Dr. Kharah Ross collaborates with community partners to bridge gap between academia and real world
As a health psychologist and researcher, Dr. Kharah Ross wants to know that she’s done her part to address major challenges like gender-based violence. Like most academics, much of that work involves advancing knowledge and publishing results.
But the work doesn’t stop there.
“It’s not just about generating knowledge,” said Ross, an associate professor in Athabasca University’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. “It’s about applying it in a way that makes a difference.”
Ross has made a point of pursuing research projects that directly involve—and benefit—community partners. That was an important motivation for tackling gender violence as a co-lead of the Alliance Against Violence and Adversity (AVA). The national initiative breaks down the barriers between academia and community organizations.
AVA isn’t just a research project—it’s a knowledge mobilization and training platform. Ross led the development of a curriculum that helps social workers, nurses, and psychologists working in the community, research trainees, and even the general public, learn about gender violence and how to help.
“When it comes to doing work that's impactful, bridging that gap is very important,” Ross added.
Based in Calgary, Alta., Ross routinely works with not-for-profit agencies on the frontline, delivering supports to women and children.
Related: Online training raises awareness of gender-based violence
Collaborating with non-profits on data management
One of those projects involved creating a new database for Elizabeth House, a Calgary transitional home for vulnerable women and children. It was an example of research and embracing advances in cloud computing to help a small organization understand its own data—including who Elizabeth House serves and how many lives they impact.
Commercial data management tools are too expensive for non-profit agencies operating on less than $500,000 a year, Ross said, and access to good data can mean the difference between qualifying for grant funding and not.
“They don't have the money to do this, and the risk is they're going to be left behind. That is unacceptable,” she said.
“Research should be informed by the real world and it should be grounded in real-world problems. That's why the work that we do at AU and in research is so important.”
Learn more about Ross’s research on her Pure profile
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