SPR's research has contributed to improvements in a wide variety of programs that serve Canadians:
SPR's 2014 Evaluation of Legal Aid Ontario's Multi-Language
Service (serving tens of thousands of individuals, in over 80 languages) led to significantly improved service quality and increased
protection of client rights. SPR's 2007-2008 Review of the Newcomer's Guide to Canadian Housing expanded multi-language access to this
important information tool (following submission of SPR's report, CMHC announced a significant expansion in the number of languages in
which The Guide would be distributed).
Family Violence Remediation: Since 1992, SPR's research in five major evaluations has aided decisions directing hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to repairs, security and new family violence shelters for women and children across Canada -- in urban & rural areas and First Nations. SPR's report: A Place to Go, provided models for second-stage shelters for women leaving first-stage family violence shelters.
Equity and Discrimination: SPR has conducted large-scale studies of equity in employment and pay equity, and studies of discrimination such as SPR's Mid-Term Review of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Decision at Health Canada, which assessed racial discrimination at Health Canada. Recent research includes SPR's 2019 research on housing for vulnerable members of the population
such as members of the LGBTQ+ community and new Canadians.
Occupational Health & Safety: SPR projects provided information foreground which aided major changes in Ontario
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) legislation between 1984 and 1990, including the development of OHS certification training that
has reached over 400,000 management and worker representatives as of 2019. SPR's recent OHS projects have aided
improvements in worker health & safety in Ontario Children's Aid Societies and psychosocial health in Ontario youth corrections
facilities.
Disability and Return-to-Work: SPR's $420,000 research on the Canada Pension Plan (Disability Component) contributed to major reforms in CPP (Disability), reaffirmation of CPP(D) in 1997 and a new regime of 'return-to-work' supports for persons with disabilities choosing to re-enter the workforce, starting in 2000 and continuing to 2019.
Labour Standards and Family-Friendly Workplaces: SPR's $846,000 series of evaluations on Federal and Provincial
Labour Standards aided significant reforms, including new parental leave benefits under Employment Insurance in 2000.
Inter-provincial Youth Exchanges: SPR's $200,000 review of Heritage Canada's and related youth exchange programs
demonstrated the way in which these (mainly English-French) programs impacted thousands of Canadians and led to a substantial
increase in youth exchanges and the creation of Exchanges Canada.