Strengthening Resilient and Equitable Public Health Systems (STEPS): Meet the Teams and Hub
About the STEPS initiative
The Strengthening Resilient and Equitable Public Health Systems (STEPS) initiative brings together 14 funded research teams and a Knowledge Mobilization Hub to generate and mobilize evidence that supports stronger public health decision-making in order to advance health equity and improve population health in Canada.
For more information about the STEPS initiative, consult this news release, review the funding opportunity, and check out this Canadian Journal of Public Health article on IPPH’s vision for public health systems and services research.
The STEPS initiative is led by the CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH), in partnership with the CIHR Institutes of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH), Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR), Indigenous Peoples’ Health (IIPH), and Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA), the Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (CRPPHE), the Fonds de recherche du Québec - secteur Santé (FRQ-Santé), the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and Michael Smith Health Research BC.
About the Knowledge Mobilization Hub
The STEPS Knowledge Mobilization Hub will support collaboration, knowledge exchange, evidence synthesis, and the mobilization of findings across the initiative to maximize impact and uptake.
The funded Hub is expected to be announced in November 2026.
About the STEPS Teams
Based on a tripartite leadership model, each STEPS Team is composed of a lead researcher, decision-maker, and knowledge user (public health practitioner or community representative), who will work together to generate actionable evidence and solutions that strengthen public health systems and advance health equity.
Team profiles
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Public Health Financing and Equity: Determinants, Impacts, and System LearningResearch summary: Public health protects Canadians through disease prevention, health promotion, and emergency preparedness, yet little is known about how public health systems are financed or how funding decisions influence or are influenced by equity considerations. This project will generate new evidence on the political, fiscal, and governance factors that shape public health spending and social spending across Canada and on how these investments affect health and health equity. Working with researchers, public health leaders, and community partners, the team will pilot a learning health system approach to public health financing in Québec, Ontario, and British Columbia. Tripartite team co-leads:
Contact: mehdi.ammi@carleton.ca Research area: Public Sector Funder: CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH) |
Designing a Pan-Canadian Civilian Emergency Reserve: governance, finance, and workforce models to strengthen public health surge capacityResearch summary: Canada's public health systems have repeatedly relied on the Canadian Armed Forces to fill surge capacity gaps during pandemics, climate disasters, and other crises: an approach that is costly, unsustainable, and increasingly strained. This project will generate evidence base for a civilian emergency reserve: a coordinated, trained civilian workforce that can be rapidly deployed to sustain essential public health functions when routine capacity is exceeded. Using a mixed-methods approach, combining policy analysis, economic modelling, participatory co-design, and qualitative research with stakeholders across Canada, we will develop governance blueprints, financing options, and an equity-centred workforce design that centres SGBA+ and Indigenous perspectives. The goal is provide evidence on the most appropriate civilian surge system that is faster, fairer, and more sustainable than ad hoc military deployments, and that strengthens Canada's resilience for the pandemics and emergencies ahead. Tripartite co-leads:
Contact information: prativa.baral@mcgill.ca Research area: Public Health Emergencies and Pandemic Preparedness Funder: Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (CRPPHE) |
L’organisation communautaire comme levier intersectoriel des services publics en santé pour les communautés en quête d’équitéResearch summary: Malgré les efforts des systèmes de santé publique, des inégalités persistantes en santé touchent encore les communautés en quête d’équité, souvent exacerbées par des approches institutionnelles peu adaptées à leurs réalités. Dans ce contexte, l’organisation communautaire (OC) se présente comme un levier clé pour renforcer l’équité en favorisant des interventions intersectorielles, culturellement pertinentes et ancrées dans les besoins locaux. En jouant un rôle de liaison entre les acteurs du réseau de la santé, les organismes communautaires et les collectivités, l’OC contribue à améliorer l’accès aux services et à soutenir le pouvoir d’agir des populations. Toutefois, les réformes du système de santé et l’absence d’un cadre d’évaluation uniforme limitent la compréhension de ses effets. Ce projet vise ainsi à mieux documenter, expérimenter et diffuser des pratiques innovantes d’OC, à travers une approche participative et intersectorielle, afin de soutenir la transformation des services publics vers plus d’équité, de pertinence culturelle et de justice sociale. Tripartite co-leads:
Contact information: naima.bentayeb.ccomtl@ssss.gouv.qc.ca Research area: Public Sector Funder: Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS) |
Decolonizing Approaches to the Governance and Leadership of Public Health Crises in the Context of Climate ChangeResearch Summary: Decolonizing Approaches to the Governance and Leadership of Public Health Crises in the Context of Climate Change, is an Indigenous-led, community-driven project that aims to strengthen Public Health Systems (PHS) in British Columbia (BC) by centering BC First Nations governance, ecosystem stewardship, and sovereignty in climate and pandemic responses. The project will document and uplift the extensive work already undertaken by communities who have navigated overlapping crises, including COVID19, wildfires, floods, landslides, water insecurity, and other climate-related emergencies. We will also examine how PHS have engaged with, supported or constrained BC First Nations leadership during these emergencies.
Research area: Public Health Emergencies and Pandemic Preparedness Funder: Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (CRPPHE) |
Shared Pathways to a Healthier Tomorrow: Strengthening Public Health Systems with Indigenous KnowledgesResearch summary: Guided by Indigenous research methodologies and tripartite co-leadership, this project examines how Indigenous knowledge systems can strengthen public health systems in ways accountable to Indigenous rights, Nation-specific priorities, and community governance. Across three partner sites, the team will explore how Indigenous health knowledges, responsibilities, and jurisdictions are reflected or missing in public health policy, workforce roles, service pathways, and data practices, and will generate practical tools, policy guidance, curriculum supports, and knowledge products for Indigenous-led public health transformation. Tripartite co-leads:
Contact information: bourquebearskin@uvic.ca Research area: Community Sector Funders: Michael Smith Health Research BC (Health Research BC); CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH) |
Developing Public Health Standards and Best Practices in Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Health System DesignResearch summary: Situated within research on public health systems for the prevention of mental health and/or substance use disorders in youth, this initiative will establish public health system standards and implementation tools that strengthen youth mental health and substance use health systems. Through the MHSUH System Design Lab—a think-to-action collective integrating research, lived experience, and cross-sector expertise—the initiative will enhance multi-sectoral collaboration and leadership in youth mental health and substance use health system design and governance and develop public health-aligned system standards and tools. Tripartite co-leads:
Contact information: gdimit@ucalgary.ca Research area: Public Health Emergencies and Pandemic Preparedness Funder: Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (CRPPHE) |
Implementation of a national drug surveillance dashboard and co-creation of a national drug alert systemResearch summary: Canada's drug poisoning crisis claims over 22 lives daily driven largely by an unpredictable illicit drug supply contaminated with adulterants like benzodiazepines, xylazine, and carfentanyl. In partnership with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, this project proposes a national substance surveillance dashboard that integrates various forms of drug surveillance including drug testing, urine toxicology, wastewater data, and coroner reports, amongst others. Overlaid with hospitalization and mortality data, the dashboard will use machine learning to predict overdose spikes and feed a national drug alert system, with effectiveness evaluated through stakeholder engagement and an implementation science framework. Tripartite co-leads:
Contact information: ghosh@ualberta.ca Research area: Community Sector Funder: CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH) |
'Fixing Ourselves': Evidence-informed Eradication of Indigenous-specific Racism to Advance True Reconciliation in Settler Population and Public Health SystemsFurther details regarding this project will be posted soon. Tripartite co-leads:
Contact information: kate.jongbloed@bccdc.ca Research area: Public Sector Funders: Michael Smith Health Research BC (Health Research BC); CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH) |
A Population Health Approach for Coordinating Community-Based Seniors' Services and Strengthening Health System ResilienceFurther details regarding this project will be posted soon. Nominated Principal Investigator: Raza M. Mirza (University of Toronto) Research area: Community Sector Funder: CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH) |
From knowledge to impact: integrating public health core competencies on Black health into public health systemsResearch summary: Anti-Black racism is a structural and social determinant of health that jeopardizes Black people’s health. Strengthening workforce expertise and organizational capacity is essential to ensure responsive and equitable policy and program interventions. To support this goal, the Black Health Education Collaborative developed core competencies on Black health and addressing anti-Black racism in public health. Over three years, this project will partner with the Middlesex-London Health Unit and engage other public health units to assess organizational readiness, build workforce capacity, develop and pilot an implementation framework and supporting resources, and evaluate their impact. Tripartite co-leads:
Contact information: sume.ndumbe.eyoh@utoronto.ca Research area: Public Sector Funder: CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH) |
