Community-Based Research Ethics: Making Research Ethics Boards Your Friend – Feb. 14, 2025

Session Description

February Community of Practice Event, hosted by Community-Based Research Canada 

This CoP will explore the challenges of fitting community-based research into traditional ethics review processes. While ethics boards aim to support researchers in minimizing harm, they can be seen as barriers, especially if board members aren’t familiar with community-based approaches. Dr. Lynne Lafave, Professor at Mount Royal University and chair of its Human Research Ethics Board (HREB), will facilitate this session and share her experiences as both a community-based researcher and an HREB chair. Participants will share experiences and insights navigating community-based research ethics, and will share suggestions for how REBs can better support and facilitate community-based research.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Lynne Lafave – Professor, Health & Physical Education, and Chair, Human Research Ethics Board, Mount Royal University

Dr. Lynne Lafave conducts research focusing on well-being, nutrition, and physical activity initiatives in the early years (ages 3-5). Her work has included a public health initiative collaborating with various community and government partners to develop an evidence-based scale for evaluating and promoting health child care environments. Lynne was awarded the Mount Royal University Community Engagement Award in 2019 in recognition of her community research, including work with vulnerable families to support food literacy in preschoolers. In addition to her research and teaching, she acts as the chair for Mount Royal University’s Human Research Ethics Board.