Research partnerships with Montréal's Black and Indigenous communities

• Format: Workshop
• Time: 2 hrs
• Stage: Developing an idea; Active Research
• Pathway: Community Engagement

Why this

This interactive workshop, developed through the Office of Community Engagement, supports researchers who want guidance and practical resources for partnering with Montréal’s Black and Indigenous communities in research design and practice. It highlights how Indigenous and Black communities are shaping the transformation of research practices, and helps researchers approach engagement with clarity, intention, and respect. Through reflective questions, grounding frameworks, and tangible examples, participants learn how to apply best practices for collaborative, community-engaged research. 

Relevance for impact

Community-engaged research strengthens impact by shaping research questions, methods, and relationships from the start, not only how findings are shared at the end. Strong partnerships improve relevance, trust, and uptake beyond academia, and can support stronger research design and funding applications. This workshop builds foundational capacity for ethical engagement and reciprocal collaboration that can enable longer-term social outcomes.

Who it's for

Researchers at any career stage who are

• Developing or planning research with Indigenous and/or Black community partners 
• Revising research design to better reflect community priorities and reciprocity
• Preparing partnership-based funding applications
• Looking to deepen their understanding of responsibilities, positionality, and relationship-building in community-engaged research

What you’ll learn / outcomes

Participants will leave with: 

• A clearer understanding of the historical context shaping university–community collaborations
• Stronger awareness of Indigenous and Black perspectives on community engagement
• Greater clarity on what reciprocal, meaningful, and collaborative research looks like
• Practical ways to approach intentional relationship-building with community partners
• Reflection prompts to support decision-making around intention, role, and responsibilities in partnership-based research

Format

• 2 hour interactive workshop
• Discussion-based learning supported by frameworks, guided reflection, and examples
• In-person (SHIFT Centre for Social Transformation)
• 15-20 participants
• Offered at a scheduled time twice a year
  • Next workshop date: Wednesday, February 24, 2027, from 2:00 - 4:00PM                                    

What to bring (recommended)

• A research proposal (draft or in progress), and/or
• Reflections from past research partnership experiences

Materials provided

• Slides and worksheets (in development)
• Links to supporting resources:
• Indigenous Engagement Guide
• Decolonial Toolbox
• Office of Community Engagement resource collections

Service provider

The Office of Community Engagement (OCE) is a bridging unit that supports, connects, and promotes mutually beneficial partnerships between the university and larger communities. Assisting in relation to community-engaged teaching, research, and experiential learning, our work is grounded in equity, accessibility, inclusivity, reciprocity, and social justice. The OCE draws on critical pedagogy and decolonization theory as we approach our work. Our team leads social impact projects, engages in popular education, and brings together people from different backgrounds to enable powerful and reflective actions. 

Geneviève Sioui, Coordinator, Indigenous Community Engagement   

• Geneviève is a member of the Wendat Nation (Wendake) and grew up in Québec city. With 15+ years of experience in Indigenous education and the community sector, she currently holds the position of coordinator, Indigenous community engagement at Concordia University where she fosters collaborations between Indigenous communities and the university.   

Kristen Young, Coordinator, Black Community Engagement

• Kristen Young is a settler from Xaymaca (Jamaica). She uses her 10+ year experience in archives and the non-profit sector to explore the intersection of archives, history, memory, and identity and how they interact in community environments.

Click on the button below to access our booking page to register. *Note: the booking page opens on the current month. If no availability is shown, use the arrow beside the month to look ahead to the next available date and time.