In March, Research Impact Canada (RIC) welcomed four new members, bringing the total number of RIC members to 41. The new members include one world-renowned, research hospital (Hospital for Sick Children), two new university members (Brock and Mt. Royal), and one university member re-joining the RIC network (Western).
SickKids Learning Institute (Toronto, Ontario):
Since its inception many years ago, David Phipps has taught in the SickKids Learning Institute’s Knowledge Translation Professional Certificate program. Connie Tang has also taught in the program more recently and Jayne Moorish (see Brock, below) will be teaching in the upcoming cohort.
The SickKids Learning Institute champions inclusive environments that are committed to creating learning environments that support learning for staff, students, and families. Their Knowledge Translation (KT) Program provides educational support, consultation, and professional development within and outside SickKids. Partnership with RIC will ensure they can share their resources, complement their KT learning opportunities, and connect with other KT-focused organizations nationally. They seek to be visible but also familiar with the others working in the knowledge translation space nationwide, identifying gaps and challenges in the knowledge translation support structure to be addressed. Their team would benefit from being involved in national knowledge mobilization initiatives.
Brock University (St. Catherine’s, Ontario):
Jayne Moorish (Research Impact Manager, Office of Research Services, Brock University) has long been a friend to RIC and RIC members. We are delighted to welcome her and Brock formally to the RIC Network.
Brock University’s Strategic Plan, Transforming People, Reimagining the Future, prioritizes addressing societal challenges through impactful research and global awareness. By joining RIC, they aim to:
o Expand interdisciplinary research collaborations and access to national knowledge mobilization (KMb) resources.
o Improve support for researchers in designing and implementing effective KMb and impact-oriented research strategies.
o Acquire knowledge to help develop and enhance frameworks that support research translation into policies and practices that drive social, environmental, and economic change – as well as with the community.
Check out Brock U’s announcement on joining RIC!
Mt. Royal University (Calgary, Alberta):
Mt. Royal University (MRU) is the sixth Alberta based RIC member joining NAIT, Athabasca U, U. Calgary, MacEwan U. and U. Alberta. This is the second most members in a single province after Ontario. Quebec is a close third with five members.
MRU has a campus-wide culture of change-making that, through knowledge mobilization, inspires and empowers them to create meaningful change in partnership with communities (local, regional, national, and global). They are committed to research and scholarship that advances knowledge, informs teaching, and promotes community engagement. Through community-engaged research, their goal is to provide faculty and students with the opportunities, skills and resources needed to work in a mutually beneficial partnership with their community, so together they can tackle the complex social, economic, and environmental challenges of our time.
Western University (London, Ontario)
Western becomes the 14th RIC member in Ontario with SickKids being the 13th. Western was a member many years ago and did not renew their membership and now we are delighted to have them rejoin as a member once again.
Western will actively participate in the RIC network, learning from other partner institutions about best practices in Knowledge Translation (KT), Mobilization (KmB) and Knowledge Exchange (KE) from across Canada. They are particularly interested in understanding the ways in which regional differences might impact the ways in which KT/Kmb/KE are both practiced and conceptualized at the institutional level. Western is also excited to participate in a collaborative way with RIC partners, sharing experiences of thinking strategically about KE at Western and sharing their newly created KE partnership between our research office and Western Libraries. They hope to gain insight and critical feedback from network members about the ways in which their institution has conceptualized not only Knowledge Exchange but the connected activity of Knowledge Stewardship, which has been created through our library-research office partnership.
Check out Western U’s announcement on joining RIC!
A huge welcome to these four new members from all 37 current RIC members.
RIC will soon be releasing revised guidelines for new members. We will introduce a single deadline in December of each year so we can streamline onboarding efforts and synchronize new members with invoicing for membership fees in July of each year. These guidelines will be posted on the members page of the RIC website. If you want additional information, please contact info@researchimpact.ca.