In October 2022, the students of Confederation College’s Business MK420 Research Analytics Class, along with Professor Kristina Baraskewich, worked alongside James Collie (project lead) and Harold Heerema (project assistant) to gather basic research on a Life Lease housing development specific to the Municipality of Oliver Paipoonge, as part of their fall program studies.
Collie requested that the class gather opinions and thoughts on Life Leasing, while also tapping into any competition. Though the term of Life Leasing was foreign to some students, they were interested to educate themselves, working towards the planning of a potential development under this housing model.
They gathered into six groups, gathering research, developing questionnaires for focus groups, and presenting their final findings to Collie and Heerema. Final reports were also provided in writing.
Carole Long of the NWO Innovation Centre then developed a full summary based on these findings.
Of these findings, valuable insight was acquired. Organizations such as the Ministry of Transportation in Ontario (MTO), the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority (LRCA), and the Municipality of Oliver Paipoonge, were all included in the research and development of the project’s oversight.
The students’ findings proved useful in creating tangible strategies to move ahead with a rural retirement development based on a Life Leasing model. Findings were also been utilized towards the development’s first public Open House, which was held on November 2, 2023.
We’d like to acknowledge our thanks to Confederation College, Professor Baraskewich, Carole Long along with the NWO Innovation Centre, and the students of MK420 Class of Fall 2022, for assisting in this key research study.