Interim Placements: Caitlin & Legislative Research

For my interim placement, I had the joy of interning for Legislative Research! Legislative Research provides comprehensive research and analysis on topics of interest to MPPs, their staff, and Office of the Assembly personnel. They also support with backgrounders, summaries of presentations, and the writing of committee reports.  

I was particularly interested in this placement given my academic background in mixed-methods research; throughout my undergrad, I conducted various qualitative studies and randomized controlled trials prioritizing rigour and ethics. One of my main draws to the OLIP programme was the opportunity to explore research in a legislative context, and I can truly say that my placement has given me a comprehensive understanding of this! I worked closely with Ellen Wankiewicz, a Research Officer and Lawyer extraordinaire, on a Public Affairs Briefing (PAB), jurisdictional scans, and my OLIP academic paper. Ellen also introduced me to the wonderful word of Health Law; I thoroughly enjoyed shadowing her work on legal compliance, legislative review, and providing non-partisan support to clients.  

Writing my PAB was a highlight of my entire OLIP experience. My PAB provides a lay overview of the Social Determinants of Health, which are defined as the non-medical factors, such as the socioeconomic conditions in which individuals are born, live, and work, which greatly impact health outcomes. A key learning from this project is the importance of knowledge translation and catering my writing according to the audience — whether that be government, opposition MPPs, public servants, academics, or the general public.  

In addition to this, I had the opportunity to interview various Research Officers as part of my OLIP Academic paper, which explores how witness testimonials / submissions are evaluated in Ontario’s parliamentary committees. Research Officers play an immense, behind-the-scenes role across the legislature; I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from their wealth of experience on what it means to provide non-partisan support and do good research.

I can’t thank my supervisor, Ellen, and the entire Legislative Research team enough for their guidance and endless support! I leave this placement with so much more wisdom on what it means to be a good researcher, which I carry with me dearly as I continue on my research journey.  

Check out my PAB on the Legislative Research website, also accessible to Assembly staff at this link