Guelph Lab

Since January 2023, the Guelph Lab has been working with the City Clerk’s Office to create a Governance Framework for the City’s Advisory Committees of Council (ACOCs). This collaboration responds to the Clerk’s Office’s interest in gaining a deeper understanding of the form and function of the City's ACOCs, and in providing a tool to guide ACOCs’ future development.

Since 2021, the Guelph Lab has worked with the City of Guelph on several research initiatives related to the City’s Advisory Committees of Council (ACOC).

Public washrooms are important for everyone in Guelph, but washrooms aren’t always available and not everyone has access to washrooms when they need them. Sometimes people are forced to go outside, especially in the Downtown area. Other people may be forced to stay at home if public washrooms are closed or not accessible to them.

This Master's thesis (supported by Dr. Liz Jackson and the Guelph Lab) explores and illuminates the phenomenon of postsecondary student food insecurity using qualitative methodologies. It uses a phenomenological framework to better understand what constitutes the lived experience of students with food insecurity; the researcher conducted 11 semi-structured interviews with students, all but one from the University of Guelph, who were recruited primarily through the campus food bank.

Municipal staff and Members of Council can play an important role in contributing to more equitable communities. These discussion papers support these efforts by exploring the role of municipalities in promoting equity in different service areas including housing, recreation, transportation, and arts and culture. The papers highlight some of the systemic barriers experienced by individuals in Guelph, especially those in at-risk groups. These systemic barriers are deeply embedded in our society and are influenced by policies implemented at all levels of government.

This report identifies practical strategies for improving diversity and inclusion on the City of Guelph’s Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC). It is hoped that this report will support recommendations brought to the City of Guelph’s Council, prompting policy changes to improve the engagement, participation, and inclusion of diverse groups within the city’s Advisory Committees of Council, specifically the AAC.

In early 2021, CESI and the Guelph Lab launched “Promoting Food Security in Higher Education” with Meal Exchange and staff and faculty at the University of British Columbia, the University of Guelph, McMaster University, and the University of Ottawa. The goal of the project is to catalyze a network of university administrators, researchers, students, staff and food service providers working to promote food secure campus communities. The project included:

There is growing evidence that significant numbers of university students in Canada experience food insecurity, potentially undermining the health, well-being and educational success of students. The University of Guelph has joined a handful of other Canadian universities in responding to this issue. CESI, Meal Exchange, Universities Fighting World Hunger and graduate students working with Dr.

The Sandbox pairs interdisciplinary teams of students with community organizations looking to launch social enterprises in Guelph-Wellington. They work together for four months to grow the enterprise, supported by seed funding, training and mentorship.

How can procurement be “open” and support innovation?

The City of Guelph’s information technology (IT) department asked the GuelphLab to support the design of alternative procurement processes that can unlock innovative technology solutions for the City and have the potential to create business development opportunities for companies working in “Civic Tech.”