Mission Statement, Goals and Description

Mission

To enhance health promotion research, policy and practice in Canada through linking research, capacity development and information dissemination.

Goals

  1. To develop and conduct collaborative health promotion research projects with national and international scope;

  2. To provide a national perspective or context which enhances the ability of its members to play an important role in health promotion knowledge development in their regions;

  3. To act as a Canadian and international focal point for linking regional centres, colleagues and others engaged in knowledge development for information about health promotion teaching, training, and research resources and expertise;

  4. To enhance communication of health promotion knowledge relevant to research, policy, and practice;

  5. To advocate for funding of health promotion research and support for the advancement of knowledge in population health/health promotion.

Description of Consortium

The fourteen Centres from across Canada who are members of the Canadian Consortium for Health Promotion Research have been in existence for 6 to 15 years and represent a wealth of experience in applying health promotion-related research to policy development and practice. The individual Centres are partners with Health Canada, universities, provincial government Ministries of Health, non-government organizations, community groups and agencies, and other special groups.

     The Centres are funded in a variety of ways — some are relatively independent entities with a budget to cover salaries, administration, supplies and travel (e.g. Alberta Centre for Active Living and the Community Health Research Unit in Ottawa); others have no funding at all in addition to the salaries of their contributing members already provided by the universities involved (e.g. GRIPSUL at Universite de Laval). Still others have some funding to cover the costs of some staff resources and activities in addition to the faculty involved (e.g. Centre for Health Promotion at University of Toronto, and the Prairie Region Health Promotion Research Centre). All Centres rely on external research and project grants to bring in additional resources to their groups.

     The success of these Centres is based on having solid programs of research and education and a reputation for conducting quality work. As groups of multidisciplinary researchers, each Centre brings added value to the health promotion research agenda through using core monies to develop new theory, interventions and instruments in critical development areas towards applying for new grant and contract opportunities. Members of these Centres maintain close relationships with practitioners, policy-makers, government agencies and funders in order to maintain a relevant applied research agenda. Centres have a good record of peer-reviewed publications and reports for practitioners and community partners. They work in schools, worksites, communities and health settings at local, regional, provincial, national and international levels, always with health promotion principles in mind.

     The role of the Canadian Consortium for Health Promotion Research is to support the work of its member centres, provide networking opportunities and information exchange, facilitate new opportunities for collaborative research, advocate for and promote health promotion research in Canada, and serve as a conduit to health promotion expertise and knowledge at a national level.

      

Last updated: December 4, 1999