Canada  

This is a CALL FOR PROPOSALS - Submission Deadline: December 15, 2019, 11:59 pm E.S.T. - for the C2UExpo 2020 | Culture, Place and Resilience - 12-14 May, 2020, Ontario, Canada.

C2UExpo 2020, Canada’s leading conference on community-campus partnerships, will mark the 8th time for community and campus researchers to gather together to share knowledge, talk and engage with one another as we explore our ideas, successes and struggles, building relationships with others who are working on similar concerns, tackling problems locally and globally.  The three co-hosts, NORDIK Institute, Algoma University and Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig are excited to welcome you to Baawating, Sault Ste. Marie, at the heart of the Great Lakes.

This conference will provide community members, practitioners, and academics a learning opportunity where they may share experiences, skills, and best practices that address issues critical to Culture, Place, and Resilience. The Organizing Committee invites participants to submit summaries of presentation proposals related to the overall conference theme - Culture, Place and Resilience. The Organizing Committee is seeking proposals for a wide variety of engaging and creative works that inspire community engagement, cross-cultural collaboration, appreciation of art, and community resilience. Come join us, contribute your experience, and experience the history, culture and environment that makes this region.

Conference Presentation Theme: Culture, Place and Resilience

Communities across Canada and around the globe are facing tremendous challenges to their resilience, and Northern, rural and Indigenous communities are particularly at risk.  To be successful in meeting these challenges, communities must address the four pillars of community resilience – social equity, environmental sustainability, cultural vitality, and economic diversification - to build their adaptive capacity and leverage local assets into sustainable economies.   

Community-Campus partnerships can be an effective way to build capacity, relevant skills, and innovative solutions for the pressing concerns within our communities. The conference theme will showcase innovative models, research findings, and best practices of community-campus initiatives that explore the ways in which culture is valued and how it is embedded in the economic, social and environmental structures of sustainable development and resilient communities.
Possible questions that presenters might explore that arise from the proposed conference theme include:

1. How does community-based research contribute to cultural shifts, social innovation and
   systems change?
2. How have collaborations between communities and researchers contributed to cultural and language revitalization in Indigenous communities?
3. Which community-based research practices are effective in fostering cultural and social innovation? How do those practices play out in diverse communities? What are the challenges and how can they be overcome?
4. How does engaging diverse and marginalized voices advance individual and community health,
   well being and resilience? What promising practices have you found in elevating such voices?
5. How does community-based research contribute to transitioning to creative place-based and knowledge economies? Are these practices applicable in a diversity of places? (e.g., small urban, rural, remote and Indigenous communities)
6. How can communities benefit from partnerships with universities/colleges?  What is the value of community-based research (to communities? to universities/colleges? to others?) How can it be measured and conveyed to diverse audiences? What is the value (e.g., Social Return on Investment) of university-affiliated community-based research institutes to the community in general and the university in particular?
7. How can community-based research contribute to public policy and social change?
8. How can we learn from our mistakes? (Failed/unsuccessful efforts can provide critical insights
   into the many and varied challenges of community-based research) How can it contribute to
   new project directions?

NB:  These questions are not intended to be restrictive nor comprehensive.
Please feel free to explore other questions that relate to the theme of Culture, Place and Resilience.

Conference Presentation Formats

Community member participation for all sessions with academics is strongly advised.

