CIHR Institute of Aging Strategic Plan 2023-2028
Reframing Aging – Empowering Older Adults

Looking Forward

• How We Deliver on CIHR's Strategic Plan

  The strategic priorities in the CIHR Institute of Aging Strategic Plan 2023-2028 are aligned with and will deliver on those of CIHR's Strategic Plan 2021-2031: A Vision for a Healthier Future, with a special focus on the health and wellbeing of the older adult population in Canada. Consistent with CIHR's vision, our strategy for the coming years includes championing a more inclusive concept of research excellence, fostering adoption and implementation of DORA^{Footnote 23}, FAIR^{Footnote 24} and CARE^{Footnote 25} principles, supporting stronger research teams with patient partner engagement, ensuring equity and inclusiveness for a diverse research community and training environment, promoting open science and enhancing national and international collaboration.

  We will also deliver on the CIHR Strategic Plan through a commitment to investing in the future by providing opportunities for training and career development of the next generation of researchers in the field of research on aging. Priority will be placed on addressing social and structural determinants of health, taking an intersectional approach with a focus on ageism and stigma, and accelerating the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples in health research by funding Indigenous-led research that addresses the needs of Indigenous communities. In our aim to improve the health and wellbeing of older adults, we will enhance integrated knowledge translation, knowledge mobilization and dissemination, and seek solutions for strengthening, connecting and employing data to inform and evolve evidence-based practices in learning health systems. By championing inclusion across the life course in research, we support equity, health and wellbeing across current and future generations and optimal aging in diverse environments.

• Performance Measurement

  We are committed to the continuous monitoring and assessment of activities to measure progress and impact of the three foundational strategic directions and six cross-cutting priorities to assess outcomes and progress. Performance metrics will also be applied to partnerships and strategic investments to assess impact. We will develop annual work plans designed to operationalize the Strategic Plan and track implementation. A subcommittee of the Institute Advisory Board will work with our team to develop a performance measurement framework including key performance indicators. This will be supported by the CIHR Performance and Outcome Measurement Framework, will be consistent with the work of the CIHR Planning, Evaluation and Results (PER) Branch and will be conducted in collaboration with the Performance and Results Unit (PRU). We will regularly monitor progress, making proactive changes and course corrections as needed to respond to emerging priorities, review effective management of resources and ensure we achieve our intended outcomes.

• Thank You and Acknowledgements

  We would like to thank all those who contributed to the creation of this Strategic Plan through participation in surveys, interviews, public engagements and discussion. Your thoughtful input has been critical in shaping a vision to reframe aging and empower older adults through research that achieves equitable health in aging.

  We would especially like to thank our Institute Advisory Board members for their insightful comments, advice and discussion, as well as our Older Adult Advisory Council and Regional Councils for their generosity of time and invaluable perspectives. This Strategic Plan has also benefitted substantially from the input of the Directors of the Canadian Research Centres on Aging.

  We thank the staff of the CIHR Indigenous Health Research team for guidance and reviewing this Plan and Andrea Johnston of Johnston Research for support in our Indigenous partnership engagement. We are grateful to the Indigenous partners and Elders with whom we met to begin meaningful conversations on research needs for optimizing the health and wellness of older Indigenous Peoples. We thank Maria Sanchez Keane of the Centre for Organizational Effectiveness for providing support for administration and analysis of qualitative data collected during consultations with our partners and stakeholders. Finally, we thank Elise Johnson of Paperwhite for editing and perspective during the preparation of this Plan.

  CIHR Institute of Aging Institute Advisory Board

  Paula Rochon (Chair), Founding Director, Women's Age Lab, Women's College Hospital, Professor, Department of Medicine and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, RTO/ERO Chair in Geriatric Medicine, University of Toronto

  Habib Chaudhury (Vice-Chair), Chair and Professor, Department of Gerontology, Simon Fraser University

  Nicole Buckley, Chief Scientist, International Space Station and Life Sciences, Canadian Space Agency

  Heather Campbell-Enns, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Canadian Mennonite University

  Mohamed-Amine Choukou, Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Manitoba

  Carole Anne Estabrooks, Professor & Canada Research Chair Tier 1, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta

  David B. Hogan, Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Calgary

  Manuel Montero-Odasso, Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of Western Ontario

  Nancy Presse, Registered Dietitian and Assistant Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Sherbrooke

  Maria Natasha Rajah, Full Professor, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, CIHR Sex & Gender Research Chair in Neuroscience, Mental Health and Addiction
  Samir K. Sinha, Director of Geriatrics, Sinai Health System and the University Health Network, Director of Health Policy Research, National Institute on Ageing, Toronto Metropolitan University

  Gail Turner, Former Director, Health Services, Nunatsiavut Government, Northern Labrador

  Lori E. Weeks, Professor, School of Nursing, Dalhousie University

  CIHR Institute of Aging Older Adult Advisory Council

  Jean-Marc Beaudoin – Quebec
  April Begg Goodis – Ontario
  Joan Duke – Ontario
  Randall Harris – Alberta
  Hargun Kaur – Ontario
  Jim Mann - British Columbia
  Donnafaye Milton – Ontario
  Delores V. Mullings -Newfoundland
  Martina Norwegian – Northwest Territories
  Penny Pacey - New Brunswick
  Jean-Guy Saint-Gelais – Quebec
  Alice Samkoe – Saskatchewan
  Kerrie Strathy – Saskatchewan
  Gail Wideman - Newfoundland

  CIHR Institute of Aging Regional Councils

  • Wendy Alberts
  • Marie Beaulieu
  • Ron Beleno
  • Annette Berndt
  • Margaret Bryce
  • Gail Campbell
  • Philippe Cappeliez
  • Lee Cardwell
  • Lin Chen
  • Henry Crane
  • Josie d'Avernas
  • Diksha Dua
  • Michael Fraumeni
  • Gurmit Kaur Ghoman
  • Linda Grossman
  • Gert Hartmann
  • Don Juzwishin
  • Roxanne Keats
  • Donna Lillie
  • Cecilia Lui
  • Neeta Das McMurtry
  • Harvey Naglie
  • Linda Phillips
  • Patricia (Trish) Rawsthorne
  • Eileen Richmond
  • Madeleine Sauvé
  • Alexander Segall
  • Gloria Swain
  • Janet Torge
  • Louise Trottier
  • Christina Wolfson
• References

  Figures

  Figure 1. Functions of the CIHR Institute of Aging.

  Figure 2. Age Pyramid of the Canadian Population. Adapted from Statistics Canada, The 7 million people aged 65 and older represent nearly 1 in 5 Canadians in 2021, and Population pyramid estimates as of July 1, 2000 and 2020, Canada.

  Figure 3. Fewer children under the age of 15 than people 65 years or older. Adapted from Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 1951 to 2021. The custom population projections are based on Statistics Canada's Population Projections for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2018 to 2068.

  Figure 4. Chronic Disease Burden. Adapted from Public Health Agency of Canada, Aging and chronic diseases: A profile of Canadian seniors, 2020.

  Figure 5. Embracing our Community's Input.

  Figure 6. Components that impact aging. Adapted from Decade of healthy ageing: baseline report. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

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Date modified:

2023-03-24