Our History
The SRC is funded by The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) HIV/AIDS Research Initiative. As part of its strategic plan for 2008-2013, the CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Advisory Committee (CHARAC) developed a research agenda which led to the launch in 2007 of the Centres for Population Health and Health Sciences Research Development in HIV/AIDS program. The purpose of this funding opportunity was to enable the development of an integrated network of Centres specializing in HIV/AIDS health services and policy research and research on social, cultural and environmental determinants affecting the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This program addresses several of the priority areas in the HIV Initiative Strategic Plan: Health Systems, Services and Policy; and Resilience, Vulnerability and Determinants of Health. It announced two funding streams: a general stream and an Aboriginal stream, the latter in collaboration with the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health.
Program’s objectives:
- Foster the national coordination of research efforts
- Develop strategic research programs and secure research funding
- Foster meaningful relationships between researchers and with research users
- Build capacity in HIV/AIDS research
- Foster and support the translation of knowledge
- Address Aboriginal population-specific research and knowledge translation needs
Two Centres have been funded for five years (2009-2014), both in the general stream of the competition:
- CIHR Centre for Social research in HIV Prevention (SRC), at the University of Toronto’s Department of Public Health Sciences.
- CIHR Centre for REACH (Research Evidence into Action for Community Health) in HIV/AIDS, at the Ontario HIV Treatment Network and St. Michael’s Hospital/University of Toronto.
No applications were funded in the Aboriginal stream of the program. However, the funded Centres have both incorporated Aboriginal-specific research into their programming. As well, CIHR may be addressing any gaps in Aboriginal-specific research through other means.
