Citizen Scientists

Opportunity and Purpose

Citizen Scientists are unpaid volunteers who choose to contribute to applied policy research undertaken under the auspices of the Patient Safety Community of Practice (PSCP).

PSCP Citizen Scientists have professional experience and/or academic training that equips them to read and accurately interpret narrative information contained in published materials, including reports of public inquiries, related scholarly papers, and media commentary related to the inquiries.

Volunteer Time Commitment and Documentation

Citizen scientists will share information about themselves and their interest with lead researchers in the PSCP and collaboratively select projects of interest.

They receive training specific to the selected project and its methodology

They formalize a volunteer commitment to the PSCP and agree to record the volunteer hours spent

The amount of time spent will be a choice of the Citizen Scientist and will determine the nature of projects selected

They keep a log of hours and activities to enable the PSCP to report volunteer hours and activities as required for corporate reporting and insurance purposes.

Choice of Project(s)

Citizen Scientist choose to align with current or proposed PSCP projects that enable them to use their skills and pursue areas of personal and scholarly interest in keeping with PSCP research priorities and objectives.

The role and activities of each Citizen Scientist will be outlined in project descriptions and work-plans that are mutually developed. These will include agreement about acknowledgement, and co-authorship or authorship of publications arising from the project.

PSCP CITIZEN SCIENTIST

Wendy Tupling Guest
BA, University of Guelph
Master’s of Industrial Relations,
University of Toronto

Wendy has a broad background in organizational governance. While still at graduate school, she was selected to participate in the inaugural Governor General’s Canadian Study Conference.

She recently concluded her work as an independent labour relations consultant, work she began after retirement from the position of B.C. Divisional Director of Employee Relations for The Salvation Army, the largest non-governmental provider of social services in Canada. At this international non-profit organization, she was part of the executive committee and managed a small team. As a representative from her division, she participated in territory-wide organizational governance and policy setting, employing her analytical and writing/editorial skills. She served as the lead spokesperson for twelve collective agreement negotiations involving analysis, team collaboration, and relationship management.

Earlier in her career she held positions at Canada Post, private sector companies , an acute-care hospital and a community college.

Much of her work required analysis and interviewing skills to accurately interpret narrative information. It also involved collaborating closely with legal counsel, in furtherance of organizational objectives.

Wendy has broad interests and is an avid hiker and cyclist. She lives in Vancouver.