Our Story
In 2003, York University’s David J. Phipps saw the opportunity for an institutional investment in maximizing research impact, agnostic of research discipline. While universities have been investing in commercialization and industry liaison these functions do not capture research that has the potential to make an impact on professional practice, social services and public policies.
After three years of partnership building and consultations, RIC was founded in 2006 by York University and the University of Victoria. Since then, we have found incredible value and have been successful in being able to share learnings and best practices across institutions, diverse disciplines, and work functions. Leveraging a national bilingual network, RIC has grown to 20+ universities across Canada in addition to University of Brighton (UK), with a strong regional presence in nine provinces.
In 2019, RIC was invited to support knowledge mobilization efforts and capacity building for the Future Skills Centre, a pan-Canadian initiative dedicated to helping Canadians gain the skills they need to thrive in a changing labour market.
Recognizing that knowledge mobilisation is not unique to universities, In 2021, RIC began piloting membership to non-academic organizations with a research and knowledge mobilization mandate.