Virginie Cobigo video transcript

(Text on screen: Making research more inclusive by opening a dialogue with communities)

Virginie Cobigo: Hi, I’m Virginie Cobigo. I’m an associate professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa. I’m also a researcher affiliated with the Centre for Research on Educational and Community Services…

(Text on screen while Virginie Cobigo speaks: Virginie Cobigo, Associate Professor, School of Psychology University of Ottawa)

… and I’m the director of a new research infrastructure that is called Open Collaboration for Cognitive Accessibility.

(Text on screen while Virginie Cobigo speaks: Open – Collaboration for Cognitive Accessibility)

Open is a social enterprise based at the University of Ottawa that offers a platform for inclusive research.

(Text on screen while Virginie Cobigo speaks: Fatoumata Bah – Specialist in Cognitive Accessibility and Communications Manager – Open Collaboration for Cognitive Accessibility)

We make sure that we can adapt processes, research methods,

(Text on screen while Virginie Cobigo speaks: Dominic L'Heureux – Advisor in Cognitive Accessibility -Open Collaboration for Cognitive Accessibility)

to make the research process accessible to persons with cognitive disabilities.

Dominic L’Heureux: So, I’m more of an advisor. So, I give the knowledge. I give the experience to Virginie, Fatou and Hajer. So basically, I get paid to teach and they get paid to learn. Which is opposite of uOttawa.

Virginie Cobigo: We try to focus our research on issues relevant to their social inclusion or the cognitive accessibility of our environment.

Fatoumata Bah: Historically, the science is a very, kind of, not very inclusive area. Not very many women, people with disabilities, or racialized groups. Which I am all three. So, working in this research group has been very amazing and I’ve learned a lot on the intersectionality between my identities and how to use that in my research. So, I learned a lot about cognitive accessibility, but also being a Black woman, I realized that Black people are not, are underrepresented in the disability studies. So, I think that that’s an area I’d also like to explore. So, I’ve also learned to use my personal experiences to enrich my research.

Virginie Cobigo: Even if you’re not a researcher working on topics relevant, or directly relevant, to persons with cognitive disabilities, it’s easier for you to understand their needs and do research that might have an impact if you involve them in the design of your experiment or in the knowledge translation phase.

Dominic L’Heureux: Our collaboration – it’s good for them. It’s more accessible, it’s more, it’s for us. Or all of us I should say.

Fatoumata Bah: I did learn to do a lot of inclusive research. Myself being a person with autism, I’m very, kind of, I think a certain way, and it actually helped me develop my cognitive plasticity and be more open and more aware of the way people are. And for example, when I was doing the testing sessions, I learned to recognize when someone needs a break or how to reformulate certain questions.

Virginie Cobigo: I’ve been approached by some colleagues from Engineering in the past where they had an idea about an app or something that might be helpful for persons with cognitive disabilities. But they actually don’t know the need, they don’t know exactly how it could be used by the persons if they don’t have access to the individuals to make sure they are in tune with the needs of this particular group.

Fatoumata Bah: I think the main need is awareness. I think people are not very informed. And I think it probably is due to them not having contact or experiences. Increasing awareness is really what’s needed.

Virginie Cobigo: Partnering with inclusive researchers might help them have access to that knowledge that would make their own research more impactful because the link with the population is better articulated.

(Text on screen: More inclusion, better research. Winner of the Inspiring Stories Competition 2021.)