An EconoTimes perspective

Lucas Mollame

Master's Candidate, School of Planning in the Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo

Master's Candidate, School of Planning in the Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo My name is Lucas Mollame and I currently a Master's Candidate at the School of Planning in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. I completed a Bachelor of Social Sciences Degree with a Honours Specialization in Anthropology at the University of Ottawa in May 2019. My practicum work there focused on how commuting plays a role in people's relationship to their work. Under the supervision of Dr. Michael Drescher, I am a Research Assistant at the Natural Resources Conservation Planning and Management Research Group. My research looks to advance municipal natural asset management (MNAM) through monitoring and engagement tools. By establishing a standardized evaluation methodology, following up with MNAM projects, and communicating findings of the evaluations to stakeholders, this research will enable communities to make evidence-based decisions regarding effective management of natural assets. I am currently a Mitacs Accelerate Intern working with the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative (MNAI) to evaluate their first cohort projects. I have previously worked as a Student Labourer for the City of Cambridge, Ontario. I was also a Research Assistant for the Multimedia Anthropology Collaboratory (CAM/MAC) at the University of Ottawa. Most of my research skills centre around qualitative methods such as interviews, ethnographic study, and focus groups. I am familiar with both NVivo and MAXQDA coding software. With my Master's research, I am learning and engaging with methods of program evaluation, policy analysis, and plan implementation.