alliance for Canadian Homelessness, Housing and Health (2009-10)
This project involves a longitudinal, comparative analysis of media coverage about homelessness and social housing across 4 Canadian cities (Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto). The study will examine how the problem of homelessness is defined, who/what are identified as blameworthy agents and the range of possible solutions framed in the coverage. The research seeks to inform the communication activities and media strategies of groups advocating for a more progressive policy framework that includes a national housing strategy.
3. Preparing for Crisis: PR, Public Health and Building Community Resiliency through Communicative Capacity (Primary Investigator)- Funding: SSHRC Institutional Grant (2009-10)
This project examines the community-engagement strategies and programs of Canadian and U.S. public health agencies. It focuses upon how the public health community prepares for and responds to crises and emergencies, from outbreaks of food-borne illness (e.g. Listeriosis, E Coli, etc.) to pandemic influenza, industrial accidents and terrorist attacks. Special emphasis is paid to how public health professionals build communicative capacity, consult with the public and develop communication campaigns for and with community partners.
4. From Homeless to Home (co-investigator) – Funding: SSHRC Public Dissemination Grant (2007-08)
This project was a community-university research alliance involving a multidisciplinary team of scholars and community organizations. Funding was provided in order to develop a series of public communication tools that would promote the results of the Panel Study on Homelessness, a longitudinal research project that explored the pathways into and out of homelessness among several hundred individuals in Ottawa. Overall we sought to widen the audience base for traditional academic scholarship to include not just university researchers and policy makers in the housing and homelessness sector, but a wider constituency of policy actors, citizens and other stakeholders. The range of tools produced included: a documentary film, a 2-part radio series, a pamphlet/brochure, and a series of video-recorded interviews with people who are homeless or have experienced homelessness. All of these products are available on the website of our community partner, The Alliance to End Homelessness. My responsibilities for the project included developing a concept for the film and radio series, including hiring and working closely with the filmmaker and reporter, hiring and overseeing the work of several research assistants, and of contributing equally with other team members to all final copy editing and presentations of materials.
5. Surveillance and Social Problems in Canada (co-investigator) – Funding: SSHRC Standard Research Grant (2005-08)
This project examined the growth of public area video surveillance in Canada. My role in the study was to oversee the research into media framing of video surveillance across 10 Canadian cities over a period of almost 10 years. The research aimed to tell the story of how video surveillance arrived to Canada and what factors contributed to its spreading across regions, and to map the policy dynamics and relationships among police, community organizations, government, business, media and other stakeholders.
