Dr. Mike Smit has been awarded a Research Development Fund (RDF) grant from the Faculty of Graduate Studies to support his exploration of the impact of open information on civic engagement.  The RDF supports “activities that develop, increase, or strengthen research excellence”.  Dr. Smit’s project will work with community partners to make information relevant to how Nova Scotia is governed more available, accessible, and usable through a website that encourages searching, sharing, and learning. The project team will then assess how that information affects the extent to which citizens engage with society: through volunteering, political attentiveness, voting, discussing political/social issues, donating, or contacting elected officials. The grant will enable the recruitment of a student research assistant to participate in this project.