City of Kingston

Project option 1
In partnership with the City of Kingston, help us better understand how PhD students and early-career researchers would design a life science district that co-locates a hospital, future university and college research and learning space, and private-sector life sciences activity, and what elements of the researcher and trainee experience are at risk of being missed when district planning proceeds primarily from an institutional, infrastructure-first perspective?

Project option 2
In partnership with the City of Kingston and community organizations, help us better understand what community-based youth support interventions have been most effective at preventing youth violence and gang involvement across Canadian municipalities and Indigenous communities, and how can lessons learned from these jurisdictions inform the development of locally relevant, youth-centered community safety strategies?   

Southeast Public Health (KFL&A Public Health)

Project: Creating an Orientation Module for Public Health Staff

Public Health is seeking support from a team of students in the development of an orientation module for Public Health staff. Broadly, the projects objectives would be to:

• Understand public health, how the public health sector is organized in Ontario, and broadly what public health units do.   
• Understand,  population health, the structural and social determinants of health, health equity,  and public health interventions as they are applied universally vs targeted and upstream vs downstream  

• Know about the new/emerging public health competencies

Surrey Place

Project: Wellness Evaluation and Review

Surrey Place supports people of all ages with autism-, developmental-, and sensory-related concerns with comprehensive, yet centralized care program. This project will expand upon work done by students in the PhD-Community Initiative last year.

Surrey Place brings together clinicians, staff, partners, and other experts in the sector to give their clients a comprehensive and centralized care program. This holistic approach ensures everyone in a client’s circle of care – their behaviour therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, physiotherapists, speech-language pathologists and more – can collaborate to work in the client’s best interests. 

They work with their clients throughout their lives, creating inventive and innovative programs so they can keep building their skills, grow their self-confidence and set their sights even higher. For children, our approach revolves around the family unit. For adults, we support their independence.

Surrey Place would like to partner with a team of students to support the continuation of their Wellness Department evaluation (a client family and community engagement and service offering review). Phase 1 of the evaluation has been completed, and the information will be available for the team to begin Phase 2. In Phase 2, we’d like to gather feedback from our clients and community for further shaping their service offerings and to conduct a review of their current offerings to ensure alignment with the Ministry of Community, Children, and Social Services’ children's rehabilitation guidelines. 
 

Kingston WritersFest

Project:  Understanding Audience and Volunteer Engagement 

Kingston WritersFest is a small non-profit literary festival that organizes and operates an annual festival of new (mostly) Canadian books. Our Vision is to be a community that celebrates the power of the written word by connecting readers and writers in inclusive conversations that inspire, engage, and expand our worldviews. Our Mission is to promote diverse literary expression, develop and grow an audience for the literary arts, and foster the artistic development of writers of all ages.

As a small cultural organization, KWF’s sustainability depends on the participation and support of two key groups: audiences and volunteers. KWF would benefit from a deeper understanding of their demographics and the motivations, experiences, expectations, and barriers that impact their engagement with the festival.

KWF would like a team of students to investigate the factors that influence individuals’ decisions to engage with KWF and return to the festival, as well as the circumstances that might lead individuals to stop their involvement. It is hoped that this project will identify patterns in participant experiences, expectations, and motivations while also giving individuals an opportunity to articulate their motivations, needs, and challenges in their own terms.

The goal is to develop deeper insight into what makes engagement meaningful and sustainable within a small community-based cultural organization. The research would generate insights into how we could inform our approaches to audience development, volunteer recruitment and retention, community engagement, and program design. On a larger scale, the work would contribute more broadly to understanding how small arts and cultural organizations can foster sustained participation and community connection in resource-constrained environments.
 

Emole Futures Initiative

Emole Futures Initiative is a Kingston-based not-for-profit organization that equips Black youth and other underrepresented youth with skills, mentorship, networks, and leadership opportunities in business, artificial intelligence, STEM, and civic leadership.

In summer 2026, Emole launched its pilot Black Youth in Business program for high-school students. Building on this pilot, Emole is introducing Black Youth in STEM for students in Grades 2–8 and Black Youth in AI for students in Grades 9–12. As a new organization, Emole is seeking support to demonstrate its impact, strengthen its operating model, and build a responsible foundation for future growth.

Project Option 1: Program Evaluation and Impact Measurement
Emole Futures Initiative is seeking a doctoral student team to develop a practical evaluation and impact-measurement framework for its youth programs. The purpose of the project is to help Emole understand and communicate how its programs are making a meaningful difference in learners’ knowledge, confidence, skills, aspirations, networks, and exposure to future educational and career pathways.

The project should also build on the experience of Queen’s Smith Engineering, which operated the Black Youth in STEM program for approximately six years. Subject to appropriate introductions and availability, the student team could speak with relevant faculty, staff, former program contributors, and other stakeholders to understand what worked well, what challenges were encountered, and what lessons may inform Emole’s future program design and evaluation approach. The final framework should be rigorous enough to support future partnership and funding applications, while remaining practical for a small not-for-profit organization to administer consistently.

Central project question: How can Emole effectively measure, evaluate, improve, and communicate the short- and longer-term impact of its business, AI, STEM, and leadership programs for youth?

The project would help Emole benefit from the experience already developed through Queen’s previous Black Youth in STEM programming, avoid repeating earlier challenges, strengthen its programs, demonstrate results, and provide credible evidence for future sponsorship, partnership, and grant applications.

Project Option 2: Sustainable Growth Framework for Emole
Emole Futures Initiative is seeking a doctoral student team to develop a practical and sustainable growth framework for the organization. Emole is moving from an initial pilot toward delivering multiple youth programs in business, AI, STEM, and leadership. The organization needs a clear roadmap for growing responsibly without expanding beyond its financial, staffing, governance, operational, or program-delivery capacity.

The project would examine how Emole can strengthen its organizational foundation, establish repeatable program-delivery processes, maintain quality, and gradually serve more learners while preserving community trust and remaining aligned with its mission.

Central project question
What organizational, financial, partnership, staffing, governance, and operating model will enable Emole Futures Initiative to grow responsibly and sustainably over the next three to five years?

Project Value 
The project would provide Emole with a clear roadmap for moving from a founder-led pilot organization toward a sustainable community institution. It would support informed decisions about staffing, funding, partnerships, governance, program expansion, and organizational priorities.