Government of Canada supports research focused on race, gender and diversity

Latest investment promotes diverse community-based and community-led research partnerships

OTTAWA, ON, May 9, 2022 /CNW/ – Community-based research is critical to better understanding the causes and persistence of systemic racism and to addressing disparities related to race, gender and other forms of diversity. That’s why the Government of Canada supports research focused on the lived experiences of people from underrepresented and disadvantaged groups.

Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, are announcing an investment of $19.2 million to support 46 community-based and community-led research partnerships through the Race, Gender and Diversity Initiative. This initiative is led by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), whose investment helped fund projects that have a focus on health.

The funded partnerships will draw on collaboration and mutual learning to foster the co-creation of new knowledge, capacity-building and knowledge mobilization among non-academic partner organizations and academics on issues relating to systemic racism and discrimination of underrepresented and disadvantaged groups.

“When academia and community partners work together, underrepresented groups can lead research rooted in their lived experiences. Today’s investment will accelerate our government’s efforts to address systemic inequities and disparities in our society and institutions. By addressing these major systemic issues, and providing culture-based approaches, together, we are fostering a more inclusive and greater country.”
– The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

“Research and scientific discovery are paving the way towards a more equitable, inclusive and healthier Canada. Our government is committed to better understanding the causes of systemic racism and discrimination to inform strategies that will tackle them within our systems. Supporting community-led research grounded in lived experience will help us do just that.”
– The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health

“Fostering equity, diversity and inclusion in research is a key pillar of SSHRC’s strategic objective to enhance Canada’s global leadership in social sciences and humanities research. This new Race, Gender and Diversity Initiative will generate fresh perspectives and insights based on the lived experiences of underrepresented and disadvantaged groups—vital to building a future that is more diverse, sustainable, democratic and just.”
– Ted Hewitt, President, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

“The Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC) is pleased with SSHRC’s decision to fund the OFIFC’s Race, Gender and Diversity Initiative project. It demonstrates that SSHRC values and respects community-driven research within Urban Indigenous communities. Through this initiative, the OFIFC will continue to take a leadership role in revitalizing traditional ways of fostering culture-based approaches within childhood learning spaces across Urban Indigenous communities. Together we will document how Urban Indigenous people are moving forward with culture-based and strength-based models that de-normalize the placement of colonial trauma in our communities over successive generations.”
– Gertie Mai Muise, Executive Director, Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres

• Of the 46 projects funded by this initiative, 29 are SSHRC-funded and 17 are cofunded by SSHRC and CIHR.
• These three-year partnership grants were awarded competitively, through a well-established merit review process, by a diverse, multidisciplinary and multisectoral adjudication committee of external experts with a diversity of research and lived experiences.
• Examples of projects funded through the Race, Gender and Diversity Initiative:
• Every Child Matters: Fostering Culture-Based Approaches Within Childhood Learning Spaces Across Urban Indigenous Communities—Magda Smolewski, Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres
• Expérience des élèves noirs au préscolaire-primaire : comprendre les dynamiques de racisme et de constitution précoce des inégalités, et soutenir l’agentivité des acteurs en vue de les neutraliser—Gina Lafortune, Université du Québec à Montréal
• Queering Leadership, Indigenizing Governance: Building Intersectional Pathways for Two-Spirit, Trans and Queer Communities to Lead Social and Institutional Change— Rachel Loewen Walker, University of Saskatchewan
• Anti-Indigenous Racism and Cultural Safety in Maternal and Child Healthcare for Inuit: Perspectives from Arviat, Nunavut—Zoua Vang, McGill University
• Alliance de recherche et d’action alternatives inclusives en santé mentale—Lourdès Rodriguez Del Barrio, Université de Montréal 

• Full list of projects funded
• SSHRC launches new Race, Gender and Diversity Initiative
• CIHR to provide support to SSHRC’s Race, Gender and Diversity Initiative

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SOURCE Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)