Reimagining Research

Are you ready to radically transform your research practice?

Next Cohort: April 3 - May 2, 2025

If you are tired of the status quo and want to join a community that’s transforming the research landscape,
this space is for you.

Maybe…there’s a voice inside you that knows there’s another way to do research. That feels the discomfort of extractive, transactional methods. That experiences the pressure of urgency and the need to constantly prove the value of your work.

We see you.

We believe that research can generate meaningful insights without compromising care, relational responsibility, and our humanity.

an image of a clownfish surrounded by dense corals wrapping around it

What is Reimagining Research?

Reimagining Research is a five-week, hands-on cohort helping you shape the future of research.

In the past, we’ve brought together more than 100 researchers, from roughly 20 countries around the globe, to expand our collective understanding of what it means to be a researcher.

Reimagining Research invites you to break free from colonial, extractive frameworks that dominate conventional research spaces. In this program, you will experiment with new tools, be inspired by rich and meaningful dialogue, and reflect expansively on the agency and responsibility you carry in your work.

Whether you're an artist, business leader, educator, or professional researcher… this course is for anyone who believes that responsible inquiry can be a tool for liberation, community healing, and meaningful social change.

Listen to our community

  • “It was like a continuous sprinkle of thought-provoking concepts that made me reflect on my practice in a way that I never expected. It wasn't just about "learning new things", because sure I did learn a lot, but that the learning immediately [motivated] me to reflect and impacted + improved my practice!”

What to expect

Care-Infused Experiences

We’re often told that participants learn the most by observing the way we hold space. Rooted in respect and dignity, our learning experiences are crafted with thoughtfulness and care.

Embodied Transformation

Drawing upon the wisdom of Resmaa Menakem, we begin with our bodies, and consider somatic processing a crucial element of transformative practice.

Playful Experimentation

You can expect to find a little intrigue, weirdness, and wonder as we experiment with alternative ways of knowing and being, together.

Authentic Facilitation

We believe that honesty and humility are essential in the work we do. Our approach to facilitation is collaborative, emergent, and rooted in a commitment to accountability and repair.

Learning in Community

We believe learning is a shared experience rooted in collaboration and relational trust. We honor individual expertise, ancestral knowledge, lessons from our more-than-human relatives, and the wealth of collective wisdom.

Flexible Engagement

We offer a variety of ways for you to engage, meeting you where you’re at and moving at the pace of trust. Through curated resources, reflection prompts, and practice-oriented exercises, you can choose your own adventure.

  • “A key part of the learning is experiencing the way [the facilitators] hold space for diverse experiences, needs, and learning styles, as well as lean into accountability with such integrity and care for the whole.”

Cohort Overview

Participant Guide & Pre-course Social

Before we begin, you will receive a comprehensive participant guide to help you prepare for our time together. Additionally, at the start of the program, we will host a social gathering where you will have an opportunity to connect with others in your cohort and start warming up relationally.

Week 1: Deconstructing Research

In this week, we begin to unravel deeply held assumptions about research as a practice and an institution. We will explore how cultural norms and worldviews influence our approach to inquiry, and learn how to map relational power and positionality.

Week 2: Liberatory Harm Reduction and Trauma Responsiveness

Drawing from the lineages of liberatory harm reduction- as practiced by activists, community organizers, and culture workers- we contextualize trauma through an anti-oppressive and decolonial lens. We will explore how carceral practices show up within research environments and practice facilitating repair when there is harm or rupture.

Week 3: Practicing Dignified Care, Consent, and Reciprocity

Care work is a necessary practice for transforming relational harm and institutional violence. In this week, we explore themes of care, consent, and reciprocity as dynamic and ongoing throughout the research process. We will develop strategies to practice dignified care, cultivate trust, and build conditions for safe(r) participation and sustained engagement.

Week 4: Research Futures

In this week, we experiment with alternative approaches to learning and inquiry such as movement, storytelling, and land-based practices. Through artistic expression and by tapping into ancestral wisdom, we will explore how to incorporate play and imagination throughout the research process.

Week 5: Designing a Transformative Research Experience

Here’s where we put it all together. You will co-create a care-full and trauma-responsive research approach, applying what you’ve learned to a real-world research scenario. Through reflective prompts and speculative exercises, this will be an opportunity to really stretch your ideas of research.

Ready to join us?

In a conscious effort to make this program as financially accessible as possible, we are offering 2 pricing options for you to choose from: Dandelion and Fern. Both options afford the same access and we kindly ask that you sign up for the tier that is within your financial capacity.

Fern

$900 $720* USD

For people with adequate financial means or access to professional development funds

Dandelion

$600 $480* USD

For people with limited financial means, where disposable income/savings is minimal.

*Receive 20% off with early-bird pricing by registering before December 31, 2024. Discount will be automatically applied at checkout. All online sales are subject to a 3% processing fee which will be added at checkout.

If you have trouble completing registration through our website, or would like a printable registration form, please email us at info@PauseAndEffect.ca. Payment plans (pay-in-4) may be available by request.

Financial assistance and redistribution

We are currently accepting applications for full and partial scholarships by those experiencing financial difficulty, or those situated in the Global South who may be unable to afford our pricing.

The number of available scholarships available will depend on registration volume. We encourage applying as soon as possible as this form may close due to a high volume of applications.

If you have access to financial wealth, we invite you to consider practicing redistribution by contributing towards our scholarship fund.

Frequently asked questions

  • We offer tiered pricing to provide greater financial access for members of our community. Should you require further financial assistance due to economic injustice or pay inequity in the Global South, you are welcome to apply for funding support through our application.

  • For teams and organizations, we offer custom learning experiences. Please reach out to us using our contact form.

  • At the end of the program, you will be asked to share a reflective assessment with us to receive a certificate of completion.

  • You should plan to spend at least 3 to 4 hours per week. This includes our live weekly sessions for 2 hours, and approximately 1 to 2 hours of reading and engaging with your fellow cohort members to supplement your learning.

  • Our weekly sessions facilitated via Zoom will be recorded. You will receive this recording within 48 hours after each session is complete. You will have access to all of the course recordings until September 1, 2025. Please note that you are not permitted to share these recordings with anyone else.

  • Our weekly gatherings will be facilitated via Zoom. We will have live captioning available in English, provided directly by Zoom. Unfortunately, due to limited capacity, we are unable to offer ASL (American Sign Language) support at this time. As facilitators, we are happy to provide and will encourage others as well to share visual descriptions where possible.

    There will be a combination of breakout sessions and independent activities. We understand that access needs vary depending on each individual. Upon registration, you will be asked to share any access needs or desires to help us improve your learning experience.

  • You will be expected to engage with each other respectfully. This includes respecting pronouns, correctly pronouncing names (or asking if you are unsure), speaking from your own lived experience (using “I” statements), and refraining from any discriminatory or harmful comments. Before the start of the program, you will receive a detailed guide that outlines our shared expectations and ways of being.

    If harm is caused and there is an opportunity to practice repair in the moment, this will be our preferred method; however, in the interest of prioritizing the collective experience, we will not be centering those who have caused harm, and they may be asked to leave. When necessary, we will follow up with those who are harmed or have caused harm, separately after the session.