Space Use Policy
Updated December 2024
The Collaborative Digital Research Space (CDRS) is a core research facility for faculty, postdocs, graduate students and researchers in the humanities, arts, and social sciences (HASS) at UTM. We prioritize bookings and space-usage that amplifies research and collaboration in the social sciences, humanities, and arts at UTM, including lecture series, workshops, and working groups. While we aim to work with other departments outside of UTM, our mandate is to first and foremost support research at UTM, namely from ten core departments: Historical Studies, Philosophy, English and Drama, Political Science, Sociology, Language Studies, Visual Studies, Anthropology, ICCIT, and ISUP. We also prioritize the research activities of two tri-campus ISIs that have space agreements with us: The Black Research Network and the Critical Digital Humanities Initiative. Beyond the research activities of these UTM HASS departments and ISIs, our secondary priority is digital and collaborative research more broadly, that may include digital and or collaborative projects in the social sciences and humanities across all three campuses. Third, pending space availability, we also aim to support digital and collaborative research and events that bridge disciplinary boundaries with the hard sciences and disciplines beyond HASS. And lastly, we also support other tri-campus initiatives beyond HASS pending space availability.
Our space use policy above outlines the groups which have space-booking priority in the following order:
- HASS research at UTM
- HASS research beyond UTM (tri-campus and beyond)
- Digital and collaborative research beyond HASS (in sciences and other disciplines)
We strive to provide the space and resources for research teams to meet and discuss their exciting research projects, and if we have the availability, we will do our best to find space for you. Please keep in mind the order of priority above when requesting to book CDRS, and know that we will do our best to accommodate your request depending on general availability. We rely on the flexibility of our members in order to create a collaborative and positive environment. Please note that we rarely accommodate recurring bookings during term time, and if you do have a recurring booking, please be aware that we may ask you to move to a smaller breakout room to make space for the events organized by priority groups outlined above. Please also note that we cannot accommodate staff and student events, nor can we accommodate faculty activities that are not research-focused, including administrative meetings and teaching.*
*Addendum to Space Use Policy
The Collaborative Digital Research Space seeks to support faculty members, CLTAs, and course instructors at UTM who are incorporating digital methods, collaborative and experiential learning, or innovative pedagogies in their teaching. As of January 2024, the Collaborative Digital Research Space may be booked for a maximum of 1-2 classes per term per course for special activities or seminars involving experiential learning, digital technologies, collaboration, or innovative pedagogies. If you would like to book a consultation about using digital tools in your teaching or to inquire about booking CDRS for a class, please reach out to the Senior Research Associate at cdrs.admin@utoronto.ca to discuss possibilities. Please note: in the event of two requests for the same time, research activities will take priority. Approved by Kent Moore, VP Research, 17 Jan 2024.