January 2019 Welcome! The Office of Research & Innovation supports research and scholarly activity at OCAD University. We help OCAD U researchers to find funding, develop projects and partnerships and engage students. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support you in all things research at OCAD University. The OCAD U Research Ethics Board (REB) provides an independent, impartial, and equitable ethics review of all research at OCAD U that involves human participants. Learn more about the REB and its processes here. SPOTLIGHT ANNOUNCING THE 2018/2019 AWARDS FOR DISTINGUISHED AND EARLY STAGE RESEARCH Congratulations to Gabrielle Moser and Bonnie Devine, the 2018/2019 recipients of the OCAD University Awards for Excellence in Early Stage Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity and Distinguished Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. View the full awards announcement here: https://www2.ocadu.ca/news/announcing­the­20182019­awards­for­distinguished­and­early­ stage­research MESSAGE FROM THE VP The new University Strategic Research Plan Our new Strategic Research Plan (SRP) received Senate approval last November, after a two year process of consultation and co­design. The themes and priorities of the new SRP build on the history of research excellence at OCADU while opening avenues to expand for the future. During the development of our new SRP I benefitted from conversations with many faculty on issues pertaining to Indigenous research and OCAD University’s commitment to decolonization. This was a key topic discussed by the Research Committee. In discussions with Professors Ryan Rice and Jason Baerg they advanced the idea that the new SRP affords a unique opportunity for the University to demonstrate our commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action. The SRP has articulated our commitment to “Nothing about us without us,” as outlined in our Academic Plan. This principle stipulates that research involving Indigenous peoples must be led by Indigenous peoples. It is supported by the Tri­Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2 2014) which outlines our responsibilities in Chapter 9: Research Involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of Canada. Within this context the University can ensure that Indigenous faculty are supported to advance their own research agendas as we continue to build capacity for Indigenous research to grow. Suggestions for how we can enact our commitment include: Validating and valuing different paths to academic preparation and accumulated knowledges, not always vested in specific degrees; Developing capacity for Indigenous researchers to meet the dedicated funding opportunities offered by funders; Ensuring that Indigenous faculty and communities lead research involving Indigenous peoples and communities; Providing the space and support for Indigenous research at the University; Asking applicants to internal research funding and to our Research Ethics Board to indicate if their research will help OCAD U address the TRC Calls to Action, as one way to build capacity and awareness. There will be other suggestions for how we can achieve the goals outlined in the SRP that we can take into account. Taking steps such as these our SRP Implementation will help to ensure that the TRC Calls to Action do not fade from research and practice. Enacting suggestions like these as part of the SRP Implementation will send a clear signal about our commitment to decolonization, help us educate the broader research community with whom we interact—faculty, students, communities and partners alike—on the importance of the TRC Calls to Action, and help us track progress over time against these goals. The Research Office is looking forward to supporting the University community as we embark on this exciting next step in our research journey. RESEARCH NEWS Launch of THIS IS RESEARCH Campaign In the last issue of Pulse we announced the launch of our new communications campaign, This is Research at OCADU. Since then you may have noticed several posters around campus – featuring Suzanne Morrisette, Judth Doyle, David McIntosh, Kate Hartman, Haru Hyunkyung Ji, and Michelle Gay and Barbara Rauch – that showcase the breadth and depth of research and research­creation that our faculty conduct. You can see these posters online here: https://www2.ocadu.ca/news/this­is­ research. These posters all communicate the complex ideas and knowledges that each faculty member is researching. From the visual to the virtual, and the prototypical to the physical, each poster shows how our faculty are engaging with new forms of knowledge, materials and ideas at the forefront of OCAD University Mail - Fwd: PULSE VOL.8 - OCAD U's Research and Innovation Newsletter