Management Team

A key element of SPR’s capacity is a highly experienced research team led by Dr. Ted Harvey, President and Senior Consultant; Ms. Patricia Streich, Senior Evaluation Consultant, Ms. Marian Ficycz, Survey and Operations Director; and Ms. Sylvie Baillargeon, Research Director - Québec. All of these key team members have over 20 years of experience in the management of major, multi-disciplinary research projects and have worked together on key SPR projects during this time, ensuring a high level of continuity.

Dr. Ted Harvey (President and Senior Consultant) has a broad ranging understanding of information issues facing government, NGO’s, and the private sector, based on over 25 years providing research and evaluation services to federal and provincial agencies, First Nations and the private sector. He has established an outstanding record with Federal Departments and agencies such as Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Industry Canada, Environment Canada, Human Resources Development Canada, National Research Council, Treasury Board Secretariat, Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canadian Heritage, The House of Commons; and Provincial Ministries of: Citizenship and Immigration; Attorney General; Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; Finance; Community & Social Services; Labour; and Housing.
Dr. Patricia Streich has been involved in evaluation and public policy research for over 25 years. As an evaluator in the federal public service for more than 15 years, Dr. Streich designed numerous large-scale, national studies, using both quantitative and qualitative methods to assess the outcomes and cost-effectiveness of government programs. Several of these studies involved cost-benefit, value-for-money and financial analysis techniques as well as comparative assessment of alternative policies and programs. She has a great deal of experience dealing with community-based and non-profit organizations and in the design and delivery of workshops on community needs assessment tools for use in community agency services planning. Some of her major projects include national evaluations of public, non-profit and co-operative housing, Urban Native housing, women's shelters, and housing rehabilitation programs. She has taught social planning at Queen’s University since 2008 and was co-investigator, with Dr. Harvey, for SPR's Evaluation of the Victim/Witness Assistance Program (for the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General). She also played a major role in SPR's Research Study on the Redevelopment-Regeneration of Social & Affordable Housing in Canada (for CMHC, 2010-11).
Ms. Marian Ficycz (Survey and Operations Director) has managed SPR’s survey operations for more than 25 years, compiling statistical and open-ended data from a wide range sample sizes and types. Typical large-scale SPR surveys have included: Evaluation of the New Opportunities Fund, surveys of over 3,000 university researchers and administrators (including Vice-Presidents-Research, Deans and Department Heads) (for the Canada Foundation for Innovation, 2006-07); Evaluation of the Homeowner Education Training Program (HETP) Pilot, web and related surveys assessed homebuyer's satisfaction with HETP seminars and CMHC publications on homebuying (for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 2004-05); Study of Training Needs in the Canadian Plastics Industry (for the Canadian Plastics Sector Council, 2001-02), and surveys for the Study of Federal Labour Standards (for HRDC, 1996-97). Ms. Ficycz supervises the operational aspects of all SPR surveys (web/fax/mail), ensuring a high level of research integrity.
Ms. Sylvie Baillargeon (Research Director - Québec) provides assistance to SPR's management and operational team for all studies requiring a bilingual research component (in the Province of Québec, on a Canada-wide basis, or internationally). She has participated in a number of SPR studies since 1979, including: Evaluation of the Victim/Witness Assistance Program (for the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, 2010-11); Evaluation of the Tourism Careers for Youth Program (for The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council and HRDC, 2002); HRDC Information Products Study (for HRDC, 2001); and many others.

Support and Back-up Research Coordinators: Additional personnel providing supplementary research and operational back-up to SPR's senior management team include: Ms. Holly Bennett and Mr. Neil Gavigan (Senior Research Coordinators) who bring their extensive knowledge and expertise regarding a wide range of issues to SPR studies. Bilingual Research Coordinators include Ms. Lindsey Brunet and Ms. Isabelle Jeanson, as well as a number of supporting research coordinators across Canada.