Earlier this year, we announced four new members, including Brain Canada, University of York (UK), University of Windsor and Lakehead University. That tied a previous year for total new members and that was in January 2023. Now it is July 2023 and we are pleased to announce three new members. The following is taken from the new members’ applications.
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)
- NAIT is committed to knowledge mobilization (KMb) – bridging the research-to-practice pipeline using as many tools as possible to direct and translate the information. As a polytechnic, our operational model is focused on applied research, where we work directly with industry to solve problems they bring to us. Our clients range from small, local innovators to large, multi-national enterprises, and our range of services is equally diverse, serving the needs of Alberta’s vast industry sectors.
Weston Family Foundation
- The Weston Family Foundation mission is to improve the well-being of all Canadians, primarily through our two focus areas of Healthy Ecosystems and Healthy Aging. We invest heavily in these areas with annual donations of roughly $45M, with a large portion of this funding dedicated to research. We know full well that research alone does not impact the well-being of Canadians – it is how that research is used, who it reaches, and how it is put into practice that will have the biggest impact. We firmly believe that membership with Research Impact Canada will help us from a practical level, but also declare our intent to make KM a priority for the organization and our work with our many grantees.
Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans (CPCoE)
- Without knowledge mobilization, the research funded by the CPCoE will not have a positive impact on veteran well-being. One of the goals of participating in Research Impact Canada is increased exposure to new methods of conducting business, networking, and, through that, the ongoing professional development of the CPCoE KM team which can only benefit the organization and our mission.
Of these seven new members in 2023, four are not universities. We struggled for a few years debating if we should open membership to non-university members. Along with the research hospital, Ontario Shores, who joined in 2021, Research Impact Canada is delighted welcome our first national funder (Brain Canada), our first college (NAIT), our first foundation (Weston Family Foundation) and our first dedicated research and knowledge mobilization organization (CPCoE). In one discussion about membership diversification, we were reminded that diversity is good for an organization. It can challenge group think and different perspectives usually make for better decisions.
Research Impact Canada is a member-driven network. The ability for us to help members develop institutional capacity for knowledge mobilization and the impacts of research on broader society will be strengthened by new and diverse members.
Founded in 2006, RIC is a member-driven network that helps research institutions build their capacity for knowledge mobilization and research impact. York University and University of Victoria were the original two members. Since then, membership has grown organically with potential new members reaching out and completing the membership application process. The criterion for new members is straightforward: have a research mission and a commitment to creating societal impacts from research. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a member of Research Impact Canada, please e-mail info@researchimpact.ca.