"Research is not compulsory; it is a possibility."

This statement was made by a presenter at the ACCC conference who was discussing applied research at Quebec Cegeps. I thought it was interesting as it nicely outlines the status of applied research at Canadian community colleges.

As Colleges are relatively new to research in general, getting applied research activities recognized as part of the workload of college faculty is an issue those of us involved are attending to.

But "research as possibility" also aptly describes the idea of applied research as being about exploring, uncovering, or otherwise furthering our understanding. This is the cornerstone of contingent knowledge.