Introducing the Directorship
SBF/MSMA’s General Co-directors lead, advocate for, represent, and convene the overall project, its members, and its activities. From our position as “ally researchers”, we oversee the enactment of the project’s commitments, including by ensuring that partner organizations understand their roles as allies in the project’s “collaborative research space” (OFIFC).
Who are the co-directors
SBF/MSMA’s founding General Co-directors, Jennifer Roberts-Smith and Nicole Nolette, bring complementary expertise essential to the project (relational design research and minority studies respectively).
Nicole Nolette has primary responsibility for knowledge sustainability activities and for the Multilingualism Working Group.
Jennifer Roberts-Smith has primary responsibility for project governance and research practice activities.
We share oversight of research operations and strategic and financial planning; and we co-supervise and mentor operations and full time research staff.
Although each of us makes day-to-day operational decisions individually, substantive decisions affecting the project require the approval of both General Co-directors.
Research Story
Year 4
In 2026-2027, we are focused on:
Supporting Regional and National Clusters in experimenting with new approaches to systemic intervention and sharing what they are learning across the project.
Developing new ways of synthesizing, mobilizing and archiving knowledge, and creating opportunities for people across and beyond the Partnership to listen, connect and learn together.
Making the work of SBF/MSMA more visible and accessible by opening up the project’s research, decision-making, learning and opportunities for participation.
Exploring distributed governance, relational research practices, bilingualism and integrated knowledge mobilization as approaches to fostering greater dignity, accountability and collective capacity.
Moving from diagnosing inequity toward experimenting with ways to change the relationships and infrastructures that produce it.
Year 3
In 2025-2026, we focused on:
Supporting Regional and National Clusters in staging systemic interventions into their postsecondary theatre programs.
Supporting the sustainability of knowledge documentation, synthesis, transfer, mobilization and archiving across the project.
Mapping system-wide pressure points on theatre programs in Canada and leading strategic research initiatives.
Developing a succession plan grounded in reciprocal mentorship to mitigate the over-representation of white, settler, cis-gendered, tenured faculty in founding leadership positions across SBF/MSMA.
Resources
-
References
Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC). USAI Research Framework: Utility Self-voicing Access Inter-relationality. 2nd Ed., Nov 2016. Web.