Research by and for community
This special edition of the SHIFT journal invites us to re-imagine the university's role in society.
We hear from Concordia faculty member Vijay Kolinjivadi and communications practitioner Yixuan Ma with calls to dissolve the line between academic research and society from either side of it. And in reflections on their year as SHIFT Research and Advocacy Program Fellows, our 2025-2026 cohort paints a vibrant picture of the many ways that research can contribute to community organizing and social movements. In Erykah Kangbeya and Hope Moon’s pieces, we see research that reshaped strategy. Erykah’s work supported DESTA Black Community Network to understand the barriers to postcarceral employment from the perspective of employers while Hope drew Climate Justice Montreal to focus their campaign for free, expanded, and accessible transit on youth in the short-term. Ateş Balsoy's work with Welcome Haven shows how research can support organizers to ground campaigns in lessons from previous organizing efforts. Finally, both Marbella Carlos’ research with the Kapwa Centre and Rebeca Esquivel’s with Growing A.R.C. render visible gaps in current systems to strengthen coalition-building and broader advocacy efforts.
Instead of seeing universities as walled off from the “real world”, these articles call us toward the active and meaningful role that researchers are positioned to play in and with society.