Inclusive Planning for Climate Emergency Readiness with First Nations CommunitiesResearch summary: The goal of this action-oriented research is to support and strengthen equitable, community-led planning for climate-related public health emergencies. It will co-design and apply "Public Health & Community Care (PHACC) Mapping" with rural and remote First Nations communities in British Columbia. PHACC Mapping is a co-facilitated workshop series where communities and diverse interest holders prototype local designs for improvements in emergency preparedness, strengthening last-mile coordination, Indigenous leadership, and culturally safe processes. Partners include four First Nations, the First Nations Health Authority (provincial HEM portfolio and regional leads), BC Emergency Health Services, UBC and RRU. The project will build capacity within First Nations partners and will spread learnings with other First Nations in our KT work. Tripartite co-leads:
Contact information: morgan.price@ubc.ca Research area: Strengthening Public Health Systems for Pandemic Preparedness Funder: Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (CRPPHE) |
Strengthening Public Health System Responses in Canada’s Ongoing Opioid CrisisResearch summary: Despite new investments and harm reduction innovations, opioid-related morbidity and mortality remain alarmingly high, underscoring persistent potential weaknesses in public health system governance, financing, workforce, and data infrastructure. Using a historical comparative policy analysis, key informant interviews, and stakeholder workshops, this project will examine how these public health system building blocks have shaped responses across federal and provincial levels, identifying both barriers and enablers, and co-producing equity-focused recommendations for reform. Guided by the Canadian Public Health Association’s Framework for a Public Health Approach to Substance Use, this research centers both governmental and community sector roles, addressing the STEPS funding opportunity's call for evidence on governance, intersectoral partnerships, workforce planning, and sustainable financing. Tripartite co-leads:
Contact information: asud@hrh.ca Research area: Public Sector Funder: CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH) |
Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Stroke Prevention for First Nation and Métis Community Health Workers in Rural/Remote Manitoba and SaskatchewanResearch summary: This project aims to strengthen equitable public health systems by co-designing, implementing, and evaluating a culturally safe Stroke-AI app to support stroke prevention in rural and remote First Nation and Métis communities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The development of the Stroke-AI app will be guided by an Indigenous-led co-design process involving Elders, community leaders, individuals with lived experience, community health workers, community health representatives, personal support workers, homecare workers, clinicians, decision-makers, and Indigenous knowledge holders. The project responds to persistent inequities in stroke and cardiovascular disease among First Nation and Métis communities, which are shaped by workforce shortages, fragmented service delivery, limited access to culturally safe prevention services, and insufficient integration of Indigenous governance and knowledge within public health systems. Tripartite co-leads:
Contact information: mirella.veras@umanitoba.ca Research area: Indigenous Communities for Cardiovascular Health Funders: CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH); CIHR Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health (IIPH); Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (Heart & Stroke) |
Stronger Hearts, Stronger Communities: First Nations Approaches to Cardiovascular Health and WellnessResearch summary: Through our programming, Elders, Knowledge Holders, community leaders, health workers, and researchers will work together to co-create culturally grounded heart health programs that reflect the aspirations, values, and traditions of diverse First Nations communities and schools in BC. Activities will include heart health education, recognition of stroke and heart attack warning signs, traditional land- and water-based physical activity, arts-based healing and wellness programming, healthy eating, blood pressure screening, and CPR/AED training. The project aims to prevent cardiovascular disease while strengthening community capacity, supporting First Nations leadership, and promoting wholistic health and wellness for current and future generations.
Research area: Indigenous Communities for Cardiovascular Health Funders: CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH); CIHR Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health (IIPH); Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (Heart & Stroke) |
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