The CIHR Institute of Aging Voluntary Sector Knowledge Mobilization Support Grant

Defy Dementia™ is a knowledge mobilization program focused on raising people's awareness and understanding of the modifiable risk factors for dementia. It promotes more inclusive attitudes towards people living with dementia and inspires positive behaviour changes to reduce dementia risk. The program includes our Webby nominated, monthly Defy Dementia podcast, which has garnered over 1M downloads across 25 countries. For the current project, to promote increased accessibility and accommodate different modes of learning, we will be producing English and French infographics and animated videos to accompany three podcast episodes, including the key messages and actions from the podcast.

Learn more about Baycrest Academy for Research and Education (BARE)

Psychosocial, economic, and environmental factors have a significant impact on each person's journey through aging. This journey can bring its share of challenges, whether through the loss of physical or cognitive autonomy, chronic disease, mental health issues, or the erosion of social networks. These changes, which cause a significant loss of bearings, can be avoided by taking a preventive approach based on anticipating the transitions associated with aging. To address this, the Fondation Berthiaume-Du Tremblay wishes to develop the Living Well Through Life Transitions toolkit. This toolkit will not only promote greater empowerment among seniors but will also offer essential support to caregivers and healthcare professionals.

Learn more about Fondation Berthiaume-Du Tremblay (in French only)

The Saskatchewan Volunteer Action Hub, led by BetterLTC, is a province-wide initiative to strengthen volunteerism and support healthy aging. The project brings together nonprofits, community organizations, older adults, youth, and partners across rural, urban, and northern regions to co-design a more inclusive, accessible volunteer ecosystem. Through a digital platform, volunteer management toolkit, training modules, and community workshops, the Hub will improve recruitment, onboarding, and culturally safe engagement—especially for older adults and intergenerational volunteers. By mobilizing evidence and lived experience, the initiative aims to rebuild volunteer capacity, enhance community connection, and support aging in place across Saskatchewan.

Learn more about BetterLTC

The Canadian Home Care Association (CHCA) is advancing integrated care for older adults living with complex health and social needs. With support from the CIHR Institute of Aging, CHCA will validate and mobilize a national Integrated Care Decision-Support Tool designed to strengthen coordination across home care, primary care, and community services. Through engagement with providers, health system leaders, people with lived experience, and Indigenous partners, the project will refine the tool and prepare it for national dissemination. This work aims to support more coordinated, person-centred care and improve the experience of older adults and caregivers navigating Canada's health and social care systems.

Learn more about Canadian Homecare Association

The Jewish General Hospital Foundation, together with the Simone & Edouard Schouela RUISSS McGill Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health of Seniors (Schouela CEDurable), is expanding its Café Scientifique series for older adults and caregivers. This initiative supports health literacy in the community, thereby contributing to health promotion and improved access to care and services. Following 14 well-attended community sessions, this next phase emphasizes practical tools requested by participants. Sessions will include simple exercise demonstrations to improve balance and mobility, fall-prevention strategies, and realistic nutrition advice to support muscle and bone health. Caregivers will also receive relevant guidance and resources.

Learn more about Jewish General Hospital Foundation

This project strengthens public understanding of brain health by translating current research on normal aging, early dementia, prevention strategies, and the impact of elder abuse into clear, culturally relevant knowledge products for diverse communities. Working with NEVR partners serving older adults from immigrant serving and academic researchers, the project will co develop media posts, infographics, videos, and a practical toolkit, and deliver two community workshops to build capacity. The initiative aims to improve early recognition of cognitive changes, promote brain healthy behaviours, and increase awareness of how abuse accelerates decline. Light touch evaluation will track reach, engagement, learning uptake, and overall community impact.

Learn more about Network to Eliminate Violence in Relationships (NEVR) Society

CHATS–Community & Home Assistance to Seniors will share practice-based learning from its recent Volunteer Program Refresh to strengthen volunteer engagement across the aging services sector. Through this project, CHATS will develop a practical Volunteer Engagement Toolkit and deliver a learning series for non-profit organizations supporting older adults. The Strengthening Volunteer Engagement in Aging Services project will provide tools and lessons learned to help organizations improve volunteer recruitment, supervision and engagement. By supporting knowledge sharing and collaboration, the initiative aims to build volunteer capacity and strengthen social connection and aging-in-place supports for older adults.

Learn more about CHATS Community and Home Assistance to Seniors

On National Seniors Day (October 1, 2026), AGE-WELL will launch a national pilot bringing technology awareness events to seven communities in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island. The initiative will help older adults and caregivers discover innovations that support aging in place, while building research literacy and capacity to participate in research that shapes the technologies they use. More than an information event, AgeTech Discovery Day tests a scalable community engagement model ensuring older Canadians have a meaningful voice in AgeTech research, product design, and policy.

Learn more about AgeWell

From Trial to Practice: Building Innovation Readiness in Continuing Care will develop and mobilize a practical implementation readiness framework and toolkit to support innovation adoption in the continuing care sector. Through dedicated capacity, the team will map existing resources, co-design tools with sector partners, and validate them through structured engagement. In partnership with the Institute for Continuing Care Education and Research (ICCER), the project will leverage a strong network to support sector alignment, shared learning, and resource integration. The toolkit will provide accessible, evidence-informed guidance to help organizations assess innovation fit, readiness, and risk, strengthening collaboration, reducing duplication, and enabling more consistent, informed decision-making across the sector.

Learn more about Brenda Strafford Foundation

This partnership project was co-developed by Servio, a community organization, and the research team led by Professor Turcotte (Université Laval). It addresses the growing proportion of aging people living with traumatic brain injury (TBI), who are often exposed to social isolation, feelings of premature aging, and a lack of opportunities for intergenerational dialogue. An intergenerational innovation was therefore co-created. It includes two components: 1) an intergenerational program focused on the experience of aging in the context of TBI, aimed at creating photographs; and 2) a photography exhibition designed to raise public awareness through the images created.

The project now aims to bring this exhibition to broader audiences in order to highlight underrepresented aging journeys and create spaces for discussion about aging, disability, and inclusion.

Learn more about Organisme Servio (only in French)

Public interest in complementary and alternative approaches to brain health is high, yet access to trustworthy, interpretable evidence remains limited. The goal of this project is to build a tool that allows people to interact with scientific literature relating specifically to complementary and alternative approaches for age-related neurological disorders. To do this, we will develop a user-friendly search engine that will curate scientific literature from PubMed and provide plain-language summaries for non-experts, researchers, policy makers, and clinicians. It will promote evidence literacy while avoiding medical advice or overclaiming and help people better navigate scientific information to make more informed decisions.

Learn more about Branch Out Neurological Foundation

In pursuit of our mission, our current project seeks to increase awareness of and enhance accessibility of physical activity knowledge that can support getting and staying active; thus, support lifelong healthy aging among Canadians. An important enabler to positive health behaviours, like physical activity, is health literacy and resources that older individuals can access and learn about good health practices that foster optimal aging. Our knowledge mobilization project seeks to support and promote a physically active lifestyle at any age, at any ability, and with any condition. We will be creating and promote a website containing a comprehensive directory of available evidence-based resources relating to physical activity and aging. Our dissemination strategy includes not only older Canadians themselves, but also those who play a role in supporting active aging. Our goal is that this one-stop, go-to resource directory of evidence-based physical activity for older adults’ resources will increase physical activity literacy and be an enabler of increased physical activity participation.

Learn more about Active Aging Canada

The World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted in its 2021 Global Report on Ageism that 56% of people harbor ageist views to some extent. To address this issue, a proposal is made to create 3-4 educational modules on aging and ageism. These modules are intended to support the efforts of the International Longevity Centre Canada (ILC Canada) and the Canadian Coalition Against Ageism (CCAA), a nationwide initiative launched in 2022 by ILC Canada in collaboration with numerous organizations.

The educational modules, which will be freely accessible to the public through the CCAA's network, aim to bring about a significant shift in societal perceptions by dispelling myths about aging, increasing awareness of ageism's impacts, and providing strategies for combating ageism in various settings. Additionally, the CCAA, with support from a CIHR grant, will host an ageism forum in June 2024. The forum's objectives include identifying education gaps among health and social service providers regarding ageism and developing consensus on essential training content.

The proposed modules and forum align with the WHO's recognition of education as a potent tool against ageism. By engaging in educational initiatives and fostering a culture of care that respects the rights of older individuals, the CCAA aims to contribute to broader social change and promote inclusivity and dignity for older Canadians.

