The Jane Finch Research Advisory Board (JFRAB)
The Jane-Finch Research Advisory Board is based on residents’ expressed need for a community-led ethics review process for researchers looking to do research in/about the Jane-Finch Community. The advisory board will be a community-based group whose role is to oversee and support research proposals that are specific to the Jane Finch Community. The advisory board will review research proposals from researchers across all institutions, as well as, community members looking to do research in the community. Researchers are recommended to submit their research proposals to the JFRAB as well as their institutional ethics department.
The purpose of the Jane Finch Research Advisory Board is to strengthen ethical and community-engaged research processes, increase community access to research results about Jane Finch, and educate academic/student researchers about the community. The Jane-Finch Research Advisory Group’s review process, along with the document “Principles for Conducting Research in the Jane-Finch Community” (2020), and the Research Modules, are intended to guide, support and strengthen research in the Jane-Finch community between academic institutions, researchers and community members/organizations. The roles of the board include:
Facilitate community input so that research is beneficial to the community
Assist researchers and community members in building capacities to participate, collaborate, and engage in research
Help to ensure researchers respectfully and fairly engage community residents
Help to advocate on behalf of community members
The Jane Finch Research Advisory Board – Working Group
The Jane Finch Research Advisory Board working group is made up of community residents. The purpose of the working group is to develop the guidelines, protocols, and processes for the Jane Finch Research Advisory Board:
· To establish the structure and governance model and processes for the Advisory Board
· To create the ethics application form to do research in Jane Finch
· To establish the approval criteria for reviewing ethics application proposals
· To conduct outreach to solicit and interview board members
· To establish a funding model and financial sustainability of the community ethics board
· To create a resource and support list for the Advisory Board
The following community residents are part of the working group: Kibra Tesfaye; Maame Boateng; Nathan Baya; Troy Budhu; and Anna-Kay Brown.
The lead and facilitators are: Abena Offeh-Gyimah, Shon Williams, and Farwa Arshad.
The working group is currently in the process of developing the Jane Finch Research Advisory Board. The next steps will be recruiting members for the JFRAB, once members for the advisory board have recruited, then research proposals can finally be submitted for review and approval. If you have any further questions or comments, please email us at: janefinchresearch@gmail.com