How can community-engaged scholars best undertake grounded, policy-relevant, food systems research and teaching in ways that support the capacity of-and meaningfully build on-the experiences of civil society organizations working on these issues in Canada? This paper analyzes four case studies in the context of a research project that brings together members of the Canadian Association for Food Studies and Food Secure Canada. One case was led by Region of CFS /RCÉA P. Andrée et al. Vol. 1, No. 1, May 2014 28Waterloo Public Health and faculty from the University of Waterloo; a second by the Food Security Research Network at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and the North Superior Workforce Planning Board; a third by the national student organization Meal Exchange and Ryerson University in Toronto; and a fourth by the BC Food Systems Network. We argue that the answer to the question above lies in establishing respectful relationships and recognizing the different cultures involved, and we offer five methodological insights for building effective relationships in practice. The first is the need to disaggregate the concept of 'community' in order to acknowledge the distinct needs and assets of the diverse organizations and populations involved. Our second and third insights are linked: Establish the relationship around a shared vision, and then negotiate mutually-beneficial teaching or research projects. Fourth, practitioners should approach community-campus engagement through the framework of contextual fluidity, which includes seeing the relationships and the vision at the heart of the work, while remaining open to shifts and new opportunities. Finally, adopting community capacity building practices helps practitioners realize their shared vision.

In the past several years interdisciplinary academic consideration has turned toward finding possible solutions to the increasing problem of unmet elder care requirements, one solution being the introduction of new robotic care technologies. This thesis addresses the future of elder care and the possibilities for change within the field of care-change that may no longer involve only human reorientation, but also non-human robotic transformation. Opinion varies on whether this potential for change will be inspired by technological advances, a growth in an elder population coupled with financial and labour constraints, or the consistent and ongoing devaluation of human care work. Whatever the inspiration may be, this work focuses on the fact that there exists an unknown future of caring, one that will certainly involve some mainstream manifestation of the non-human care robot, and collaboration between socially and scientifically focused researchers. Drawing on original research involving interviews with elder people regarding their understandings of and feelings about robotic interventions in elder care, this thesis presents the perspectives of a rarely consulted population and finds the future of non-human care to be marked by uncertainty and fear but also by an unexpected sense of hope in the companionship of robots.