INDIVIUDAL LIAA NOMINATION CRITERIA:

1. The advocacy work has resulted in a significant act(s) or specific decision(s) advantageous to the health research enterprise and the advocacy work has been the primary reason the decision was made.

“This research, combined with later publications, became central to the more than a dozen cases heard by provincial and federal tribunals and courts. As the decisions in these various cases indicate, [the nominee’s] affidavits and testimony were critical to decisions setting out pay equity principles in areas such as job evaluation, proxy and the assessment of the gendered impact of policies.”

“[The nominee’s] research has had significant impact on provincial and federal environmental racism legislation, having informed Bill 111: An Act to Address Environmental Racism, a provincial private members bill that was introduced in the Nova Scotia Legislature in April 2015 and the National Strategy to Redress Environmental Racism (Bill C230) in the House of Commons on February 26, 2020, a federal private members bill. Both bills are the first bills on environmental racism to be introduced in a legislature in Canada.”

“[The nominee] also worked very hard to improve funding for CIHR during these critical years, [resulting in an increase to] the budget for CIHR by $44 million, the largest single year increase since 2003/2004. There were many people involved in trying to increase the budget for CIHR, but without the leadership and strong support of [the nominee], I really doubt that this would have been successful.”

2. The advocacy action(s) or decision(s) advantageous to the health research enterprise were marked by outstanding efforts, process or innovation.

“Throughout her entire career, [the nominee] has driven policy change through innovative, groundbreaking research that has transformed our understanding of health and long-term care (LTC) sectors in Canada.”

“[The nominee’s] research is original and unique in Nova Scotia and Canada in its use of a community-based research approach to examine and address the social, economic, political and health impacts of environmental racism and other public infrastructure inequalities in both Indigenous and Black communities. [The nominee] and their team employ creative and innovative multi-media tools and resources and engage with multiple knowledge mobilization approaches.”

3. The advocacy work generated support or raised new awareness among policymakers, the media and/or Canadians about the nature of health research, its economic and/or social benefit to Canadians and its critical role in nation building.

“Her most recent work on long-term care has attracted even more media and other public attention than her earlier work. She has once again been invited to appear before government committees and commissions, been widely interviewed in the media in ways that recognize her as a leading expert in the area and published in both academic journals and newspapers.”

“Without a doubt, the most outstanding example of [the nominee’s] knowledge mobilization efforts spawned from [the documentary film she co-produced and the book on which it was based]. The film has been screened at local and national film festivals… The film also debuted on the global streaming platform Netflix on March 27, 2020. It has garnered much critical acclaim and has brought the issue of environmental racism to the forefront of local, national and international consciousness.”

“[The nominee] has taken this message of economic development and growth through innovation to international markets such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where he has worked with the senior levels of government to bridge gaps, produce fact-based reasons for research investment and created links to Canadian researchers and clinicians thereby expanding Canada’s global research reputation.”

4. The advocacy work mobilized grassroots advocacy—action at the local, regional or community level.

“Her co-authorship of the Royal Society report on long-term care during COVID and the publication by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives of the summary report on her ten-year project on long-term care have been widely referenced by advocacy groups.”

“[The nominee’s] findings have been used to drive community capacity building and community development in affected communities and she has acted as a powerful instrument of change… [The nominee] has empowered community members with the ability to test their own well waters, to fully understand the problems they are confronted with and has helped them map the pathways to remediation. Standing with them, she has given them confidence to advocate on their own behalf.”

“[The nominee] has promoted the development of young investigators, thus feeding the pipeline of human capital in science. He had a key role in initiating a nation Young Investigators’ Forum where early career trainees would gather and share their research and network. This mission continues unabated […]”

OTHER CRITERIA INCLUDE:

a) Shares their knowledge of and passion for health research with others through writing, speaking and/or consulting.

“[The nominee] has also engaged, trained and mentored students from diverse disciplines (including sociology, environmental science, environmental studies, law, planning, international development studies, and health) on research methods (literature reviews, development of data collection tools, event organizing, etc.), community engagement, community mobilizing activities, and event organizing.”

b) Has played a lead role in developing/growing community, provincial or national awareness related to health research and is generally recognized as a leader in this field.

“The Canadian Federation of Nurses’ Unions Public Bread and Roses Award recognized her as one of Canada’s foremost experts and advocates for long-term care and the YMCA Toronto’s Women of Distinction Award made it clear that she set the standard for understanding the systemic discrimination women face and she continues to apply a strong gender lens to the examination of Canada’s health care system.”

“[The nominee’s] leadership in the public sector amongst partnering organizations has constructed a lasting foundation in service of health research and health, nationally. His spirit of collaboration and respect have invigorated our ongoing advocacy efforts.”

c) Actively participates in stakeholder groups dedicated to advancing health research and/or other means of advocating for health research.

“In projects funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health, the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), she has collaborated with and for government agencies and unions, giving these organizations direct input into the identification of issues, and adopted an approach to research sharing and translation that ensured broad research impacts.”

d) Has actively championed the health research advocacy tool/program/strategy within their organization.

“In his capacity as Executive Director, [the nominee] persuaded the Boards of both St. Boniface Hospital as well as St. Boniface Hospital Foundation to allocate sufficient funds to promote Bench to Bedside Research activities.”