Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

This planning grant aims to develop Building Roads Together Global (BRT-G), an implementation science partnership to plan, implement, and investigate the process and impact of scaling BRT. BRT is a community-based peer support walking and rolling (with mobility aids) program designed to promote inclusion and reduce health and mental health inequities by building capacity for people to lead peer walking groups in urban green space. This proposal builds on implementation and evaluation of a program pilot in Regent Park, one Toronto Neighbourhood Improvement Area (NIA) that is Canada's first social housing development undergoing transformation to a mixed-income neighbourhood. Based on evaluation findings that BRT reduces social isolation; improves physical health; improves mental health; and builds leadership capacity, this proposal aims to scale BRT to other Toronto NIAs, and other cities in Canada, and evaluate its process and impact. The project team will do so by planning and hosting three days of meetings to: develop the partnership; co-develop a print and online BRT Toolkit, and co-develop a multi-year, multi-site research proposal.