The JIBC Strategic Plan 2010 – 2015 envisions the JIBC as a “world leader in justice and public
safety education and research.” The Office of Applied Research and Special Projects supports
this vision through an integrated program of work with a pan-Institute focus and mission – one
which includes both strategic and tactical objectives as we move forward to build research
capacity and leadership.

Vision
Mandate, Vision, and Goal
We are dedicated to promoting social change and social justice that helps keep our communities
safe through applied research with first responders, practitioners, first receivers, policy makers,
stakeholders, and service users. We advance our vision of leadership in justice and public safety
education and research by informing public policy, increasing public awareness, enhancing
justice and public safety curriculum, and leveraging learning technologies and methodologies.
By 2015, we anticipate the JIBC will be at the forefront of applied research in public and
community safety in British Columbia, Canada. As a unique international post secondary institute
in public safety, with professional, undergraduate, and graduate programs, the JIBC will promote
and host a unique research signature, one that inspires solutions and is targeted to meet public
and community needs.
The design and delivery of our research is conducted primarily from the ‘stand-point’ of First
Responders and First Receivers – thus ensuring a unique niche for the Institute. We will foster
research that promotes social change and social justice – through action, practice/praxis and
adaptive research. We will:
• Advance research that makes a difference to society through state-of-the-art curricula,
interventions, and contributions to public safety.
• Create new knowledge and understandings by asking new questions through knowledge
generation, exchange, mobilization and ‘uptake’ by decision makers, including policy and
practice audiences.
• Provide research leadership, stewardship, and mentorship.
• Build a transformative Office of Applied Research and Special Projects – a leading edge
focal point in Canada and internationally for public safety education, research and
scholarship.

Capacity
History
The JIBC has a thirty year history of leadership, innovation, and collaboration with industry and
public partners in the fields of justice and public safety. JIBC Schools of Community and Social
Justice, Health Sciences, and Public Safety and Security work within their disciplines to develop
solutions to practical problems in applied settings. Their projects have provided insight,
developed new knowledge, and fostered change in justice and public safety practice and
education.
The Justice Institute of BC, in its 2007-2010 Strategic Plan, called for the creation of an “Office of
Applied Research and Special Projects”. In 2008, Dr. Carol Amaratunga was recruited as Dean,
Applied Research. The newly created Office quickly consolidated and further developed the
715 McBride Boulevard. New Westminster, BC V3L 5T4
appliedresearch@jibc.ca www.jibc.ca/appliedresearch

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Strategic Plan Summary – Outline

March, 2011

JIBC’s applied research infrastructure and capacity. Today, the programmatic work of this office
comprises a suite of interrelated projects, activities, and services which share a common goal and
vision, with measurable objectives. The OAR continues to receive direct financial and physical
infrastructure support from the Institute as it builds both individual and institutional research
capacity throughout the JIBC. In addition, OAR, working with the JIBCs Schools, has successfully
obtained funding in excess of $10 million in the last three years.
In 2010, OAR developed and implemented a suite of policies and procedures to support the
JIBC's strategic research plan and accomplish its research goals. These provide the framework
and direction for research undertaken by the JIBC. OAR has further encouraged the development
of research capacity through sponsorship of ongoing presentations, workshops, and retreats for
JIBC faculty and staff.
Infrastructure
The JIBC supports research both through the Office of Applied Research and projects housed
within specific Schools and Divisions. The Office of Applied Research projects focus on multi- or
interdisciplinary initiatives, while JIBC Schools engage in applied research within their specific
domains, disciplines, and areas of expertise. In addition, the Office of Applied Research provides
centralized support, expertise, and mentoring to projects at the School and Division level.
In addition to the development of procedural and administrative infrastructure through policy and
procedures, OAR sponsors and supports the JIBC Ethics Committee and the JIBC Applied
Research Committee.
The JIBC Research Commons facility provides office space and physical resources for the staff of
OAR's ongoing and future research projects. Currently the Research Commons houses the CRTI
Project Secretariat and the Centre for the Prevention and Reduction of Violence.
The core staff of the Office of Applied Research includes the Dean, Research Strategist, and
Administrative Research Assistant. OAR has dedicated space and physical resources, including
offices for core staff.
OAR projects are supported through a variety of research personnel:
• Research Chairs (in development)
• JIBC Research Associates (please refer to the JIBC website for a list of current research
associates: http://www.jibc.ca/research/research-team )
• JIBC Post-Graduate Fellows and Graduate Students (e.g. Masters and Doctoral students)
• Primary/Lead Investigators
• Sessional Researchers
• Community-based Researchers
• Research Project Manager
• Research Operations Manager
• Administrative Research Assistants
In addition, each JIBC School and Division conducts ongoing research projects using a
combination of full-time faculty, project-based personnel, and external consultants. Researchers
have access to the physical and personnel infrastructure of the schools; including extensive live
simulation facilities such as the Maple Ridge live fire campus, purpose built simulation facilities at
the JIBC's New Westminster campus, and the Dr. Rix Simulation Centre, which includes a large
simulation “garage” and a technology-supported multi-agency exercise space. The JIBC's unique
relationship with operational justice, public safety, and health agencies and practitioners, both in
BC and internationally, provide access to field personnel and community/operational research

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Office of Applied Research
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March, 2011

sites that further support our signature research from the standpoint of First Responders and First
Receivers.
The JIBC currently has letters of understanding with the School of Social Work (UBC), The
FREDA Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children (SFU), as well as Natural
Resources Canada (NRCAN). OAR is also collaborating with UVIC as part of the Violence
Reduction Circle initiative.

