Membership
Join Research Canada: An Alliance for Health Discovery
Our Value Proposition
1) Evidence-based advocacy messages:
As a member of Research Canada, your organization is provided with health research advocacy messaging based on polling data. While the development of accountability metrics and a strategic framework for producing health research impacts data will take time to deliver, Research Canada is committed to working with its partners to ensure that our analytical capacity is increased, and that we capitalize on initiatives already underway.
2) An alliance speaking with a collective voice:
Research Canada members are part of a multi-stakeholder alliance that speaks with a collective voice. It is timely to bridge the gap among the many constituencies within the health research community that bring different expertise, experience and interests to the table. In a climate of competing priorities, the health research community needs to send a clear and consistent message to government.
Research Canada’s alliance will build consensus on high-level priorities through the partnerships forged, achieving a cornerstone for a common vision and integrated plan of action for health research advocacy in Canada.
3) Working through partnership:
Research Canada evolved from the Council for Health Research in Canada, which had a strong partnership ethic that resulted in the creation of the Health Research Advocacy Network (HRAN) and the Leaders’ Forum Steering Committee, which successfully delivered the Leaders’ Forum for Health Research in Canada.
Research Canada will carry on this tradition of partnership building by implementing systematic mechanisms for on-going communication with our members and partners, such as our Annual Value Report, to ensure that we remain relevant to the sector, and at the same time, are always supportive of, and not in conflict with, sector-specific advocacy efforts.
Research Canada members have an opportunity to influence the strategic direction of a national, broad-based, advocacy organization dedicated to making health research in Canada a higher national priority by using their privileges as voting members of Research Canada.
Many organizations that support health research have limited time and resources available to undertake health research advocacy. Being a member of Research Canada gives these stakeholders an opportunity to guide and influence health research advocacy initiatives without having to use their own human or financial resources to carry out these activities.
Members of Research Canada will be invited to participate in a variety of high-profile health research forums and events (e.g. Media Science Forums) to promote health research in Canada. Here, they will have an opportunity to debate and discuss the most pressing policy issues, have access to the most innovative developments in health research advocacy, network and establish contacts that will serve their respective sectoral advocacy efforts.
Research Canada will provide its members with access to:
- Experienced and professional staff with expertise in advocacy, to provide advice, as well as advocate on members’ behalf for the cause of health research in Canada.
- A dynamic website that includes a directory of parliamentarians and senior federal bureaucrats with biographical information and their respective positions on issues, outcomes of Research Canada meetings with these individuals, etc…
- An advocacy toolkit, which includes innovative advocacy strategies and messages for members to use when conducting their own advocacy work.
- Professional development training in advocacy skills for members and their staff.
- Opportunities to meet with parliamentarians and senior federal bureaucrats.
- Products and services that provide timely and accurate information to keep members informed of the latest developments on the national, provincial/territorial and international advocacy fronts.
- An opportunity to profile critical issues, talented health researchers and excellence in health research in regular Research Canada publications.
Any organization may join Research Canada provided:
- It supports the mission, vision, goals and objectives of Research Canada.
- It operates at arms length from government (that is, it is not a government agency).
- It pays the prescribed annual membership dues.
- Research Canada’s Board of Directors approves its application for membership.
- As set out in Research Canada’s By-laws, only organizations are eligible for membership in Research Canada, not individuals
