Partner Linkage Tool: Advancing 2S/LGBTQI+ Health through Research

The overall purpose of this funding opportunity is to advance, strengthen, and enhance inter-disciplinary, high-impact, and community-engaged health research that addresses the health priorities of 2S/LGBTQI+ individuals and communities in Canada.

It is expected that the applicant team will include complementary expertise and representation from independent researchers, knowledge users and/or community organizations. Integration of trainees and people with lived/living experience will also be expected. Applicants will be required to include a community engagement and knowledge mobilization plans as part of their application. CIHR is providing a Partner Linkage Tool to facilitate connections between applicants, researchers, trainees, community and health organizations, Indigenous groups, policy-makers, knowledge users, people with lived/living experience, and other individuals and organizations who are partners in 2S/LGBTQI+ health research.

The Partner Linkage Tool is intended to help expand research networks in 2S/LGBTQI+ health and to encourage meaningful researcher-community partnerships throughout the proposal development and beyond.

Interested in collaborating? Complete the Partner Linkage Tool online form. Your profile will be posted below and the tool will be updated weekly until the application deadline. Applicants can browse profiles and contact listed individuals directly to explore potential partnerships.

Use of this tool is optional. Applicants may also pursue partnerships outside of those listed. Information is provided voluntarily and does not influence the evaluation or funding decisions. Profiles are displayed in the language in which they were submitted.

Below is a list of individuals/organizations who have expressed an interest in collaborating on a grant application to the Advancing 2S/LGBTQI+ Health Through Research funding opportunity.

Notice

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

Contact Information:
Name of Organization/ Institution/ Partner
Location
Name
Email
Phone		 Participant Type Strategic priorities Funding Opportunity Areas of Interest Additional Information
Rainbow Faith and Freedom Ontario
Dawn-Luv Charles
dawn-luv.charles@rainbowfaithandfreedom.org
2508782536 		We are a registered charity addressing LGBTQ+ issues Rainbow Faith and Freedom's (RFF's) mission is to create a safer world for 2SLGBTQ+ people by ending religious-based homophobia and transphobia. Through community programming and awareness campaigns, RFF educates individuals and communities to recognize and understand religious-based discrimination against 2SLGBTQ+ communities and individuals, how it is harmful, and, ultimately, how to address it. RFF contends that various sectors of Ontario society, including places of worship, faith-based education institutions, religiously affiliated health care institutions, and families of faith, must become welcoming places for all, not just for some, because exclusion undermines the basic human rights of 2SLGBTQ+ persons. RFF is not a religious organization; RFF is a human rights organization that recognizes everyone's right to religious belief and to live free of the religious beliefs of others.
  • religious-based homophobia and transphobia are directly related with severe mental health concerns for LGBTQ+ people
  • we engage in research which helps to support SAFER spaces for "rainbow" people in our communities
  • we execute research in faith-based education, as well as Senior Care homes and long-term care facilities
    		•  We must partner with school administrations and with health care administrations to provide this life-saving education to students, teachers, carers, and health administrators.
    EPID@Work Research Institute, Lakehead University
    Ontario
    Dr. Vicki Kristman
    vkristman@lakeheadu.ca
    807-343-8010 x7184     		Researcher: early career, mid-career, senior

    Key research areas:

    • mental health in the workplace
    • equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace

    Methodological approach:

