Building Meaningful and Reciprocal Research Partnerships in the Health and Aging Sector

The Centre for Community Based Research is partnering with the McMaster Collaborative for Health and Aging (an Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit research centre) on several initiatives, with the overall goal of supporting researchers and organizations to build meaningful long-term research partnerships in the health and aging sector.  

In partnership with the Thrive Group Centre of Excellence in Healthcare Innovation, CCBR and the McMaster Collaborative for Health and Aging (“the Collaborative”) will work closely to co-design, test, and develop a dynamic organizational database for Thrive Centre of Excellence. The overall goal of the database is to facilitate potential partners for research and innovation in the long-term care, community and aging sector. The database will be intentionally co-designed for organizational use and with long-term sustainability in mind.  In parallel, CCBR will work closely with both partners to co-design an internal decision-support tool to be used across Long-Term Care homes, community support service organizations and other aging-related organizations affiliated with Thrive Group Centre of Excellence. The tool will support Thrive Group Centre of Excellence to assess external research requests and align them with internal priorities and capacities. Thrive Group is a not-for-profit umbrella organization overseeing four charitable corporations in the health and aging sector including AbleLiving Services, Capability Support Services, Idlewyld Manor and St. Peter's Residence at Chedoke. Through its Centre of Excellence in Healthcare Innovation, Thrive Group advances a social movement approach to research and system transformation by engaging frontline teams, leaders, service users, and partners in the co-design and spread of practice-based innovation, co-created solutions, and real-world impact. 

CCBR and the Collaborative will also co-design and co-host a full-day training for faculty and trainees on building and sustaining partnerships with organizations in the health and aging sector, with the overall goal of strengthening research and innovation. The experiential event will introduce attendees to the realities and perspectives of those working within health organizations, foreground essential values of reciprocity, mutual respect, and collaboration required for deep organizational partnership work, and build the capacity of attendees to initiate meaningful and sustainable organizational partnerships. The event will be open to any faculty and trainees working in this sector. More details to be announced this spring!