We conduct community-based research to help organizations make evidence-informed decisions that foster positive social change in communities.

Community Research Services: Together, We Can Do More Good

Our approach is what sets us apart.

Explore

Transform

Explore

We'll begin by assessing your unique needs through community-based research, setting clear goals, and developing a plan that supports evidence-informed decisions for meaningful social change.

Three people with a speech bubble above them.

Engage

Transform

Explore

Then, we'll put the plan into action and collaborate to ensure that all relevant stakeholder voices are heard, fostering community-based research that leads to evidence-informed decisions for meaningful social change.

Transform

And finally, through community-based research, we'll create positive social change and ensure that our initiatives lead to evidence-informed decisions for long-term sustainability.

We help make great organizations even better.

Community-based organizations and collaboratives often struggle with limited resources and time to conduct their own community-based research. Research for Change offers the expertise necessary for these organizations to make evidence-informed decisions and illustrate their social change impact. Our goal is to assist our clients in developing and implementing strategies that enhance policies and programs based on the needs identified by the community.

A group of people laying in the grass with their mouths open.

Who we are

We’re a team of experienced researchers and facilitators specialized in community-based research, focused on identifying and addressing organizations’ specific objectives. We achieve this by exploring ideas, engaging with the right people, and utilizing the insights we've gathered to inform evidence-informed decisions that lead to meaningful social change.

Blurred crowd walking on a busy shopping street with stores and signs around.

Our clients

All of our clients share a common goal: to foster positive change in communities. The individuals and organizations we collaborate with are dedicated to promoting resilience, wellbeing, and prosperity to tackle various issues such as poverty, inequality, food access, housing security, accessibility and diversity, mental and physical health, newcomer social and economic inclusion, and advancing community initiatives through social enterprise development. Our approach emphasizes community-based research and evidence-informed decisions to drive meaningful social change.

We work with a diverse range of clients, including:

- Community support agencies, funders, and executive boards

- Healthcare and social service teams

- Mental health professionals

- Academic administrators and educators

- Community-oriented economic developers

- Life-skills, workforce integration, and employment counselors

- Social justice collaboratives

- Sexual health and harm reduction groups

- Women’s shelters and gender-justice committees

- Social enterprise practitioners

- Human resource specialists

- Government organizations

A force for good

Services we offer

At Research for Change, we operate based on a model that focuses on community-based research to improve services, conditions, and opportunities in our communities. Our projects are driven by a passion for celebrating diversity and promoting human rights, social inclusion, equity, and accessibility, all aimed at fostering social change and supporting evidence-informed decisions.

Services we offer

Our expertise includes community-based research and report writing, program design and evaluation, and partnership development across sectors. We focus on policy and funding advancement, facilitating collaborations for collective impact that drive social change.

Whether you’re aiming to influence policy change, enhance services based on community-identified needs, secure resources, or demonstrate that your current funding is making an impact, we can assist you in making evidence-informed decisions.

We’re proud to have partnered with these organizations.

Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership

Immigrant survey report

We conducted community-based research to provide actionable recommendations aimed at improving the social and economic wellbeing of newcomers in Guelph and Wellington County. This was achieved through a comprehensive survey that captured immigrants’ experiences and challenges in the region, allowing us to make evidence-informed decisions that promote social change.

Women’s Sexual Assault Centre of Renfrew County

Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership

External evaluation process report for the Building Rural Support Innovation Fund project

We measured how well desired outcomes were being achieved by developing an evaluation framework that supports community-based research. This involved surveying members of the advisory committee, project staff, and community partners hosting rural outreach sites to inform evidence-informed decisions and drive social change.

Elizabeth Fry Toronto

Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership

Elizabeth Fry Toronto

Girls Circle final evaluation report

By conducting in-depth interviews and utilizing community-based research methods, we evaluated the efficacy of the program in reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors for resiliency. This evidence-informed approach also provided skills training aimed at improving relationships, strengths, and competencies among young women, ultimately contributing to social change.

The 519

Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

Elizabeth Fry Toronto

Market research report for Diversity and Inclusion Social Enterprise

We conducted community-based research into related ventures, examining their core markets and pricing to shed light on potential issues, innovations, and key opportunities for the urban community centre’s models for diversity and inclusion training. This evidence-informed approach aims to drive social change within the community.

Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

The Intersection of Settlement and Housing Services and Policies: Reducing the Risk of Homelessness for Immigrant and Refugee Women

In collaboration with OCASI, we conducted community-based research to report on the service pathways of women and identify ways to improve the linkages between settlement service agencies and housing providers, ultimately supporting evidence-informed decisions that promote social change.

Huron County Health Unit

Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

Destination: Prosperity, Huron Park Community Engagement Pilot Project

Along with Eko Nomos, we developed and implemented a community-based research strategy for Huron County aimed at encouraging women and girls to take leadership roles to combat isolation. This initiative is designed to facilitate evidence-informed decisions that ultimately lead to social change and improve community services.

