CIHR Institute of Aging Strategic Plan 2023-2028
Reframing Aging – Empowering Older Adults

Cross-Cutting Priorities

Our cross-cutting priorities shape all aspects of our activities and engagement with our research on aging community. They promote equity, inclusiveness and diversity of input to strengthen the research on aging community in Canada, with the goal of leading to improved health outcomes for older Canadians. We value shared responsibility with the community to promote ongoing communication and ensure that all voices and perspectives are heard. Through leadership and relationship building, we will support engagement in research on aging, including involving trainees and researchers at all career stages, engaging with patients in the co-development of research programs and encouraging public and community participation in research. This will drive change propelled by innovation and research excellence to promote optimal health and wellbeing for all older Canadians. Action Plans will be developed for each of these cross-cutting priorities.

• Indigenous Peoples' Health and Wellbeing and Indigenous Rights

  Indigenous Peoples are disproportionately impacted by health conditions that can be exacerbated by living in rural and remote locations, inadequate access to services and systemic racism within the health care system. Initial steps in engagement with Indigenous communities were an important part of the development of this Strategic Plan. By building partnerships with the Indigenous research community, including Elders, Knowledge Keepers and community members, we will support Indigenous self-governance in research to better promote the distinct needs of Indigenous communities related to their health and wellness across the lifespan. Our contribution to reconciliation will be to support Indigenous rights and Indigenous ways of knowing within Indigenous-led research, following Indigenous guidance when co-developing initiatives to address the needs of older Indigenous adults. Attention will focus on a distinctions-based approach to the health and specific needs of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples, including urban Indigenous communities.

  Actions and Anticipated Outcomes

  • Support the missions of the Truth and Reconciliation Call to Actions (TRC) and United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), especially towards reconciliation practices in health care with special attention to how historical and generational trauma impacts the present-day circumstances of Indigenous Peoples regarding health and aging.
  • Build relationships and capacity among Indigenous researchers, scholars and community members and explore partnership with Indigenous-led institutions in which research data and knowledge are shared as outlined in OCAP (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession) Principles^{Footnote 22}.
  • Promote research on Indigenous ways of knowing, such as the use of traditional medicines and land foods, and the effects of historical and generational trauma on aging and physical health. Explore opportunities to share the unrecognized stories of today's Indigenous older adults, using traditional story-telling techniques in a research context to document their life-stories.
  • Seek guidance from Indigenous researchers and community members on the needs of Indigenous older adults, while addressing the research gap on Indigenous perspectives on aging.
  • Ensure that access to funding is equitable for Indigenous researchers by expanding Indigenous-specific research opportunities and prioritizing Indigenous-led health research.
• Engaging with Patients and the Public

  We are actively increasing engagement with people with lived and living experience and their caregivers, with more opportunities to share perspectives that inform the activities of our Institute. This began in earnest with the establishment of the Institute of Aging Older Adult Advisory Council and expanded with the creation of four Regional Councils. We greatly value the perspectives of the members of these groups and will continue to put older adults at the centre of our work.

  Actions and Anticipated Outcomes

  • Prioritize engagement with the Institute of Aging Older Adult Advisory Council and four Regional Councils to hear from older adults with lived and living experiences and obtain input on current and emerging issues and opportunities related to the health, quality of life and wellbeing of older adults and caregivers of older adults so these can be incorporated in the development of research activities.
  • Engage members of the Older Adult Advisory Council and patient partners in research functions, ranging from program development to peer review to knowledge mobilization and dissemination.
  • Engage with CIHR Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (SPOR) Units that have a particular focus on research on health and care of older adults or that wish to develop in this area.
• Partnerships and Collaboration

  We have a strong track record of strategic and impactful partnerships nationally and internationally and with federal and provincial government agencies, foundations and charities. These partnerships create opportunities for the Canadian research community by leveraging the Institute's annual strategic budget to significantly increase the impact of investments to address broad topics related to promoting the health and wellbeing of older adults. They also facilitate research collaborations and showcase Canadian research and researchers on national and international stages. We engage with several international organizations, including making leadership contributions to the World Health Organization, World Dementia Council and Global Council on Brain Health to bring a Canadian perspective to their work. We also partner strategically with other CIHR Institutes to ensure that aging and older adults are a specific focus of their actions.

  Working with our many partners strengthens our initiatives, not only by leveraging funds, but also through sharing ideas, strategies and best practices that inform how we implement our initiatives and actions.

