The Centre for Research on Inclusion at Work (CRIW) today announced the recipients of this year’s CRIW Ignite! research grants. Funded by the RBC Foundation, CRIW Ignite! provides up to $10,000 to collaborative research projects that advance CRIW’s mission of conducting and sharing research that advances diversity, equity and inclusion at work.

CRIW Co-Director, Merridee Bujaki, lauded the recipients for their research initiatives, “We have had a growing number of researchers expressing interest in collaborating in workplace-inclusion research projects,” she said. “I am pleased to see projects such as these broadening Sprott’s and Carleton University’s research on inclusion at work.”

The following research projects will be conducted with CRIW Ignite! funding:

Factors facilitating work integration of immigrants in Canada

This study aims to identify key factors that may be associated with enhanced career opportunities and employment outcomes for skilled immigrants and international student graduates in Canada. The primary goal of the project is to identify and better understand the role of various structural, interpersonal, and individual factors in facilitating the workforce integration of these two groups.

The research project will be led by:

  • Daniel Gulanowski, Assistant Professor of International Business, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University
  • Greg Sears, Associate Professor of Management, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University

Pandemic, panic, and precarity:
Interviews with international students stranded in Ottawa during COVID-19

This study investigates the experiences of international students in Ottawa during the COVID-19 pandemic, when traditional sources of emotional and financial support were drastically altered, leaving many international students in a highly precarious situation. The study aims to understand international students’ social situation, perspectives, and strategies to address the challenges they faced. Additionally, the study aims to adapt interviews as a social research tool to provide support for individuals facing a difficult and dynamic situation, enhance their well-being, and recommend adjustments to research tools to provide benefits to participants.

The research project will be led by:

  • Luciara Nardon, Associate Professor of International Business, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University
  • Amrita Hari, Associate Professor of Gender Studies, The Pauline Jewett Institute of Women’s and Gender Studies, Carleton University

Cross-sector social partnerships to facilitate operational success of MLSE LaunchPad

This study examines how firms and non-profit organizations come together to achieve successful cross-sector social partnerships, with the goal to better understand the drivers of successful alliances in the growing field of sports for development. Specifically, the study aims to understand how and why firms decide to financially support non-profit agencies such as Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) LaunchPad, a not-for-profit organization designed to explore and measure how sport can help improve the lives of youth and their readiness for work.

The research project will be led by:

  • Andrew Webb*, Instructor III of International Business, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University
  • Francois Brouard*, Professor of Accounting, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University
  • Marika Warner, Research Coordinator, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) LaunchPad

CRIW Ignite! is one of the vehicles through which CRIW aims to advance knowledge and drive change towards more inclusive workplaces that welcome and support greater participation of all peoples. For more information, visit CRIW’s web pages on Research Support and Resources and Grants.

CRIW’s research activities and knowledge-sharing efforts are possible, in part, through generous financial support from the RBC Foundation. This funding is providing opportunities for conducting and sharing innovative research on inclusion at work. CRIW is grateful for the RBC Foundation’s support in making its work possible.

* Members of Sprott Centre for Social Enterprises (SCSE) / Centre Sprott pour les entreprises sociales (CSES), at the time of publication