The Research for Social Change Lab (RSCL) is a community-engaged research collective in pursuit of justice and equity based in Peterborough, Ontario. The lab was founded by Dr. Naomi Nichols in 2021 and aims to mobilize university resources for social change. Through collaborations with our community partners, the RSCL designs and executes research projects to generate actionable knowledge and facilitate creative problem solving.聽

The RSCL鈥檚 research focusses on a variety of issues, such as homelessness, social exclusion, poverty, child welfare, the development of community knowledge networks, fostering stable, nurturing relationships between parents and their children in the face of adversity, and the role and value of data gathering. To do so, the RSCL engages in collaborative partnerships with a range of community partners and those with experiential knowledge that is relevant to our projects.听听

One ongoing project at the RSCL is the Data Justice initiative, which brings together young people (ages 16 to 29) with lived experiences of poverty and housing insecurity; interdisciplinary social scientists, technologists; social mission organizations; and social mission funders to investigate and analyse the possibilities and problems with evidence-based governance at this critical juncture when Canadian municipal, provincial/territorial and federal governments and institutions move concertedly towards data and technology-driven governance responses. This project has created a series of Zines which discuss data justice, worker鈥檚 subjective experiences with data collection and found poetry from interviews with those interacting with the system.聽

Since the launch of the RSCL, the lab has hosted community fora and symposiums, such as the February 2024 symposium on Housing and Homelessness in Peterborough. This event brought together a variety of community organizations and partners to discuss ongoing issues surrounding housing precarity, the (de)financialization of the housing market, harm reduction and basic income and to mobilize those community partners to act towards creating a safer and healthier community for all.聽

For more information on the RSCL鈥檚 past and ongoing projects, visit our website ator email Dr. Nichols at naominichols [at] trentu.ca.听听