ADVANCING JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY THROUGH APPLIED RESEARCH: JIBC’S RESEARCH PLAN G. Anderson, Dean, Applied Research & Graduate Studies VISION The Centre for Applied Research has a vision of establishing the Justice Institute of British Columbia as the lead justice and public safety research institution in Canada, helping keep communities safe through an active applied research agenda engaging justice and public safety practitioners, policy makers, stakeholders, and service users. MISSION JIBC RESEARCH PLAN Guided by the Strategic Plan 2015-2020, and the Education Plan 2016-2020, the JIBC Research Plan outlines three directional goals to support the people, the professions, and the training and education practices at the core of the mission and mandate of the Justice Institute of British Columbia. The Centre for Applied Research achieves this vision by developing new knowledge in emerging disciplines that informs best practice and public policy, enhances justice and public safety curriculum, leverages learning technologies and methodologies, and increases public awareness. The Centre for Applied Research is dedicated to advancing justice and public safety through the scholarship of discovery, application, integration, teaching, and service. SCHOLARSHIP AND APPLIED RESEARCH Scholarship forms the foundation of practice, training, and education. Thus, the Centre for Applied Research (CAR) takes the concept of scholarship as the central theme of its efforts in service of the profession, the practitioner, and their education and training. Specifically, the work of the CAR emerges from five functions – the scholarship of discovery, application, integration, teaching, and service. Scholarship fosters the development of new knowledge and new insights, influences field practice, informs policy, shapes and enriches curriculum, enhances pedagogical practices, and challenges the individual to become a full participant in her or his discipline and community. OUR RESEARCH PLAN GOALS • To advance the knowledge, theory and practice supporting the public safety professions • To examine the role and functions of, and the stressors on, public safety practitioners • To provide evidence supporting the experiential learning used to create transformational learning environments. Applied research, broadly defined, is one form of scholarship which involves the systematic application of scientific principles to solve practical, real-world problems that improve the human condition or aid in the development and commercialization of products. Applied research uses the research community’s accumulated knowledge, theories, methods of inquiry and research practices for client or partner driven purpose, and most often engages stakeholders in the process. OBJECTIVE 1 SUPPORTING PUBLIC SAFTEY PROFESSIONS JIBC is committed to work with our stakeholders to identify present and future needs of their organizations, and to support their need for evidence that helps guide the decision making process. We support and advance our disciplines and communities of practices through applied research, social innovation, and collaboration, and by exploring a variety of methods for funding the work required. OBJECTIVE 2 SUPPORTING PUBLIC SAFTEY PRACTITIONERS JIBC is committed to developing and evaluating proactive, evidence-informed solutions to issues and conditions that challenge the health and well-being of those dedicated practitioners and professionals who work tirelessly in support of public safety. OBJECTIVE 3 SUPPORTING EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING JIBC is committed to providing evidence of the efficacy of the training and education practices used, and to explore innovative and applied learning approaches and technologies that will facilitate student learning and success. We purposefully approach education in applied and experiential ways, to ensure that our learners are job-ready and able to take on new career challenges. Applied research and innovation at JIBC usually takes one of four forms — descriptive, exploratory, explanatory, or experimental. Building on area of expertise and past accomplishment, the four area of research emphasis include the following: Simulation Prehospital Care Mental Health Resilient Communities Simulation Training and Exercise Collaboratory Simulation Stress Scoping: Defining Next Generation Simulations JIBC Active Learning / Practice Learning Bona Fide Occupational Requirements Canadian Paramedic Profile Paramedics in Industry Chair/Program in Paramedicine Studies Defining Educational Requirements Simulation Tracking Violence Against Paramedics Practitioner Resilience Violence Against Police Officers Working with Persons with Mental Disability Occupational and Organizational Stressors Rural Disaster Resilience Planning Critical Infrastructure Aboriginal Disaster Resilience Planning Damage Safety Assessment Emergency Planning with Industry Partner • Descriptive research uses observational techniques to describe aspects of practice • Exploratory research seeks to isolate and explore some aspect of practice in greater depth or detail • Explanatory research develops theory to explain and understand these phenomenon • Experimental research evaluates purposeful interventions to validate and extend theory. JIBC’s Research Plan can be found at: http://www.jibc.ca/sites/default/files/research/Research_Plan_2017.pdf JUSTICE INSTITUTE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA