Partner Linkage Tool for the Team Grants: Strengthening Resilient & Equitable Public Health Systems (STEPS)

Overview

The Team Grants: Strengthening Resilient & Equitable Public Health Systems (STEPS) will generate actionable evidence to build resilient and equitable public health systems (PHS) and support robust decision-making that enhances health equity and population health. To achieve the objectives of this competition, research teams will employ a tripartite co-leadership model comprised of at least one: lead researcher, decision-/policy-maker, and public health practitioner and/or community representative.

This Partner Linkage tool (below) is intended to facilitate connections between applicants who are interested in collaborating to advance shared public health systems goals through research and knowledge mobilization. The Partner Linkage Tool includes information of people (i.e. researchers, decision-/policy-makers, practitioners, community representatives) and organizations (e.g. the federal, provincial, territorial (FPT), municipal or Indigenous governments; or community-based, non-profit organizations) interested in partnering and their priorities of interest.

This is not a mandatory tool. Information is provided on a volunteer basis and does not confer any advantages in the evaluation and funding of applications. Applicants may also pursue opportunities with people/organizations that are not profiled below, but that meet the definition of the public sector or community sector as defined in the funding opportunity.

Are you a researcher, knowledge user or public health organization (governmental or non-governmental) looking to collaborate on the STEPS Team Grants? Fill out our Partner Linkage Tool online form. Your entered data and profile will be posted on the partner linkage tool soon, which will be updated regularly until the application deadline.

By completing and submitting this form, you are consenting to having your responses posted, and in the language in which it was submitted (English or French). You may request to have your information edited or removed at any time by sending a request to support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca.

Notice

The information is provided in the language in which it was submitted by the respondent.

Contact Information Stakeholder Category Funding Pool of Interest Research Area and Expertise Additional Information
Dr. Olga Morawczynski
CEO
Heal-3
olga@heal-3.com
289-221-3013
Ontario		 Researcher: early career, mid-career, senior, trainee
  • Public sector (government public health institutions)
  • Community sector (community-based, non-profit, non-governmental organizations)

Mental health and mental illness—and how Canada’s public healthcare system prioritizes support services—represent a critical system-level challenge for building resilient and equitable public health systems. Despite growing awareness, the public system continues to prioritize acute and crisis-based care over preventive, community-based, and long-term mental health supports. This misalignment not only contributes to worsening mental health outcomes but also reinforces inequities—particularly among low-income populations, racialized communities, and those living in rural and remote areas. This issue is directly tied to multiple public health system building blocks, including:

  • Governance and leadership (e.g., how funding decisions prioritize acute over preventive care)
  • Health workforce (e.g., lack of embedded mental health practitioners in community settings)
  • Service delivery models (e.g., underinvestment in early intervention, digital supports, and integrated mental health care) Through this lens, our work will generate actionable evidence to reorient mental health service priorities in public and community-based systems—ensuring better outcomes, reduced disability, and a more sustainable and equitable public health system. We aim to evaluate and propose system-level solutions that address structural gaps in mental health service delivery, identify where equity is being compromised, and collaborate across sectors to build capacity in ways that improve resilience, access, and long-term population mental health.
 We are highly interested in engaging with interdisciplinary teams working to strengthen public mental health systems. Our organization can offer in-kind support through access to existing research, policy expertise, and networks in both public and workplace mental health. This includes contributing staff time for collaboration, data analysis, and knowledge mobilization activities. We’re particularly well-positioned to support community engagement, dissemination, and framing of findings for policy and practice impact.
Melissa MacKay
Assistant Professor
519-824-4120
50 Stone Rd E
melissam@uoguelph.ca
Ontario		 Researcher: early career, mid-career, senior, trainee
  • Public sector (government public health institutions)
  • Public health emergencies & pandemic preparedness
  • Community sector (community-based, non-profit, non-governmental organizations)
  • Crisis and risk communication, including demonstrating trustworthiness, addressing mis/disinformation, and maintaining trust.
  • trustworthy and responsible generative AI public health organizational policies
  • guiding principles for the trustworthy and responsible use of generative AI in public health
  • competencies needed for trustworthy and responsible generative AI use, including human oversight, equity-drive use, and collaborative design and implementation
  • upskilling of the public health workforce related to public health communication and core competencies
  • scientific lead for the Dephi technique for the renewal of the Core Competencies for Public Health in Canada Release 2.0
  • developed a public health communication competency framework, including empirical research on competency integration and assessment in public health education and professional development in Canada, best practices for developing competencies in public health students and practitioners, and consensus-building for the competency statements
  • extensive research on crisis and risk communication with a focus on trust
  • teaches in MPH program at the University of Guelph; many graduate students interested in applied public health research
Rosanra Yoon
Assistant Professor TMU
647-540-4319
rosanra.yoon@torontomu.ca
Ontario		 Researcher: early career, mid-career, senior, trainee
  • Public sector (government public health institutions)
  • Community sector (community-based, non-profit, non-governmental organizations)
 Implementation & Evaluation of Integrated Care for structurally vulnerable populations Collaborative decision making Community based participatory action research Asset-based community development Implementation science Evaluation research ECR Graduate and Undergraduate research trainees
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