Current Initiatives
The Office of Applied Research fosters social change and social justice through applied research
with those who keep our communities safe. OAR collaborates with public and private sector
partners to attract and secure ongoing funding with the JIBC Schools e.g. the School of Public
Safety and Security, the School of Health Sciences, and the School of Community and Social
Justice.
The current research portfolio includes funding from foundation grants e.g. the J. Howard
Webster Foundation, the Vancouver Board of Trade Foundation, provincial government e.g.
WorkSafeBC and federal government e.g. Department of National Defence Centre for Security
Science contract research. In all, for 2011/12 research project and proposal commitments
pending approval are in excess of $10 million.
Examples of major applied research commitments, including in-kind commitments include:
• Centre for Prevention and Reduction of Violence ($413,000) – approved and in progress
• Building Resilience and Rural Health System Capability for Pre-Disaster Planning and
Preparedness (Rural Disaster Resilience Project www.rdrp.ca) – status approved and in
implementation ($3,174,186).
• Simulation Training and Exercise Collaboratory (SIMTEC): Enhancing CBRNE Psychosocial
Capacity and Capability Management ($3,635,604) – status approved and pending contract
signature
• Interoperability and the Canadian Certification Registry (CCR) ($2,696,160) – proposal under
peer review

In addition, Office of Applied Research houses the Centre for Prevention and Reduction in
Violence, which is conducting a series of 3 subproject studies:
• Process of Discovery initiative - explores intimate partner violence in the South Asian
community.
• Code White – a study in collaboration with St. Paul’s Hospital and UBC, investigates violence
against health care workers and successful intervention processes – in partnership with the
University of British Columbia and St. Paul’s Hospital.
• Violence Reduction Circle initiative – a policy research project in collaboration with Simon
Fraser University, University of Victoria, and the BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health
engages multiple partners from the academic, community, clinical and public policy sectors.
This project addresses the economic costs of violence in BC and will develop and
recommend a violence prevention policy framework for the province.
The results of these projects will lead to significant improvements in public policy, community
awareness, field practice, and improved education for those who keep our communities safe.

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Office of Applied Research
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March, 2011

JIBC Schools and Divisions also participate in ongoing research efforts exploring improvements
in practice and education such as the following ongoing or recently completed research projects:
School of Public Safety & Security
• The Effectiveness of Current Fire Fighter Rapid Intervention Teams
• Evaluation of Self Contained Breathing Apparatus
• Identification of Potential Risk Factors for Injury to Police Officers using New Technologies
• A Collaborative Approach to Ensuring the Health and Safety of Persons with Disabilities
when Interacting with Law Enforcement Officers.
• Onroad Driving Assessment of Older Adults
School of Community & Social Justice
• Sexual Exploitation in Remote Aboriginal Communities
• Balancing Conflicting Interests: A Counsellor's Guide to The Legal Process (release in early
2011)
• Sexual Exploitation Toolkit: One-stop resource for information on the commercial sexual
exploitation of children and youth, with a focus on BC
School of Health Sciences
• From Diagnosis to Discernment: Fostering the Development of Clinical Judgment in Recruit
Paramedics in High Fidelity Simulation Environments
• Prehospital clinical performance global rating scale, Primary Care Paramedic scale validation
study
• What the camera sees: video assessment in simulation settings

Looking Forward
The Office of Applied Research is committed to building capacity and supporting institute-wide
research training and development through establishing ethics policies, procedures and
guidelines in keeping with Tri Council ‘gold’ standards, developing new funding proposals for
grants and contracts, and ensuring that research results impact public safety curricula,
interventions and public policy in meaningful ways. Over the next five years, the OAR will
promote research, education, and scholarship within the strategic goals of the JIBC.
Themes
The Office of Applied Research will work with JIBC Schools and Divisions to develop three
general areas of expertise:
• interdisciplinary practice
• experiential and simulation-based learning
• improving practice for those who keep our communities safe
Funding priorities
JIBC researchers seek practical solutions to real world problems within the unique domains of
justice and public safety and from the standpoint of the First Responder and First Receiver. This
perspective informs the funding priorities of the Office of Applied Research in five areas:
• Research based in the natural sciences and engineering areas, exploring innovation in
practice and safety interventions for fire, police, paramedic, and justice personnel (e.g. the
Identification of Potential Risk Factors for Injury to Police Officers using New Technologies)
• Social sciences and humanities research such as the Rural Disaster Resilience Project
(RDRP), which focuses on emergency planning and disaster resilience in rural, remote, and
coastal communities

