Policy Addressing Poverty
McMaster university participates in policy making at local, regional, national and/or global level to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions.
McMaster Community Poverty Initiative (MCPI)
The McMaster Community Poverty Initiative (MCPI) was founded in 2007 by concerned faculty, staff, and students who were interested in expanding McMaster’s role in addressing local conditions of poverty. With partners across Hamilton, this initiative looks to involve people who live in poverty and use knowledge as a tool for social change.
SEAL is a secure data facility that allows researchers to access sensitive data. Many companies, organizations, and government entities have data that could be extremely valuable in answering major societal questions like managing emergency food usage and erradicating poverty. SEAL is a way to protect the security, privacy, and proprietary nature of data while allowing researchers to access and analyze it to inform social policy that addresses poverty.
Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario (PEPSO)
The Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario (PEPSO) research project is a joint university-community initiative led by United Way Toronto & York Region and McMaster University in partnership with over 30 university, community sector, labour, government and media partners developed to meet the need of data on trends in precarious employment and to encourage policy debate and further research. PEPSO research has been explicitly cited 29 times in federal government proceedings, 10 times in provincial government proceedings and 9 times in municipal government proceedings. In addition, precarious employment has been increasingly cited as an issue of concern during federal and provincial government proceedings.
COVID Economic and Social Effects Study (CESES)
In a world turned upside down by COVID-19, the journey of Ontarians navigating this crisis exposed the inadequacy of existing social support programs such as Employment Insurance and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).
A report by McMaster researchers shows that Ontarians who were already among the poorest and most vulnerable came out of the COVID-19 pandemic worse off than they had been before. Researchers call for urgent government action and provide several policy recommendations to mitigate poverty.
Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative (CHEC)
Jim Dunn heads the McMaster-based Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative (CHEC), a centre within the Faculty of Social Sciences, is the focus of an ambitious new pan-Canadian research project on affordable housing. Consisting of researchers, policy makers, and individuals with lived experience across Canada, this initiative aims to end poverty in all its dimensions and to tackle the complex issues involved in making safe and health housing affordable for all Canadians.
In 2021, the pan-Canadian project received $1.35 million in federal funding.
Why Canada needs a national disability strategy
McMaster researcher and pediatrician Olaf Kraus De Camargo articulates policy recommendations for a national disability strategy that addresses poverty and other issues for Canada.
The McMaster Optimal Aging Portal provides evidence-based recommendations on exercise, nutrition, healthcare and mental health for older adults to support the community and policy makers creating programs, many that address the needs of older adults living in low-income neighborhoods.
McMaster hosted a 3-day conference o in 2023 called: “Imagining 2080: A Forum on Canada’s Futures” — a three-day conference focused on what Canada could look like in two generations and what we need to do to get there. The three-day event included a mix of speakers, discussion groups, and experiential workshops that brought together academic researchers, change-makers, and innovators to map out policies, many that addressed the needs of low-income communities and economies in transition, that will set the world up for a sustainable 2080.
McMaster renews and expands partnership with Aga Khan University
McMaster and Aga Khan University (AKU) have signed an agreement to work on addressing global health inequities and building the next generation of public policy leaders. The partnership aimed at working together to solve some of the world’s most pressing societal challenges such as poverty and equal access to health care for people living in low-income communities.
Improving Policymaking with Strong Global Partnerships and the Best Research Evidence
Professor John Lavis launched Social Systems Evidence (SSE), the most comprehensive, free access point for evidence on strengthening 20 government sectors and achieving the SDGs. He is improving policymaking with strong global partnerships and the best research evidence by injecting research evidence to inform government on how to approach their commitments.
Water Without Borders (WWB)
The Water Without Borders (WWB) program is a partnership between McMaster University and the United Nations University – International Network on Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH).
The program focuses on the international water sector and addresses issues of water without borders, either geopolitical or disciplinary. Access to safe water and sanitation, the economics of water provision, the impact of climate change on water, environment and health, and the development of international policies to ensure water access, environmental sustainability and human health are among the issues that the program addresses.
Global Health Faculty Developing Innovative Strategies to Prevent Child Maltreatment at the Thai-Myanmar Border
Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences and core faculty of the Global Health Program, Amanda Sim’s research, Developing Innovative Strategies to Prevent Child Maltreatment at the Thai-Myanmar Border, focuses on improving the mental health and well-being of forcibly displaced children and families. Sim recently received a $1.2 million grant from The LEGO Foundation to develop innovative strategies to prevent violence against children and improve child development outcomes by rapidly developing and evaluating the effectiveness of parenting interventions.