Making change together: where community wisdom meets academic research

What happens when research is guided by the very communities it aims to serve? The Faculty of Social Work's 16th annual Research Symposium, running from March 19 to March 20, will explore this transformative approach through its theme Making CHANGE Together: Partnering for Well-being & Health.

The two-day gathering brings together diverse voices that challenge traditional research models, from disability advocates reshaping how youth participate in research, to scholars who address racism's impact on community health outcomes. 

At its core, this symposium will examine how authentic partnerships between the University of Calgary and communities we serve can produce research that genuinely improves well-being and creates lasting social change.

When communities lead the way

"We're not here to study communities," says Dr. David Nicholas, PhD, Associate Dean of Research and Partnerships with the Faculty of Social Work. "We're here to follow their lead." Nicholas’s eyes light up as he describes what he calls a "critically important juncture" in social work research.

This isn't just another academic conference, the event will explore who gets to decide what research matters. 

The answer, according to the symposium organizers and presenters is clear: the communities themselves.

Disability research reimagined

In some ways social work professor Dr. Linda Nguyen, PhD has turned traditional research methodology on its head. As the Azrieli Accelerator Professor in Youth, Sibling, and Community Engaged Research in the Faculty of Social Work, she doesn't just study youth with disabilities, she hands them the microphone, the pen, and sometimes even the professor's podium.

"The most groundbreaking insight I've had in my career," Dr. Nguyen explains, "came when I stopped being the expert and started being the student."

In her work, teenagers with disabilities aren't research subjects; they're research leaders, co-authoring academic papers and helping to design studies that address their actual needs rather than what academics assume they need.

Joining Nguyen in the presentation on disability innovation (online, March 20) is Dr. Rosslynn Zulla, PhD, a UCalgary Institutes for Transdisciplinary Scholarship researcher, at social work’s Edmonton campus. Zulla’s work with immigrant and refugee families of children with disabilities has taken her far beyond the boundaries of traditional academia. Her research partners aren't participants, they're collaborators who shape every aspect of the work.

“When we talk about making change together,” says Zulla, “it's really about working with families, community service providers and academics to identify what is the change that we need to make. And then we use research to answer those questions… how can we make impact so that we can make the change that you would like to see.”

"The families I work with have taught me more about resilience and systems navigation than any textbook ever could," Zulla adds.

Confronting racism's health impacts

Professor Emeritus Dr. Dave Este is an internationally recognized scholar in Africentric practice, and will address racism's devastating health effects.

"We can't talk about community wellbeing without addressing the elephant in the room," Dr. Este insists. "Racism isn't just a social issue—it's a public health crisis."

His presentation promises to move beyond merely naming the problem to offering concrete paths forward, backed by panel of leading scholars and community partners who are transforming theory into action.

Beyond presentations: community-centered solutions

What truly sets this symposium apart is what happens after the keynotes end. Following the online portion of the symposium, on the afternoon of March 19, the Faculty of Social Work hosts an on-campus afternoon reception (featuring a free, light lunch) on the seventh floor of MacKimmie Tower. At this event everyone is invited to mingle with student, community and faculty researchers to view posters and discuss research in an intimate one-on-one setting.  

That evening of March 19 flips the script entirely, as community members will lead researchers in discussions about what organizations actually need from research partnerships. The evening event, at the Best Western Premier Hotel in NE Calgary, is co-sponsored with Action Dignity has already proven to be extremely popular. The event is at capacity with a waiting list, but you can add your name here.

"For too long, research has been something done to communities rather than with them," explains Nicholas. "This session puts community voices at the center, where they belong."

In similar fashion, on March 20, at our Edmonton campus, the centrepiece of the in-person evening event features community leaders and scholars engaged in frank discussions about addressing real community needs.

Sparking transformation, not just conversation

Social Work’s annual symposiums – which are free, and open to all – aren’t designed to produce academic papers that gather dust on shelves. They are, rather aimed at sparking new collaborations that generate meaningful change in how social work research serves communities.

"These two days aren't just about sharing ideas," Dr. Nicholas emphasizes. "They're about fundamentally rethinking the relationship between universities and communities to create research that makes a genuine difference in people's lives."

The Research Symposium runs alongside the Transforming Field Education Landscape project events (March 17-21). More information / Register