A Continuing Education course through Lakehead University

Course Description:

The executive leadership of today’s social-benefit organization is faced with an increasingly complex environment. In order to make people’s lives better and to address community issues, more of the same-old solutions are no longer adequate. Leaders are being called upon to mobilize engagement through all levels of their organizations, identify and grow innovation, adapt quickly to change, and collaborate across sectors to enhance the resilience of their organization and the community as a whole. These requirements demand a unique set of capacities and a mindset that embraces complexity. In this course, community leaders and university faculty with expertise in complexity science will work together to build understanding of the complex dynamics of organizations and communities. Through conversational learning techniques and practical exercises we will develop the capacities to perceive, reason, and manage within complexity, to nurture an ecology of innovation, and to discover the simple solutions that often lie on the other side of complex problems.

Connie and Mirella have been sharing a journey through complexity science since 2010, when a conversation about teaching, learning and community resilience culminated in a joint presentation at the Resilience 2011 conference, an international gathering of scholars in complexity. Since then, both have brought the framework of complex adaptive systems theory and innovation to their research, teaching, community and organizational development work. They have written 5 papers applying complex adaptive systems theory to community issues, and have presented the ideas at several conferences. Both are deeply involved with the Food Security Research Network, which bases its approach and organization on complexity principles, and they have co-facilitated a university seminar on complexity science for 3 years. Mirella is an associate professor of social and community psychology at Lakehead University. Connie is a professor of social work at Lakehead University, with a background in organizational behaviour.

To date we have shared our perspectives on community engagement through a national webinar on February 28, 2013 (see link below) and a paper submitted to the Canadian Food Studies journal with our fellow researchers across Canada. Building Effective Relationships for Community-Engaged Scholarship in Canadian Food Studies  

Abstract 

There are a number of challenges to effective collaboration between academics and civil society organizations in teaching and research, including issues of trust, power, and assumptions about who might be ‘helping’ whom. How can community-engaged scholars best undertake grounded, policy-relevant, food systems teaching and research in ways that support the capacity of, and meaningfully build on, the experiences of the civil society organizations working on these issues in Canada? This paper analyzes four case studies in the context of a research project that brings together members of the Canadian Association for Food Studies and Food Secure Canada. It argues that the answer to the above question lies in establishing respectful relationships, and illustrates what this means in practice by exploring these cases in relation to methodological guidelines extrapolated from the work of Nelson, Stadey and Lyons (2005). These guidelines suggest establishing relationships around a shared vision first, and then together developing mutually-beneficial teaching/research projects. Further, they encourage practitioners to approach campus-community engagement through the framework of contextual fluidity, which includes seeing the relationships and the vision at the heart of the work, and remaining open to shifts and emergent opportunities. Finally, practitioners are advised to adopt community capacity building practices in working with collaborators to realize their shared vision. At a theoretical level, this paper argues for the importance of disaggregating the concept of ‘community’ in any discussion of engaged scholarship, as this term encapsulates a range of actors with different levels of power, access to resources, roles, and diverse relationships with one another.

Community-University engagement in building a resilient regional local food system

http://foodsecurecanada.org/resources-news/webinars-podcasts/community-university-engagement-building-resilient-regional-local

Our four presenters will share the  story of how the relationship between the North Superior Workforce Planning Board (NSWPB) and the Food Security Research Network (FSRN) at Lakehead University developed and evolved.

Through a shared vision of a local food system, these organizations have been working together to conduct research that helps to move the local food agenda forward.

Presenters will focus on four key lessons of this ” in-community” perspective on Community-University engagement:

1.  Relationship formation around shared interests,
2.  The weaving together of networks,
3.  Project self-organization,
4.  “Co-evolution” through mutual influence

Our four presenters:

Madge Richardson is the Executive Director of North Superior Workforce Planning Board (NSWPB).  Madge has been a strong advocate for small communities in Northwestern Ontario and was involved in Schreiber’s Economic Development Committee for 3 years prior to running for Council in 2003.  She served one term as Councillor and in 2006 successfully ran for Mayoral position to become Schreiber’s first female mayor in its 125 history.

Mirella Stroink is a Community and Environmental Psychology Professor with the Food Security Research Network at Lakehead University. Her work links research, education, and community development toward a vision of community resilience.

Steven Bill is the Project & Research Manager with North Superior Workforce Planning Board. He holds a Masters in International and Intercultural Communications and a Bachelors in Theology. Steven is married to Rhonda, owner of A Fine Fit Catering – a catering company featuring local and healthy food options in her menu.

Connie Nelson is a professor of social work and director of the Food Security Research Network (FSRN). Dr. Nelson strives to unite university and community members in the pursuit of service, research, and socio-economic development dedicated to strengthening local food systems.  She is a specialist in community capacity building, regional food system development and community service learning.