Research Shop

This report presents the results of a needs assessment conducted in partnership with the East Wellington Community Services and the Rural Seniors Advisory Group. The main objective of the project was to understand the needs of older adults (50+) in East Wellington in order to inform future service improvements and allocation of funds received by the Ontario Seniors' Secretariat in the region. A survey was conducted to assess respondents' participation in activities such as social activities, volunteering, health and wellness, support groups and educational activities.

This project was conducted in partnership with the Guelph Chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women. It was conducted to inform the Federation's programs to support women in Guelph-Wellington in seeking public leadership roles and running for political office. The report builds on a literature review produced by the Department of Political Science at the University of Guelph. It shares findings from 16 interviews and 3 focus groups looking at obstacles and motivations for the participation of women in politics, as well as possible solutions and supports.

This summary provides an overview of a project conducted for the Toward Common Ground collaboration as part of a broader effort to identify indicators and measures of wellbeing for individuals in Guelph and Wellington. The Research Shop researched key indicators of wellbeing and compiled the results in a single document serving as a comprehensive source of data on measures of wellbeing in our community.

This research was conducted to assess the value and overall effectiveness of the Ontario Municipal Energy Managers Community of Practice, founded by the City of Guelph. The report summarizes the results of surveys and interviews conducted with members of this community of practice in order to better understand ways in which this group could be improved and expanded in the future.

These fact sheets were created to support the City of Guelph Older Adult Strategy. They consolidate key points from existing literature around affordable housing in Guelph as well as alternative housing options. They are intended as positioning documents to encourage the City of Guelph to further investigate age-friendly alternatives.

This infographic was developed for Family Counselling and Support Services for Guelph-Wellington, and the Canadian Families and Corrections Network. It represents the typical journey of an adult offender when going through the Canadian criminal justice system. It then compares this journey to the process followed when guiding an adult offender through restorative justice and compares costs and outcomes of each process. It concludes that restorative justice is more than six times more cost-effective than traditional criminal justice.

This report was developed for the Guelph Community Health Centre. The needs assessment looks at addressing food insecurity in the Grange Hill East neighbourhood of Guelph through a mobile food market. There is evidence that mobile food markets have been successful in increasing food access, particularly fruit and vegetable intake. Most participants of this community-based research project indicated at least some interest in attending a mobile food market. There were clear findings with respect to participants' preferences for the form and function of the mobile food market. 

The MiC conference organizers and the Guelph Lab partnered with the Research Shop to prepare materials for the conference that would be used to enable attendees to see themselves as “innovators,” and encourage discussion among attendees surrounding their respective experiences with and perspectives on innovation. The community partners identified a need for conference attendees from diverse professional backgrounds to be able to identify different kinds of innovation in order to recognize their work as innovative. 

This report presents findings from a literature review of programs in North America that provide fresh produce in convenience stores. More specifically, this review sought to identify programs that utilized convenience stores as a channel through which to provide fresh produce and healthier food options at more accessible and affordable prices in lower-income neighbourhoods that were situated within food deserts. The main goal of this report was to contribute to the development and expansion of food access programming led by The SEED, a community food project based out of Guelph, Ontario.