Grant: Operating Grant: Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research- Dev Grants

Our overall goal is to strengthen a network of Indigenous-led research in Northern Ontario that supports our communities on the paths to healing and respects the way that Indigenous communities want to do health research. Researh activities will be community-driven, community-centred, and help strengthen capacity in Indigenous communities to develop relationships that facilitate the sharing of knowledges and information. For the one-year period of the NEIHR Development grant, we will: 1) strengthen and expand a community-centred, Indigenous-led health research network in Northern Ontario, 2) contribute Indigenous community perspectives from Northern Ontario about the meaning and role of Indigenous health research, and 3) understand the barriers that Indigenous communities face in their attempt to access funds and resources for community-directed research activities. These objectives lay a foundation for the development of a fully established NEIHR and inform CIHR's ongoing evolution and understanding of Indigenous health research from community perspectives. Our diverse network includes Indigenous academic researchers, community-based research and health surveillance partnerships, land-based collectives, and leaders in education and land-based initiatives to reclaim language, culture and land. Our focus is on strengthening an Indigenous community-led research network in Northern Ontario builds on existing strengths of First Nations communities and organizations who have established existing research partnerships among themselves and with community members who are based within academic institutions and health systems-based research environments.