We’re thrilled to share that Upwords has been honoured with the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC) Award of Excellence in the Public and Social Service Impact category for Project UpLift—a pro-bono collaboration with Children of the Street.
This award celebrates research that makes a difference in the lives of Canadians. According to CRIC, the Public and Social Service Impact category recognizes work that has made a significant and measurable positive impact on Canadian society by informing public policy, social programs, or awareness and advocacy efforts. We’re incredibly proud that Project UpLift has been recognized alongside other impactful work in this space.
At the awards ceremony, Deborah Klotz accepted the award on behalf of the Upwords team, celebrating the power of insights to drive meaningful social change.
Through Project UpLift, we partnered with Children of the Street to support their mission of preventing the sexual exploitation and human trafficking of children and youth. The Upwords team designed and executed a creative, three-phased, iterative qualitative research approach to explore how parents engage with the topic of online safety. We identified key barriers that prevent open conversations between parents and children—and uncovered actionable ways to increase parental confidence and involvement in protecting children from online sexual exploitation.
This was truly a team effort. We extend our deepest thanks to Bronwen Ward, Clare Mitchell, Deborah Klotz, Evgeniya Paraskevova, Johanna Simpson, from Upwords, our recruiting partner Kristi Turnbull of Canada Market Research, Paige Bruno for design, and Recollective for donating their research platform. These partners’ contributions were critical to the success of this important project.
We also want to sincerely thank Jen Graham and the team at Children of the Street for their trust, collaboration, and the deeply meaningful work they do every day. It was a privilege to work alongside you.
Finally, congratulations to all of the other CRIC Excellence Awards recipients—we are honoured to be in your company.
To learn more about the CRIC Excellence Awards and view the full list of winners, visit: CRIC 2025 Awards Announcement