As the only charitable foundation in BC actively fundraising for public health initiatives, it is important that we find ways to leverage our resources, reduce barriers for researchers, remain responsive and nimble, and create the most impact that we can. We often do this through partnerships and collaborations to support innovative research, practice, and policy solutions that advance population health outcomes.
So, we are thrilled to announce a new partnership with Michael Smith Health Research BC (MSHRBC) — British Columbia’s research agency, supporting BC’s top health researchers through funding programs and increasing impact through active partnerships with organizations who collaborate on funding, training, and other initiatives.
“One fundamental way that we implement evidence-based and equity-driven work that has an immediate impact on the health of people in British Columbia is through partnership and collaboration. We believe that by convening, collaborating, and leveraging relationships with partners, we can collectively, and responsively, advance projects grounded in the most pressing public health priorities for BC.” – Kristy Kerr, CEO, Pacific Public Health Foundation
We share with MSHRBC a commitment to collaboration, and to advancing health for British Columbians. Through the pandemic, we joined forces to fund rapid response vaccine research, and in 2022 we came together with other partners to host a dialogue event with key stakeholders at the interface of public health practice and public health research, to distill key lessons from the pandemic. The aim was to strengthen partnerships in responding to public health emergencies and it is imperative that we continue this work.
Our Priorities
Many lessons have been learned from the pandemic response and we need to apply what we are learning so that we can help to strengthen public health infrastructure and capacities to respond to future threats. One critical area is knowledge synthesis and translation — meaning that research is developed by the needs of the users and evidence is transferred back into changes for practice, programs, services, decision-making, and policy that directly benefit the people of BC. We are making investments in these areas as a recurrent theme that has arisen through many conversations, reports, dialogues, and engagement activities over the last few years.
Our Impact
Through this partnership, we will be jointly funding public health projects that demonstrate impacts on practice, programs, service, decision-making, or policy, especially with Indigenous communities and/or in rural and remote areas, making improvements to population health outcomes. Specifically, funding will support teams of health researchers and research users to co-develop research that can have direct impacts on people and to disseminate research evidence with those who can directly benefit from it to impact health in BC.
This program will advance pandemic learnings and recovery efforts, address key public health priorities that were amplified during the pandemic, including societal consequences, and strengthen public health systems to better respond to emergencies and crises. Projects will be grounded in health equity; Indigenous Rights, and Truth and Reconciliation; building an effective and responsive public health system; actions on the determinants of health as core themes across all our activities.
We partnered with Michael Smith Health Research BC to co-fund the 2024 Convening and Collaborating Awards (C2) . The winners have now been announced. Learn more about the work they are doing to improve the health of communities across the province.
Our unique, collaborative, and nimble role allows us to bring together philanthropy, funding, and partnerships to advance a healthier, safer, and more equitable future for all. And we’re proud to undertake our work with such a great organization like MSHRBC.
