Creating a better future for communities through research

Research guided by values

CCBR has completed over 250 community based research projects since 1982. Each project is guided by our commitment to impacting social change in practical and powerful ways.

We intentionally conduct research with people not on people, cultivating respect with communities in every step of the process. By demonstrating value and modeling the change we wish to see, we empower communities to take the first step towards social change.

At any one time we have 20-35 active projects. Browse our project database to view our complete present and past project listings.

Profiled Project

Recovery and Support Coordination in Mental Health in Waterloo-Wellington Dufferin:  A New Initiative and Evaluation

"Recovery is the lived experience of persons as they discover, accept, and overcome the challenges of a disability, the effects of a psychiatric diagnosis or emotional or psychological trauma.  It is discovering a new sense of self, of hope and purpose within and beyond the limits of these experiences.  It is the discovery of one's own strengths and sense of power and control within oneself and the world.  Finally, recovery occurs when a person's psychiatric diagnosis or emotional trauma is no longer the central focus in that person's life, but simply becomes a part of who that person is."  - From Empowerment Connection.

Project Synopsis

In 2005, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care provided infrastructure dollars to the Waterloo-Wellington-Dufferin regions for the enhancement of intensive case management services. Uniquely, this was "system focused" funding, rather than funding to be independently used by mental health service agencies. A funding requirement was the creation of an ongoing multi-organizational partnership and consensus regarding policies and practices to improve and enhance case management services in the regions. Eight mental health organizations comprise the Support Coordination Management Committee of Waterloo-Wellington-Dufferin.

A central mandate of the Committee has been to introduce system-wide interventions in order to develop and promote the priniciples and values of Recovery into support coordination (also called case management) services.  CCBR is working with this partnership to design and implement a comprehensive evalution of "recovery-focused" support coordination services. (read more)