This questionnaire is part of a research study funded through Mitacs eAccelerate and Cohousing NL as the community partner. The goal of this research is to better understand why cohousing is generally not affordable and to inform innovation around how to make the development model more affordable and more broadly adopted across Canada (and hopefully transferrable to other jurisdictions).The information collected here will be kept confidential between the researcher(s) and you (as the participant). It is intended to be used to understand common themes (barriers, issues, concerns) that will inform what types of tools and resources might help make the process easier, more successful, and allow cohousing to become a housing option for more people in Canada (and beyond. Any identifiers (names of individuals and communities) will be removed unless we have written permission from you to attribute a quote or idea, either by reaching out to you with a permission request, or you requesting acknowledgement Data will be kept for a minimum of five years, as required by Memorial University's policy on Integrity in Scholarly Research.

We greatly appreciate your time and effort in completing the questionnaire, which will take approximately 45 minutes to complete. This questionnaire is the first of two ways to provide information to the study. There is an option to proceed onto a second stage interview. If you have more to say or want to go deeper into the topic of cohousing affordability you can add your name and contact information to the end of the questionnaire or you can submit a non-identifiable questionnaire and send a separate email request to wreidfairhur@mun.ca. Please know, there is no obligation to participate and you are free to exit the survey at any point, as well as leave any questions blank or answer in any format that works for you (point form, prose, poetry, etc.). Consent to participation in this research is implied by submitting the questionnaire, either by submitting via the button online or filling out the form and emailing to the lead researcher Wendy Reid Fairhurst at wreidfairhur@mun.ca. Once the questionnaire is submitted, the information will be themed and grouped to better understand which issues are singular, and which are consistent for all cohousing development projects. If you have responded that you would be interested in a follow-up interview, we will contact you through the contact method you have provided to organize a time. As with the questionnaire, the interview can be cancelled or stopped at any time. You can also request your information be removed from project at any time up to one month after it has been collected. No identifiers will be linking people or communities to the responses unless express permission is given. If you wish to remain anonymous to the researcher(s), please submit the questionnaire with no identifiers (name, contact information or reference to a cohousing community). If you do choose to add identifiable information, your name and contact details will be held confidentially and not shared with anyone outside of the research team. Please feel free to reach out if you have have questions or concerns about this questionnaire or how the information will be used.

Wendy is a PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland in the departments of Sociology (why cohousing should be a more broadly adopted housing model), Critical Geography (what are the economic, political and cultural barriers and opportunities to increased adoption of cohousing in Canada), and Social Enterprise (what alternative business structures and funding models might increase affordable access to cohousing). Please note that there is a conflict of interest in this research: this work is funded through Mitacs eAccelerate, which funds student entrepreneurs. As such, Wendy is both lead researcher and a director of the project's industry partner, Cohousing NL, who is providing matching funding. This conflict of interest will be managed through additional oversight of the project by three parties: 1. another director of Cohousing NL; 2. the academic supervisor of the research; and, 3. a supervisor at the Memorial University of Newfoundland's Centre for Social Enterprise through their social enterprise incubator program.

As is the goal of this project, the findings and resulting solutions and/or tools will be shared freely online to support the goal of increasing cohousing affordability and increased adoption in Canada. If you would like access to this information, send a separate email to cohousingnlnewsletter@gmail.com to be added to the email list.

There is a potential that during this questionnaire, memories of conflict, frustration, or disappointment might arise. We want to emphasize that you can leave the questionnaire at any time, any questions can be skipped, and you can contact us if you would prefer to do the interview only. Please feel free to reach out to learn more about the project, or if you have any hesitations or comments about this questionnaire at wreidfairhur@mun.ca or 709-691-2890.