Turtle House Art/Play Centre

Community Foundations of Canada

Feasibility assessment of A Home to Call our Own

Together with C. Lang Consulting, we conducted community-based research to assess the feasibility of establishing a social enterprise. This initiative aims to provide teaching opportunities and flexible studio rentals for newcomer and refugee painters and potters, enabling evidence-informed decisions that can drive social change.

Community Foundations of Canada

We developed a shared evaluation framework for 10 agencies receiving funding from the Youth Catalyst Fund, a granting stream focused on improving outcomes for youth employment and educational attainment through community-based research. This approach allows for evidence-informed decisions that drive social change.

Skills for Change

Jessie’s – The June Callwood Centre for Young Women

The evaluation of the Hamilton Youth Entrepreneurship Hub involved community-based research, where we consulted with program participants and stakeholders. This approach allowed us to assess the outcomes and the program’s success in launching budding youth entrepreneurs, enabling us to make evidence-informed decisions that can drive social change.

Jessie’s – The June Callwood Centre for Young Women

We conducted community-based research to support the development of a social enterprise aimed at providing economic advancement opportunities, enabling evidence-informed decisions that contribute to meaningful social change.

Weston King Neighbourhood Centre

Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

Feasibility assessment of a community kitchen social enterprise

In collaboration with C. Lang Consulting and the Learning Enrichment Foundation in Toronto, we engaged in community-based research to assess the opportunities and readiness for developing a community kitchen. This process aimed to ensure that our recommendations are based on evidence-informed decisions that can drive social change.

Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

Mental health report for Minds at Work

We conducted community-based research through key informant interviews, which enabled us to develop an assessment tool, counselling techniques, workshop curriculum, and training to enhance staff’s ability to make evidence-informed decisions while working with clients facing emotional challenges, ultimately fostering social change.

University of Guelph, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition

Institutional Quality Assurance process report senate submission

We consolidated more than 100 sources to evaluate the department’s commitment to quality assurance, community-based research, and the development and assessment of learning outcomes. Our report also covered the department’s 12 programs to analyze trends in development, impact, productivity, external and internal demand, quality of inputs and outputs, as well as opportunities for future growth, all aimed at supporting evidence-informed decisions that drive social change.

YWCA Muskoka

University of Guelph, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition

Women in Business program evaluation

We documented the personal and economic impacts for those who participated in the following programs: Business of Life, Women in Business, and Enterprising Women. Through community-based research, we also highlighted positive outcomes that informed evidence-informed decisions for the YWCA Muskoka and its community partners, ultimately driving social change.

what clients are saying about Research for change

“Samantha Blostein of Research for Change has been an integral part of our evaluation process, playing a key role in helping us fulfill the needs of our external funder. Her dedication to community-based research has been invaluable in enabling us to gather both the quantitative and qualitative data necessary for making evidence-informed decisions. Additionally, she was readily available to address any last-minute issues that arose. We are grateful for her expertise in driving social change.”

Stacey Schat, Director of Women's Programs, YWCA Muskoka

"Research for Change and Ekos Nomos played a vital role in the development and implementation of a community-based research project with Poverty to Prosperity, Huron County’s anti-poverty coalition. This initiative aimed to create a strategy that empowers women as heads of household and leaders in socially isolated and underserved rural communities, ensuring that evidence-informed decisions drive social change."

Pam Hanington, Community Developer, Huron Perth Public Health

“The quality of work that Samantha (Director of Research for Change) produced for our community-based research program was outstanding. We felt fortunate to have someone working with us who had incredible compassion and understanding for our service users and the challenges they face, helping us make evidence-informed decisions that contribute to social change.”

Maryolga Gonzalez, Girls Circle Program Facilitator, Elizabeth Fry Toronto

Community Research Services: Together, We Can Do More Good

Our approach is what sets us apart.

Explore

Transform

Explore

Engage

Transform

Explore

Transform

Transform

Transform

We help make great organizations even better.

Who we are

Our clients

A force for good

Services we offer

Services we offer

Services we offer

Services we offer

Services we offer

Here’s how we’ve helped bring about change.

We’re proud to have partnered with these organizations.

Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership

Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership

Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership

Women’s Sexual Assault Centre of Renfrew County

Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership

Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership

Elizabeth Fry Toronto

Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership

Elizabeth Fry Toronto

The 519

Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

Elizabeth Fry Toronto

Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

Huron County Health Unit

Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

Turtle House Art/Play Centre

Community Foundations of Canada

Community Foundations of Canada

Community Foundations of Canada

Community Foundations of Canada

Community Foundations of Canada

Skills for Change

Jessie’s – The June Callwood Centre for Young Women

Jessie’s – The June Callwood Centre for Young Women

Jessie’s – The June Callwood Centre for Young Women

Jessie’s – The June Callwood Centre for Young Women

Jessie’s – The June Callwood Centre for Young Women

Weston King Neighbourhood Centre

Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

University of Guelph, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition

University of Guelph, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition

University of Guelph, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition

YWCA Muskoka

University of Guelph, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition

University of Guelph, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition

Imagine how Research for Change can increase your organization’s impact.

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Research for Change can help demonstrate and further your impact, whatever your cause.

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what clients are saying about Research for change