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Office of Applied Research
Strategic Plan Summary – Outline

March, 2011

• Health sciences research that supports emerging roles and practice of prehospital and
paramedical personnel in meeting the challenges of an evolving health care system (such as
the development of Emergency Room Assistants, placing paramedics in the Emergency
Department)
• Research that explores innovation in educational technology, particularly in simulation-based
environments, technology-enhanced learning, and experiential learning (e.g. SIMTEC,
Fostering the Development of Clinical Judgment in Recruit Paramedics in High Fidelity
Simulation Environments)
• Applied research with our operational partners, small and medium-sized enterprises, and the
communities they work with and in to enhance productivity and social innovation
JIBC research is intended to help keep our curricula ‘state-of-the-art’, to ameliorate public
interventions and prevention, and to help influence evidence-informed public policy with respect
to public and community safety.
Funding Opportunities
The Office of Applied Research will seek funding through a wide range of sources, including peer
reviewed funding agencies (e.g. Tri-council funding), private and public sector resources,
partnerships, grants and contracts.
Recruitment and Retention of Outstanding Faculty
The Office of Applied Research will continue to build, maintain, and retain outstanding research
faculty and staff. With its complement of current faculty and staff who hold master’s and doctorate
degrees, along with highly qualified research associates and research partnerships with BC and
Canadian universities, the JIBC currently supports a diverse and expanding series of research
initiatives. In addition, OAR will focus on creating a culture of research across the JIBC through
the integration of research in programs at all levels, including dedicated research courses at the
professional and undergraduate levels. The Office will support individual capacity building for staff
and faculty who are developing and completing research projects within their own graduate
disciplines as well as support, institutional capacity building e.g. JIBC degree and post graduate
level programs.
Activities and Functions
The Office of Applied Research will support its vision and plan by:
• Fostering a Pan-Institute Culture of Applied Research
ƒ In collaboration with JIBC Deans and Directors, identify opportunities for
integrating applied research into justice and public safety curricula, innovations
and public policy interventions.
ƒ Establish and maintain pan-Institute research networks, including JIBC Applied
Research Committee (ARC) and Ethics Review Committee (ERC) to ensure
adherence to JIBC Applied Research Policies, Procedures, Guidelines, including
adoption of national Tri Council ethics protocols.
ƒ Provide leadership in the publication/dissemination of JIBC applied research
findings and publications e.g. JIBC Annual Report, Justin Times, International
Journal of Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, etc.
• The Development and Recruitment of Faculty and Staff
ƒ Recruit a cadre of highly skilled, knowledgeable and experienced adjunct
research faculty and staff e.g. JIBC Research Associates.
ƒ Develop applied research and scholarship opportunities for JIBC Visiting
Scholars, Applied Research Chairs and Faculty.
ƒ Ensure professional development and training opportunities for JIBC Faculty
through annual research retreats, workshops, symposia to enhance knowledge
and skills in research and grant proposal writing.

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Office of Applied Research
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March, 2011

• Growth of Research Capacity and Operational Infrastructure
ƒ Maintain JIBC research policies and procedures, ensuring consistency with
Canadian Tri-Council funding agency guidelines and standards: Natural Sciences
and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canadian Institutes of Health
Research (CIHR) and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
(SSHRC).
ƒ Secure research funding, from public and private sources, for example the
Canadian Foundation for Innovation.
ƒ Promote private and public collaborations in applied research and in tandem with
JIBC Office of Advancement, support engagement of the private sector in the
commercialization of public safety technology.
ƒ Create central infrastructure support and processes in support of the
administrative and operational requirements of research funders, including
foundations and government departments
• Provision of support and mentorship
ƒ Provide support to JIBC Faculty and Schools by providing consultation and
support throughout all stages of the research process e.g. from research concept
through to design.
ƒ Support and mentor JIBC Faculty who are undertaking advanced and post
graduate academic studies, theses, dissertations, research presentations and
posters.
Measuring Success
The Office of Applied Research will continue to foster research that builds towards a common
goal and vision with measurable objectives. As part of its participation in the JIBC’s overall
Continuous Quality Assurance program and Strategic Planning process, OAR develops annual
Local Operating Plans and identifies Key Performance Indicators, to ensure efficiency,
effectiveness and accountability in its research activities. These indicators provide valuable
measures of OAR’s progress including tracking successful completion of research projects,
recruitment and retention of Highly Qualified Personnel and research faculty, and participation of
JIBC faculty and staff in ongoing research events, workshops, and professional development
activities.

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