1. Oral presentation — A presentation related to the conference theme, followed by a question and answer time. This may include presentations of ideas in development, evaluations, innovations or another relevant context, and might include an opportunity for collective problem solving of identified challenges. Individual presentations will be approximately 10-15 minutes each, with a total of 60 minutes allocated for each session.
2. Symposium — 3-4 presentations and discussions on a common idea related to the conference theme. This format allows both individual and group submission. For group submission, 3 presentations can be submitted jointly by the panel lead. The lead discussant opens the session with a summary of the presentations followed by individual presentations. This session will provide an opportunity for discussion on important areas and issues relevant to community-university partnerships and collaborations. Each presentation will be approximately 10-15 minutes, with a total of 60 minutes allocated for each symposium session. N.B. For group submission, there will be a separate submission form, Group Submission Form for Symposium. See the ‘Guidelines for Submission’ below.
3. Poster presentation and Pecha Kucha/20×20 presentation — A display containing a title, summary, project outcomes, and illustrative information (e.g., tables, charts, graphs, pie charts, photographs). It is a summary of your research or creative project in a visually engaging way. Presenters must be available at their posters to answer questions at a designated time during the conference. Some posters may be selected for Pecha Kucha presentation. If you are interested in the Pecha Kucha presentation, please check the Pecha Kucha box on the submission form. Each Pecha Kucha presentation consists of 20 slides shown for 20 seconds each. The slideshow is set to auto-advance, so there is no going back, pausing, or skipping around. The entire presentation always lasts for exactly 6 minutes and 40 seconds. N.B. Poster presenters are responsible for creating and printing their posters.
4. Workshop — A training session in which presenters teach and discuss particular skills and techniques involved in doing community-based research and/or community-university partnerships for change.
   The session should accomplish specific learning objectives and increase the participants’ competence in an important area of the conference themes and objectives. It should include opportunities for practice and feedback. Please indicate workshop objectives, agenda, and participation processes. The session will be 60 minutes in length.
5. Storytelling — A session in which speakers share stories consistent with the conference theme, goals, and objectives. We encourage stories that reflect the genuine and authentic experience of an individual or a community and have the power to connect people, inspire, lead, and create change. For example, story sessions could involve a story of a successful or less than successful attempt to involve faculty by community organizations in community research projects, or how an attempt to change community policies or practices through a research project went in a completely different direction. The story could also provide insights drawn from a failed community-based research project. Please include the length of the presentation in your proposal. The entire session will be 60 minutes in length.
6. Creative works — We encourage presenters to submit activities that are arts-based such as skits, dramatizations, poetry, artwork, photo-voice or other expressive and artistic forms. In your proposal summary, please provide details about the presentation format, including the length of the presentation and any special needs. Arts-based sessions will be held throughout the conference.
7. Films and Videos — A creative and innovative space for showcasing films and videos consistent with the conference theme, goals, and objectives will be provided. Documentaries, short videos, animation, public service announcements (PSAs) and other forms are welcome. We encourage film projects that highlight the stories of community enrichment, resilience, and inclusion. Please provide details of your film in your proposal summary. Also, include whether you wish to introduce your film/video at the beginning and lead a question and answer or discussion session afterward. Shorter length films and videos are preferred due to time limitations.

Guidelines for Submission

Presentation proposals are due no later than December 15, 2019, 11:59 pm (Eastern Time).

Submissions will be peer-reviewed and applicants will be notified by the first week of February.

The Program Committee will try to accommodate all presentations according to the presenters’ stated preferences but may reassign presentation format according to conference program needs.

Co-presentations by community and university or college partners are strongly encouraged.

To submit a proposal summary to C2UExpo 2020, please follow these steps:

Review possible proposal questions related to the conference theme and presentation formats, and considers which question(s) and format best suit your conference presentation. You can select more than one format.

Prepare a summary of the proposal (no more than 225 words) following the proposal submission guidelines and submission checklist.

Please go to the website (c2uexpo2020.ca) and click on the General Submission Form link.

For symposium group submissions, please go to the website (c2uexpo2020.ca) and click on the Group Submission Form link.

Submission Checklist

A presentation proposal summary may not exceed 225 words. Proposals must be formatted using
Arial 12 point font size. Include the following information at the time of submission:

• Name, contact, membership, and affiliation(s)
• Co-author’s/teammates’ name, contact, membership and affiliation(s)
• Short Bios for all presenters/authors (please limit to 50 words)
• Your preferred format of presentation (you may select more than one format)
• Title of the proposal
• Proposal summary (225 words or less)
• Three or four Key words about your presentation

The body of the summary should include:

a)    A statement of your proposal
b)    Significance of the project to the community and/or to academics, policy-makers, others
c)    Any or all of the following, where appropriate:

• Methodology (e.g., research design, data collection and analysis procedures, training modules for ‘workshop’ submission)
• Findings/Outcomes
• Implications for research and/or practice

Summary Review Process

Preference will be given to the presentations that include at least one community member in the team.
The following criteria for proposal acceptance will be used: (1) Completion of all submission requirements; (2) Relevance to the conference theme and goals (3) Significance and originality of the community-based
research; (4) Research statement clearly stated; (5) Clarity and organization of written proposal summary, including meeting all requirements listed above.

Note: To present at the conference, conference registration must be received by Friday, February 21 (E.S.T.).
Note: Please indicate whether you want to volunteer to be a session chair during the proposal submission.
For more information, please contact us at this email: [email protected]