research and creative practice. And, importantly, they demonstrate to our publics, our students and our partners, the value of ideation, exploration, knowledge and artistic creation. If you would like your research to be profiled through “THIS IS RESEARCH” please contact our office at [email protected]. OCAD University to Participate in CRAM On April 5, 2019 OCAD University will be participating in CRAM. CRAM is the very FIRST event of its kind ­ a research learning festival for the public that opens the doors to the transformative thinking of Toronto’s universities. University of Toronto, OCAD University, Ryerson University and York University will be participating. It’s about universities working together to bridge the gap between research and community by sharing the research that goes on in these institutions to promote public engagement with a changing world. The public is aware of only a small fraction of the research that goes on in Toronto’s universities. This event will create the opportunity to showcase creative and critical thinking across a multitude of disciplines to better inform the public of how knowledge generated from research will impact our lives. Come join us on April 5, 2019. To view the CRAM splash page go to https://cramtoronto.com . Paintings You Can Feel Dr. Peter Coppin teaches his students how to use inclusive design methodologies to solve real­world design problems. Students test their cross­sensory approaches through prototyping and experimentation. One of Dr. Coppin’s classes collaborated with the Art Gallery of Ontario to examine how design can help visually impaired people enjoy paintings. Students ‘interpreted’ two­dimensional paintings into three­dimensional artefacts using a wide range of materials to convey the shape, texture, and spatial relationships of objects depicted in the paintings. Read more about this unique activity as reported by the Toronto Star here. Celebration of Research 2018 On December 5th, 2018, the Office of Research and Innovation hosted a Celebration of Research at Onsite Gallery. 2018 marks ten years of Research Excellence at OCAD U, and the ORI was pleased to celebrate OCAD's rich research history by honouring a decade of research excellence awards. The 2018/2019 recipients of the OCAD University Award for Excellence in Early Stage Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity and the Award for Distinguished Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity were announced at the Celebration. Congratulations to Assistant Professor Gabrielle Moser and Associate Professor Bonnie Devine for your respective awards! Congratulations also to OCAD U's newly appointed Canada Research Chairs, Dr. Kate Sellen and Dr. Alexis Morris, whose Chairs were announced at the awards ceremony. Thank you to all the faculty and staff who attended the event; your participation made it a memorable and positive experience. Associate Dean Ryan Rice leads public presentation panel On January 10th, 2019, Associate Dean (Academic Affairs, FOLASSIS) Ryan Rice led a public presentation panel titled Re:Place: An Inquiry at UrbanSpace Gallery. The panel, which addressed relationships to land, site and Indigenous presence in Tkaronto, included Assistant Professor Jason Baerg, Vanessa Dion Fletcher, Logan MacDonald, Ange Loft and Aylan Couchie, artists who participated in the A Space Gallery exhibitions You’re Welcome and Overlay of the Land. Curated by Rice, You’re Welcome invited four Indigenous artists (Baerg, Dion Fletcher, MacDonald and Loft) to reimagine an everyday object – the ubiquitous welcome mat ­ as a means to contemplate the discourse around land acknowledgement and protocols. Overlay of the Land featured art multiples by Aylan Couchie, made available through the Magic Gumball of Fate. The project has also been exhibited at Onsite Gallery. Re:Place, Overlay of the Land and You’re Welcome are part of Rice’s larger curatorial investigation, Land is Where your Feet Touch the Ground (#LIWYFTTG), which explores Indigenous narratives in urban spaces via creative forms such as mapping, archiving and exhibiting visual culture. The year­ long curatorial investigation has received funding from the Toronto Art Council’s Indigenous Art Projects grant program. OCAD Faculty Participate in DesignTO The fourth iteration of DesignTO, Toronto's annual symposium and exhibition of art and design, ran from January 18­27, 2019. A number of OCAD faculty and their students participated in the festival: In a collaboration between OCAD University and the Toronto Centre for Community learning and Development, a second year OCAD U industrial design class taught by Assistant Professor Ranee Lee was held off­site as a way to pilot an innovative participartory design framework. The sewing workshop