Indigenous Peoples in Canada (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) continue to experience serious health inequities in comparison to the general Canadian population. Changing the status quo requires introducing new knowledge. Research paradigms that are based on Indigenous cultures, values and beliefs and that are respectful of traditional Indigenous knowledges underpin the work ahead and the ‘reason for being’ of IIPH.

Ask Indigenous people how they view health and wellbeing and they will describe a holistic approach, a striving for balance in the spiritual, physical, emotional and mental spheres of their self and their environment. If there is an imbalance in one or more areas, the individual strives to restore the balance by focusing attention on the required sphere(s), thereby returning to a state of wellness. This worldview is qualitatively different from Western approaches to health and research, which focus more on illness as something foreign to the body and requiring treatment.

Indigenous holistic concepts of health will be the focus of IIPH’s strategic priorities and the way IIPH intends to advance the health of Indigenous Peoples, while remaining inclusive of other scientific research approaches. Increasingly, Indigenous worldviews, theories, ways of knowing (i.e., epistemologies) and methodologies are better received and more productive than Western approaches alone when carrying out research with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

The four strategic priorities of IIPH for the next five years are as follows:

1. To support First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples and communities to drive Indigenous health research and knowledge translation.
2. To contribute to the process of improving First Nations, Inuit and Métis health using multiple Indigenous and non-Indigenous research paradigms simultaneously to support research and innovation.
3. To advance research beyond acknowledged notions of health equity and give primacy to wellness, strength and resilience of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples at the individual, group and structural levels.
4. To encourage and champion Indigenous community-based health research networks across Canada to develop capacity for First Nations, Inuit and Métis health research and knowledge translation.

Strategic Priority # 1

To support First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples and communities to drive Indigenous health research and knowledge translation.

Strategies	indicators	Outcomes
Review and implement policies pertaining to institutional eligibility of Indigenous community organizations to administer CIHR research funds	Increased number and diversity of Indigenous community organizations eligible to receive CIHR funds	Indigenous health research capacity is strengthened
Enable the flow of CIHR funding directly to Indigenous communities to enable communities to control research and knowledge translation	Increased Indigenous health research investments to Indigenous communities	Strengthened Indigenous health research capacity among Indigenous communities to drive the research agenda
Support the review of Indigenous health research in both CIHR investigator-initiated research and research in priority areas by reviewers who are qualified in the area of Indigenous health research.	Increased percentage of applications received and funded in the area of Indigenous health research	High quality and diverse research is supported across all areas of Indigenous health research and knowledge translation

Strategic Priority # 2

To contribute to the process of improving First Nations, Inuit and Métis health using multiple Indigenous and non-Indigenous research paradigms simultaneously to support research and innovation.

Strategies	Indictors	Outcomes
Design research funding opportunities that ensure First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples are an integral part of the entire research process while promoting Indigenous research ethics aligned with, at a minimum, the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2)	Increased percentage of funding opportunities relevant to Indigenous health research incorporating an integrated knowledge translation approach and that speak to TCPS 2	Effective and efficient design, planning, operations and oversight of Indigenous health research and knowledge translation
Collaborate with CIHR and its Institutes to ensure that research funding opportunities support Indigenous ways of knowing along with other epistemological approaches in Indigenous health research	Increased funding opportunities that support Indigenous ways of knowing and other epistemologies that are relevant to Indigenous health research	Effective and efficient design, planning, operations and oversight of CIHR and its Institutes supporting Indigenous health research involving Indigenous ways of knowing along with other epistemological approaches
Provide Indigenous health research and knowledge translation opportunities	Increased percentage of research investments addressing all funded Indigenous health research	High quality and diverse research is supported across all areas of Indigenous health research and knowledge translation

Strategic Priority # 3

To advance research beyond acknowledged notions of health equity and give primacy to wellness, strength and resilience of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples at the individual, group and structural levels.

Strategies	Indicator	Outcomes
Contribute to improved health, wellbeing, strength and resilience of Indigenous Peoples at the individual, group and structural levels	Increased research contributing to improving health of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, and to strengthening the Canadian healthcare system for Indigenous Peoples	Research results contribute to the achievement of improved health outcomes, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened healthcare system that focuses on the health, wellbeing and strength of Indigenous Peoples at the individual, group and structural levels
Increase the evidence for the transformative nature of research at the structural level to benefit Indigenous Peoples	Increased percentage of Indigenous health research publications and activities that inform decision making and policy setting	CIHR-supported research results are translated in order to implement Indigenous knowledge systems and Indigenous health research governance led by Indigenous Peoples, to decolonize academic institutions and other organizations, and to support culturally competent and culturally safe research organizations
Collaborate with international bodies, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to foster the integration of a wellness, strength and resilience approach to Indigenous health research and knowledge translation	Increased Indigenous research and knowledge translation involving international collaborations	Indigenous health research capacity is strengthened in Canada with international Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations researching Indigenous Peoples’ concepts of wellness, strength and resilience

Strategic Priority # 4

To encourage and champion Indigenous community-based health research networks across Canada to develop capacity for First Nations, Inuit and Métis health research and knowledge translation.

Strategies	Indicator	Outcome
In collaboration with CIHR and its Institutes, support mentorship and training of the next generation of researchers, knowledge users and communities of practice in the area of Indigenous health research and knowledge translation	Increase in new researchers, knowledge users and communities of practice that go on to work in the area Indigenous health research	Strengthened research capacity among the next generation of Indigenous health researchers, knowledge users and communities of practice
Create Indigenous health research awards that enable Indigenous trainees to be guided by mentors, including Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Holders	Increased number of trainees supported in the area of Indigenous health research	Training and career awards for both academics and non-academics that contribute to and build on ongoing progress in Indigenous health research
Foster the establishment of long-term partnerships and collaborations among Indigenous communities, researchers and other interested parties	Increased percentage of grants reporting stakeholder involvement related to Indigenous health in the research process	Leveraged partnerships and collaborations in Indigenous health research

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