Focused Efforts

NWP’s Centre for Community Enhancement and Social Innovation (CCESI) uses innovative research approaches to tackle complex social issues. By applying rigorous social science methods in partnership with our community and government stakeholders, we help policymakers, non-profits, and public sector entities make data-driven decisions that bridge service gaps and improve community programs.

 The CCESI has completed two Tri-Council-funded projects, including Civic Belonging in a Northern Resource Economy and Grande Prairie Police and Crisis Team Evaluation. Whether we’re conducting local program evaluations, engaging in large-scale partnered projects, or training the next generation of social science researchers, our team is committed to creating a more resilient and inclusive community through increased understanding, student research assistant opportunities, and work-integrated learning.
 

NWP’s Centre for Community Enhancement and Social Innovation (CCESI) uses innovative research approaches to tackle complex social issues. By applying rigorous social science methods in partnership with our community and government stakeholders, we help policymakers, non-profits, and public sector entities make data-driven decisions that bridge service gaps and improve community programs.

 The CCESI has completed two Tri-Council-funded projects, including Civic Belonging in a Northern Resource Economy and Grande Prairie Police and Crisis Team Evaluation. Whether we’re conducting local program evaluations, engaging in large-scale partnered projects, or training the next generation of social science researchers, our team is committed to creating a more resilient and inclusive community through increased understanding, student research assistant opportunities, and work-integrated learning.
 

Help Us Shine a Light on Mental Health

Do you work in the Skilled Trades, or are you currently training to enter the profession? You are invited to participate in a research study exploring the impact of workplace stressors within the Energy and Trades sectors. 

Your experiences and perspectives can play an important role in advancing our understanding of psychological health and safety in these industries. By sharing your insights, you will help inform initiatives aimed at fostering healthier, safer, and more supportive workplaces for trades professionals.

Get in Touch

NWP psychology instructor, Connie Korpan. NWP psychology instructor, Connie Korpan.

Office of Applied Research

Meet our Lead Researcher

Dr. Connie Korpan has led numerous community enhancement research projects at NWP, including the Police and Crisis Team Evaluation, and Civic Belonging in a Northern Resource Economy.

Read More About Dr. Korpan

Current Research

Primary Researcher: Dr. Connie Korpan
Research Coordinator: Olivia Stevenson
Collaborator: Tracy Golnick, Lead at the Resource Centre for Suicide Prevention and coordinator of the Tough Enough To Talk About It program

Background:

“NWP will play a critical role in collaborating with RCSP and various industry partners to investigate how workplace-related stressors impact the mental health of their workers, an issue with direct implications for productivity, safety, and long-term sustainability." 

Launched in 2025, this three-year collaborative research project focuses on psychological health and safety in the Energy and Trades sectors. The study addresses critical workplace challenges faced by workers in these industries, including isolation, unstable work conditions, extended absences, and poor mental health literacy. While the Canadian National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace exists, its implementation remains voluntary and not specifically adapted to these sectors' unique needs.

"By co-developing evidence-based mental health supports that align with the National Standard on Psychological Health and Safety, these collaborations will help industries strengthen their workforce and fulfill their role as key economic drivers in the region. This research ensures that interventions are both practical and rooted in the realities of the sector,” said Dr. Korpan. “We are excited to include NWP students in this project! Involving students in this work equips them with applied research experience, sector-specific knowledge, and problem-solving skills. It also connects them to industry networks, fostering a workforce that is both skilled and socially responsive.”

The study aims to develop data-driven, customized recommendations aligned with the National Standard to enhance psychological health and safety initiatives. This collaborative effort includes gathering input on specific organizational challenges, developing comprehensive data collection tools, and engaging workers across various roles and experience levels.

Objective:

This study aims to investigate and improve psychological health and safety in the Energy and Trades sectors. Through partnership with the Resource Centre for Suicide Prevention and Northwestern Polytechnic, the project seeks to address the unique occupational stressors faced by workers in these industries, where mental health challenges are often exacerbated by factors such as isolation, irregular schedules, and hazardous conditions.

Expected Outcome:

The project will deliver three key outputs: a comprehensive research report analyzing workplace stressors and their impacts, a practical Toolkit to assist sector leaders in developing and implementing tailored Health and Safety Programs, and a Future Directions paper identifying areas requiring additional research to address the workforce's evolving mental health needs. These deliverables will be developed through active collaboration with industry partners using a Participatory Action Research approach.