    • epidemiological study designs, including mixed-methods research
    		 I'm currently leading the Northwestern Ontario Workplace and Worker Health Study, which includes data on 2SLGBTQ+ participants. We'd like to expand on this for this call and include community partners to help us address workplace challenges for 2SLGBTQI+ community members. Seeking partners to help develop the research questions and project to address 2SLGBTQI+ health in the workplace.
    LubunTO - LGBTQs Immigrants from Turkey Initiative
    Toronto, ON
    ASYA GUNDUZ
    asyamedea@gmail.com
    4375667999     		Community or health organization
    • Peer-led support for LGBTQ+ immigrants from Turkey through social, cultural, and mental health programming
    • Newcomer resource building and systems navigation to improve access to health and settlement services
    • Harm reduction and wellbeing workshops addressing stress, isolation, and migration-related trauma
    • Community mobilization in Pride and public spaces to strengthen inclusion and visibility
    • Non-hierarchical, member-led governance centering self-determination and collective care
    • Focus on migration, health access, and community-based care for LGBTQ+ newcomers from Turkey and Kurdistan
    • Interest in intersectional, peer-led, and trauma-informed approaches to mental, sexual, and social health
    • Contribute through participatory research design, community engagement, and resource co-creation to strengthen culturally responsive 2S/LGBTQI+ health systems in Ontario
    • Seeking partnerships with settlement agencies, community health centers, and HIV/STBBI organizations supporting 2S/LGBTQI+ newcomers
    • Interested in collaborating with researchers experienced in participatory and qualitative health studie
    • Open to alliances with trans, refugee, and racialized community groups to co-develop culturally rooted health education and harm reduction initiatives
    Queer & Trans Health Collective
    Alberta
    Finn St Dennis
    finn.st.dennis@ourhealthyeg.ca
    587-599-7291     		Community or health organization

    QTHC runs:

    • Research department which is leading the National 2S/LGBTQIA+ Substance Use Study and collaborated on studies on topics such as sexual and reproductive health and trans health and wellbeing
    • Education department which is currently focused on gender affirming care and free leadership programming for 2S/LGBTQIA+ community members
    • Peer N Peer Harm Reduction and Spectrum Drug Checking

    QTHC takes a community engaged approach to research that ensure equitable inclusion of 2S/LGBTQIA+ voices. We are currently interested in the following research topics:

    • Substance use and harm reduction
    • Gender affirming care and trans and nonbinary wellbeing
    • Sexual and reproductive health
    		 QTHC is actively looking for research partners from 2026 onwards for new projects.
    Canadian Mental Health Association - Yukon Division
    Yukon
    Laurence Rivard
    Ed@yukon.cmha.ca
    8676686429     		Community or health organization CMHA Yukon is the only non profit in the Yukon dedicated to mental health. We have a counselling program, operate two crisis lines (24/7) and deliver various workshops, peer support groups and psychoed courses across the Territory. All our services are free, but we are noticing that marginalized communities are underrepresented in our clientele, including 2S/LGBTQI+ communities. We would also like to link recurring issues from the clientele to our advocacy work and would like to develop an ethical protocol to do this in an empowering way for our clients. Co-implementing community-engaged interventions, programming, and training for healthcare professionals in the Yukon. Collaborate with other community partners, offering mental health support during/after engagement with populations. Link research to advocacy in mental health in the Yukon. N/A
    Wabanaki Two Spirit Alliance
    Nova Scotia
    Tianna Bennett
    ed.wabanaki@w2sa.ca
    709-214-6246     		Indigenous groups
    • Develop support for Two Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQQIA+ kin in areas of health, education, and socio-economic development and well-being.
    • Conduct research by Two Spirits and Indigenous LGBTQQIA+
    • Provide a voice for Two Spirits and Indigenous LGBTQQIA+ kin on all levels
    • Strive to represent the unique perspectives of Two Spirits in gender and sexual identity,
    • Build relationships and kinship within Wabanaki and outside the territory.
    • Community based research
    • Advancing the voices of 2S folks, ensuring lived and living experience experts are leaders in projects
    • Gender affirming care
    • Culturally appropriate and affirming health care for 2S, LGBTQIA+ people
    • Cultural connections, learnings, knowledge sharing
    • Gatherings as medicine
    • Traditional understandings and practices in a modern context
    		 We are open to collaborating with 2S lead organizations, other Indigenous organizations, allies, health researchers, universities who want to further reciprocal relationships, understand data sovereignty and the importance of advancing the voices of 2 Spirit people in all areas of health and wellness.

    Université du Québec à Rimouski (in French only)
    Québec
    Nathalie Maltais, inf. Ph.D
    nathalie_maltais@uqar.ca
    438-863-8114

    		 Researcher: early career, mid-career, senior La prévention du suicide auprès des personnes 2ELGBTQI+., Méthodes de recherche: recherche action participative, théorisation ancrée. Présentement, on s'intéressse au processus de recherche d'aide des parents d'enfants 2ELGBTQI+. ayant une vulnérabilité suicidaire. Comprendre le vécu des personnes 2ELGBTQI+ habitant un milieu rural ayant ou ayant eu des idées suiciaires Organismes communautaires de petites municipalités personnes 2ELGBTQI+. vivant dans des petites municipalités Des maires, élues municipaux de petites communautés, villes ou villages Toutes personnes consernées par la perspective des personnes 2ELGBTQI+.

    Egale Canada
    Toronto, Ontario
    Brittany Jakubiec
    bjakubiec@egale.ca
    416-964-7887 Extension: 6796

    		 Community or health organization Egale is Canada's leading organization for 2SLGBTQI people and issues. We improve and save lives through research, education, awareness, and by advocating for human rights and equality in Canada and around the world. Our research is community-based and amplifies often underrepresented perspectives and experiences of 2SLGBTQI people in Canada. The Research Department pursues primary and secondary research that relates to myriad aspects of 2SLGBTQI lives across the life course. The focus of our research activities is diverse and includes such topics as school inclusion and inclusive education, employment and workplace inclusion, gender-based violence, aging issues, health and wellbeing, healthcare access and equity, and intersex rights and issues. We pursue research that can build upon and spark critical conversations, impact policy development and decision-making, and inform community-led initiatives. As a partner, we bring a critical lens and an understanding of the issues and challenges facing 2SLGBTQI people in Canada.  

    Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA)
    Federal
    Nadine Sokol
    nsokol@ccsa.ca
    1-833-235-4048

    		 Applicant Partner CCSA provides national leadership on substance use health. We are committed to advancing community-engaged research and policy that address sex and gender-related inequities, with a specific focus on2S/LGBTQI+ substance use health. CCSA is also committed to doing this through an intersectional lens, to ensure that all forms of disparities are addressed.

    Areas of research interest include:

    • Examining sex- and gender- and other intersectional-related differences in substance use, health impacts and service access;
    • Building the evidence for gender-responsive health, public health, and prevention interventions and policies;
    • Applying intersectional approaches to understand how gender interacts with cultural, structural and biological factors;
    • Identifying and reducing stigma and inequitable outcomes of substance use health policies and programs.

    Applicant partner support from CCSA is available for projects that aim to build evidence through research and discovery to improve substance use health outcomes for 2S/LGBTQI+ people. This support fosters cross-sectoral, interdisciplinary and community engagement and collaboration.

    The partnership or collaboration with CCSA could include the following in-kind support:

    • Provide expert guidance in an integrated knowledge mobilization approach to ensure that end-users are meaningfully engaged throughout the process, initiatives respond to a real need, and mobilization and implementation efforts are co-designed to ensure significant impact.
    • Facilitate access to relevant data related to prevalence, costs, service usage and health harms.
    • Organize consultations to bring together multisectoral partners, including people with lived expertise, to advise on considerations, engagement practices, consensus documents, etc.
    • Organize webinars or roundtable expert discussions to discuss research project results.
    • Advise on designing substance use health studies that engage priority populations.
    • Facilitate collaboration with our network of established knowledge users through national and community-based partnerships
    • Knowledge of Canadian and international substance use policies

    Statistics Canada
    Federal
    Data Access Division Client Service
    statcan.dad-apu-dad-uta.statcan@statcan.gc.ca

    		 Applicant Partner Statistics Canada, through its Census, survey, and administrative data and biospecimen holdings, is Canada's primary source of information on all aspects of population health, including health-related behaviours, access to care, and social determinants of health. Application partner support for microdata access from Statistics Canada is available for data users initiating projects on any subject that would benefit from Statistics Canada's data holdings and statistical and/or subject matter expertise. Statistics Canada will provide guidance and training to researchers on the best microdata access solutions for their data needs and support researchers for the duration of their access.

    Application partner support from Statistics Canada is available for projects on any subject that would benefit from Statistics Canada's data holdings and statistical and/or subject matter expertise. Here are a few examples that could be of interest in relation to this funding opportunity.

    The 2021 Census includes new variables including the precision of ‘at birth' was added to the sex question on the census, and a new question on gender was included. These changes allow all persons living in Canada—including transgender and non-binary individuals—to self-identify through the census.

    The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) includes a variable on sexual orientation. In the 2022 Annual component, this variable was modified to allow respondents describe their sexuality as heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual or pansexual.

    Starting in 2022, the Canadian Survey of Disability is able to produce data for 2SLGBTQ+ persons with disabilities. The Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) is the official source of data on persons with disabilities aged 15 years and over in Canada. In 2022, the CSD reflected the changes made to the 2021 Census by asking respondents both their gender (male, female or please specify) and sex at birth. The 2022 CSD also asked respondents their sexual orientation for the first time (heterosexual, lesbian or gay, bisexual or please specify). Together, the gender, sex at birth and sexual orientation questions allow for the analysis of data on 2SLGBTQ+ persons with disabilities aged 15 years and over in Canada Research on a range of disability characteristics, and on the full 2SLGBTQ+ population will provide insight into the lived experiences of these populations.

    Statistics Canada is contributing to the Federal 2SGTBQI+ Action Plan that seeks to advance equity and protect hard-earned rights, while also tackling discrimination against 2SLGBTQI+ individuals by continuing its work to address data gaps for this population. This includes developing or updating statistical standards and continuously working to improve data collection pertaining to these populations.

    In 2026, the Census will include a new question on sexual orientation for individuals aged 15 and older, to be asked on the long-form questionnaire.

    Statistics Canada's Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion Statistics (GDIS) Hub, which is available on the Statistics Canada website is a primary platform for all Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion related data. The Hub enables data users to more easily find disaggregated and intersectional data, analytical products and insights.

    Additionally, the GDIS catalogue is a database that enables users to find data tables, publications, and data visualizations with a focus on disaggregated data and analytical products on gender, diversity, and inclusion.

    Access to Statistics Canada microdata (Access to microdata) includes Public Use Microdata Files (PUMFs), Real Time Remote Access (RTRA) or access to confidential microdata in Research Data Centres (RDCs). Access to the RDCs is funded by Statistics Canada, the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN) and its university partners and is usually at no cost for academic researchers.

    		 Further, Statistics Canada's data linkage capacity, both within its own holdings and with external data, which enables research on issues related to equity, diversity, and inclusion. The agency also has expert staff in statistical methodology and all areas of population health statistics and offers various virtual and in-person microdata access options, training, and support. To explore potential partnerships contact individuals listed in the Contact Information.
    UWaterloo Queer Eye, University of Waterloo School of Optometry
    Ontario
    Sophia Detillieux
    uwqueereye@outlook.com
    204-890-6507

    Other: Please specify

    Student group for queer optometry students at the University of Waterloo Optometry Program

    		 We would like to provide lecture series' once or twice a year on how to provide inclusive care - available to all optometry students, as well as faculty and staff at the school and teaching clinic. Creating inclusive spaces in healthcare, how to make queer individuals feel safe and welcomed in our offices and at our school. How to use the correct pronouns and preferred names in office. Updating EMRs to include pronouns and preferred names, or how to include this if there isn't a dedicated spot. If we could be directed to people who would be open to coming to the school to speak at our lecture series' that would be very helpful! We are a new club on campus so financially any help we can get is also greatly appreciated.
    Toronto Metropolitan University
    Ontario
    Alexandra Fiocco
    afiocco@torontomu.ca
    647-969-2628    		 Researcher: early career, mid-career, senior I am director of the Stress and Healthy Aging Research Lab. We are currently investigating the intersection between agism and sex- and gender-based discrimination among 2S/LGBTQI+ persons. We hope to examine the lived experiences of older adults as it related to intersecting identities of aging in sex and gender minoritized groups. We also hope to co-develop a wellness program that addresses this intersection using a participatory action approach. We are seeking community partners in the 2S/LGBTQI+ community to collaborate on this research initiative.
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