  Actions and Anticipated Outcomes

  • Convene stakeholders around strategic topics that aim to promote healthy aging and support older adults through complex health challenges, including networking activities for Canadian researchers and partners. 
  • Convene the Directors of the Canadian Research Centres on Aging semi-annually, providing an opportunity for the Centres to discuss research activities and for our Institute to share updates and learn about the nature and scope of research conducted across our community. 
  • Convene researchers that hold Canada Research Chairs, institutional or other research Chairs in the broad area of research on aging and health and wellbeing of older adults to exchange research progress and ideas and build opportunities for partnership and collaboration.
  • Create and lead the Dementia Research Funders Alliance to bring together funders and key stakeholders in the brain health and dementia funding ecosystem in Canada and develop a platform for working together to leverage and amplify dementia research. This is an important step towards developing an action plan for the research component of the National Dementia Strategy and fulfillment of its goals.
  • Work with colleagues at other CIHR Institutes to ensure that aging and older adults are a focus in strategic funding opportunities.
  • Work with international organizations, including the World Health Organization and World Dementia Council, to develop and promote global health programs and standards for care of older adults.
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and the Impact of Intersectionality

  We support the principles of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and incorporate EDI strategies in all activities, with the goal of reducing barriers within the research community to ensure health equity for all older adults. We are committed to supporting research that examines the determinants of health and their impact on aging and the functional abilities of older Canadians. A core contribution to CIHR's Strategic Plan includes addressing the impacts of systemic ageism, racism, gender bias, poverty and ableism in health research, combating stigma associated with age-related cognitive impairment and dementia and elevating diversity in research on older adult health and wellbeing. Equity in health research will be a priority focus as we aim to support the health and wellness and increase the longevity of older adults in the coming years.

  Actions and Anticipated Outcomes

  • Promote research that addresses the social and structural determinants of health in aging.
  • Support the inclusion of gender diverse individuals and persons from LGBTQ2S+ communities in health research.
  • Support the inclusion of racialized communities, people living with disabilities and others that have historically been excluded from health research.
  • Enhance the vitality of the English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada, with use of both English and French at the Institute and across our actions.
  • Prioritize actions that support and include the lived and living experiences of the increasingly diverse Canadian older adult population in research programs.
  • Develop research funding programs that are inclusive for historically marginalized communities.
  • Promote the inclusion of individuals across the life course in research where relevant, especially in areas where older adults have historically been excluded, such as clinical research.
  • Support the World Health Organization in its mission toward combating ageism.
  • Support and embed the principles of EDI in all initiatives, peer-review panels, Institute Advisory Board and Older Adult Advisory Council, ensuring that they represent the diversity of Canadians.
• Capacity Building, Career Development and Training

  We support the education of the next generation of researchers and promote training and career development across career stages for researchers, with the goal of building capacity and future leadership in research on aging to meet the challenges of the aging population and the needs of older Canadians. Throughout these actions, there will be an emphasis on inclusion and ensuring that trainees from underrepresented group are supported. Capacity building and fostering opportunities for the brightest minds is key to advancing knowledge and ways of knowing in any field and ensuring innovative solutions to emerging challenges.  

  Actions and Anticipated Outcomes

  • Develop and support training initiatives that provide trainees with opportunities to acquire the research tools and expertise needed to succeed in a collaborative and interdisciplinary environment.
  • Develop innovative initiatives to build capacity at the various career stages with a focus and priority on early and mid-career researchers to support the next generation of researchers on aging, aligned with the recommendations from the most recent Institute of Aging External Review.
  • Work with partners to co-create and promote career development and professional opportunities, including experiential learning and embedding researchers in community settings.
  • Promote an inclusive environment for mentorship of trainees and early career researchers, where they develop robust and adaptable skills that allow them to respond to the changing research landscape.
  • Promote interdisciplinary team science with opportunities to establish connections and partnerships that are critical for future career success.
  • Continue to lead the CIHR-IA Summer Program in Aging, our flagship training program since 2006, and build capacity in strategic areas in the field of aging in Canada.
• Knowledge Translation, Mobilization and Implementation

  We will develop and implement a Knowledge Mobilization Action Plan, and consult with our community to design, implement and promote the use of evidence from our three research priority areas. Following CIHR's mission to improve health literacy of Canadians, we will aim to improve health literacy of older adults.

  Actions and Anticipated Outcomes

  • Persons with lived and living experience, community organizations, knowledge users and policy makers will be involved in each stage of the research process beginning with co-design of projects to ensure that outcomes can be rapidly mobilized.
  • Build capacity to translate and mobilize knowledge and technologies to clinicians, policy makers, businesses, and the public to develop more effective products, practices, policies and services, and improve the health care system and health of Canadians, aligned with the recommendations from the latest Institute of Aging External Review.
  • Facilitate collaboration and partnership between researchers, knowledge users and decision-makers through design of funding opportunities that emphasize team-building and interdisciplinary expertise.

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Date modified:

2023-03-24