IDEA Barriers to Employment - Hamilton Fire Department

Identifying opportunities to increase participation in Recruitment

Project Description

This is a continuation of the project started in Fall 2023 with the following description:

Building off of a successful CityLAB thematic review of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility relative to the Hamilton Fire Department, natural next steps would be to conduct a community survey to identify opportunities to increase participation in recruitment processes specific to the City of Hamilton. Led by Fire Chief Cunliffe the scope would be to collect recruitment data that impacts Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility within the Hamilton Fire Department and cross-departmentally within the City.

The methodology would include a survey-based approach, led by the McMaster students with consultation and guidance by City of Hamilton staff.

Research questions and contextual considerations will need to be clarified in collaboration with City of Hamilton staff and the students.

In Scope:

What are the IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility) best practices to enhance diversity in the Hamilton Fire Department’s recruitment practices?

Background Research:

Researching methods of engaging the public re: recruitment practices, with specific focus on determining the non-represented population(s) and engaging with them

Updating the research tool (e.g., questionnaire and/or survey) based on best practice

City Staff: Fire Chief David Cunliffe, Jodi Koch

Instructor: Shahad Al-Saqqar, Strategic Manager of Community-Engaged Research