The Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research (NEIHR) Program, an $100.8M investment over 16 years, has been developed to address those needs in capacity development, research and knowledge translation. The NEIHR Program is led by the Institute of Indigenous Peoples’ Health (IIPH) and co-led by the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH). This Program is supported financially by all 13 Institutes of CIHR.

The purpose of the Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research (NEIHR) Program is to establish a national network of nine centres focused on capacity development, research and knowledge translation centred on Indigenous Peoples (i.e., First Nations, Inuit and Métis). The network of centres is intended to provide supportive research environments for Indigenous health research driven by and grounded in Indigenous communities in Canada. The funded NEIHR centres will take a comprehensive approach to capacity building in Indigenous health research by concentrating on Indigenous communities and structural factors (e.g., educational systems, institutions, research infrastructures, policy apparatus) while keeping a focus on individual agency (e.g., supporting trainees and researchers). NEIHR is the largest one-time investment in Indigenous health research in the history of CIHR and of Canada. It involves all of the 13 CIHR Institutes and represents a 16-year commitment valued in excess of $100 million. The 13 CIHR Institutes are comprise of: IIPH; Institute of Aging (IA); Institute of Cancer Research (ICR); Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH); Institute of Gender and Health (IGH); Institute of Genetics; Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR); Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health (IHDCYH); Institute of Infection and Immunity; Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA); Institute of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Addiction; Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes; and Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH).

NEIHR Program Objectives:

• Support Indigenous community-based health research that reflects the priorities and values of Indigenous Peoples;
• Develop an Indigenous community-based health research network environment that will support Indigenous leadership and research-related organizations with existing and new research infrastructures and platforms;
• Augment awareness, capacity and relevance of Indigenous health research that improves the health of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples across all health research domains;
• Improve understanding of Indigenous health research and Indigenous research paradigms through ethical and impactful partnerships between Indigenous communities and health researchers, scholars, professors and instructors, research administrators, policy and decision makers, and other parties with an interest in Indigenous health research;
• Engage Indigenous Peoples in Canada in leading and conducting health research and knowledge translation;
• Engage with researchers, Indigenous Peoples and other relevant parties from different countries as appropriate, in order to advance the objectives of the NEIHR centres; and
• Develop enduring NEIHR centres with sustainable mandates to build research capacity, conduct research, advance Indigenous research paradigms, and carry out knowledge translation activities.

Through a funding competition centres will be established in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada, Nunavut, and either Yukon or the Northwest Territories. A coordinating centre will also be established to harmonize the work of the centres.