Learn more about International Longevity Centre Canada Canadian Coalition Against Ageism

La Gang à Rambrou and Sans Oublier le Sourire have joined forces to highlight the life experiences of 21 people aging with neurodiversity aged 48 to 78. Drawn from interviews conducted as part of the research project "The Experiences of Social Exclusion and Inclusion Among People Aging with Neurodiversity and Their Families", their stories take shape in words and movements through artists who are aging with neurodiversity. At times poetic, at times poignant, the piece leads us to question ourselves about aging, strengths and resilience, the challenges of the health and social services system, housing, mistreatment, and the important role of community organizations. Choreography and direction: Jasmine Allan-Côté. The production will be filmed, and an accompanying toolkit created, which will be made available to interested health and social service organizations, community organizations, advocacy groups, schools, and others, to continue our knowledge mobilization efforts beyond the day of the event. Our objectives are to improve recognition and understanding of the diverse realities and experiences among people aging with neurodiversity and their families, break down barriers, and contribute to efforts to create more inclusive policies and programs in support of neurodiverse older people and their family caregivers across sites and sectors of care.

Learn more about Sans Oublier le Sourire

The purpose of this project is the development of an implementation toolkit to extend the reach and uptake of the Well-Being Approach to Distress (‘The Approach’) across Canada to significantly improve the quality of life and care of people living with dementia and their care partners. The Approach aims to improve the physical, mental and social wellness of people living with dementia in long-term care and retirement homes (LTCRHs) and was developed by Dr. Allen Power, Schlegel Chair in Aging and Dementia Innovation. The Approach is a non-pharmacological intervention that views expressions as the erosion of wellbeing and proactively works to address residents’ unmet needs. We have implemented, and are currently evaluating, The Approach in an Ontario LTC home and a similar application has reduced the use of antipsychotic drugs to 6.5 per cent averaged across 92 homes in Arkansas, USA, compared to an average of 16.8 per cent among non-participating homes in the state. An Implementation Toolkit for The Approach will be developed with, and for, LTCRH team members, and family and care partners of residents who are living with dementia. The toolkit will contain a staff handbook and a family and care partner education resource which we will disseminate nationally through partners, a webinar and a conference. The Implementation Toolkit will support staff to facilitate team huddles to identify the individual needs of residents and develop tailored care plans. The family and care partner education resource supports care partners, giving them practical strategies to proactively support their loved one’s well-being. Non-pharmacological approaches are essential for supporting the wellbeing of people living with dementia, despite team members and families often being unfamiliar with these strategies. The Approach is focused on resident well-being and has transformed the care environment in LTCRH for residents living with dementia and their care partners, drastically shifting away from the use of medications to manage expressions.

Learn more about Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging

Nav-CARE is an innovative, compassionate community program that builds upon the unique role of volunteers to provide early assistance to persons living with declining health. In the spring of 2023, South West District Palliative Care (SWDPC) became a Nav-CARE Hub, and a volunteer coordinator was hired, volunteers were recruited and trained, and client referrals were accepted. Posters and brochures were developed and put strategically throughout our region. Articles were placed in the local newspaper. Board members met with Municipal councils, the Town of Stonewall council, Seniors Resource Groups, Age Friendly groups, 55+ groups, Home Care nurses, Lion’s Manor (a Seniors Residence) to explain the program. Two satellite sites were determined, and presently the program continues to achieve milestones for accepting clients and training volunteers, to meet the Nav-CARE funding criteria.

Learn more about South West District Palliative Care

The Community-Based Seniors’ Services (CBSS) sector consists of non-profit and municipal organizations (e.g., senior centres, multi-service non-profits, neighbourhood houses, etc.) that offer a range of low-barrier programs and services for older adults that promote social connection, physical activity, good nutrition, and overall wellbeing. United Way BC actively works with a network of 195 CBSS agencies to deliver 331 Healthy Aging programs throughout BC. Through regional and provincial consultations conducted in 2022 and 2023, United Way BC has consistently heard from CBSS that they need more aging-related education and training opportunities for their program staff and volunteers. Unfortunately, most organizations have limited capacity to provide substantive training on the unique and intersecting needs of older adults. Through the CIHR Voluntary Sector Knowledge Mobilization Grant, we will leverage our online Healthy Aging CORE BC platform to share research evidence and best practices with CBSS to support the health and wellbeing of community-dwelling older adults. We will work with researchers and subject matter experts to develop educational and training materials on healthy aging topics for CBSS sector staff and volunteers that can be shared on our Healthy Aging CORE platform. We will also develop a series of infographics about the history and role of the CBSS sector in BC that can be used by agencies to educate volunteers about our sector and build more engagement.

Learn more about United Way BC