Partners:

  • Resource Centre for Suicide Prevention
  • CDN Controls
  • Northern Mat & Bridge LP
  • County of Grande Prairie

We acknowledge the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). 

Past Research

Primary Researchers

Principal Investigator/Project Director: Dr. Connie Korpan
Researcher: Dawn Moffat McMaster

Background

“Our hope is that the young co-researchers will gain a means of contributing to social change and feel empowered by the experience.” – Dr. Korpan on the use of Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) in the Civic Belonging Study.

This project represents the first regional use of the youth participatory action research (YPAR) approach. This Community Enhancement Research project will address the issue of low community connection and engagement among youth in resource-dependent northern Alberta communities. Lack of community connection and engagement is associated with higher instances of poverty and crime, lower levels of education attainment and other poor social outcomes. Young people are especially likely to report low connection and engagement, and recent evidence suggests that many people living in northwestern Alberta communities experience a relatively poor sense of place belonging.

Korpan, Moffat McMaster, and their co-researchers will perform interview research with engaged and disengaged youth in Jasper and Grande Prairie to identify factors that aggravate and mitigate community connection. They will use Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), which involves recruiting students and other young people in the community to act as co-researchers.

Objective

Identify the relationship between northern resource economy contexts and youth sense of connection, how this relationship affects youth decisions, and how, in turn, these decisions affect connection and belonging.

Expected Outcome

Furnish municipal leaders, social support funders, agencies, and service providers with evidence to inform funding priorities, identify service needs and overlaps, and to capitalize on existing community strengths.

Partners

  • City of Grande Prairie – Community and Social Development
  • Community Foundation of Northwestern Alberta
  • RCMP Grande Prairie Detachment
  • Sunrise House
  • Jasper Community Team

The Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) program is a partnership between Holmesglen Institute in Victoria and Northwestern Polytechnic.

Over the course of the project, partners will work to create multiple online virtual communities that:

  • facilitate collaborative research,
  • provide access to resources,
  • enable nursing students to work together regardless of their global location, and
  • enhance the future nursing workforce.

COIL will also focus on establishing an international community of practice for faculty supporting students.

The Project

Three teams from Canada and Australia will work together to fulfil the objectives of each project. The partnership will adopt the recommended steps put forward by the State University of New York COIL Centre.

Project 1: Through a collaborative content development process, a sophisticated, highly functional, and authentic virtual reality simulated learning program will be created and tested across both organizations. Students from Australia and Canada will participate in four previously developed online virtual reality simulations and meet in a Virtual Global Classroom to debrief and share their learnings.

These four modules include:

  • An aggressive patient
  • A patient who is cognitively impaired
  • A deteriorating patient and
  • A patient at the end of life

In addition to implementing the four virtual simulations, two brand new virtual simulations will be developed focusing on Global Health and Indigenous Health concepts. Canadians and Australians will work together to develop scenarios that impact nursing students on a global level.

Project 2: An Online Virtual Community will be established for students from Canada and Australia and evaluated. It will provide a common learning environment where students can work collaboratively and participate in peer learning exchanges.

Project 3: A faculty Virtual Community of Practice will be implemented and evaluated. It will provide a platform for faculty and researchers to share goals, develop international relationships, and plan for future education and research activity.

Funding

COIL is sponsored through a Study Melbourne Research Partnerships Program Grant supported by Veski and will help grow student's collaborative international learning capabilities. Veski is funded by the State Government of Victoria in Australia with the aim to build partnerships and collaborations in business, academic, and philanthropic organizations.

Outcomes

This suite of research projects will provide a platform to facilitate ongoing research collaboration between the Holmesglen Institute and Northwestern Polytechnic. Results from the evaluation of these projects will serve as an evidence-based template for the design and delivery of COIL and other collaborative research projects into the future.

Background

In 2015, a partnership was created between the two organizations for student and staff exchanges. This study formalizes a research collaboration between the two organizations, resulting in reportable research outcomes and tangible products that can be profiled across the international nursing and simulation communities.

Ethical Clearance

This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through the NWP Research Ethics Board. If you have questions regarding the ethics review of this study, please contact the Research Ethics Board at research@nwpolytech.ca.

Do you have any more questions?

If you have any questions regarding this study or would like additional information, please contact Northwestern Polytechnic's COIL Project Lead, Theresa Evans, at @email.

Get in Touch

Connect with us about how we can help launch your research project.

Office: E401

Campus: Grande Prairie

Phone: 780-539-2905

Email: research@nwpolytech.ca