What We're About

HomeWhat We're AboutVision and Mission

VISION

Well-being throughout life by harnessing the power of maternal and child health research.

MISSION

To provide practice-based networks and research teams an integrated infrastructure underpinned by a coordinating center and overseen by a common governance structure, that removes barriers and builds capacity for high quality health research, fostering and enhancing collaborations across Canada and beyond.

BACKGROUND

The Maternal Infant Child, Youth Research Network (MICYRN) was founded in 2006 as a collaborative national initiative to build capacity for high quality applied health research in Canada. Early environmental scans revealed that there was a large amount of research being conducted by teams with investigators based at multiple sites across the country. Each of these groups was working independently, in silos, facing similar barriers to conducting multi-jurisdictional research and implementing findings to improve health care.

These reviews, and surveys conducted of investigators and the MICYRN member organizations, helped shape our formative objectives:

  1. To support collaboration in order to share innovations and best practices, and reduce duplication of efforts;
  2. To promote harmonization to achieve efficiencies, and reduce redundancy and resource use; and,
  3. To implement high quality standards for assurance of patient safety and optimal utility of research results
In January of 2011, MICYRN incorporated as a federal not-for-profit society linking 19 health research organizations based at academic health centres in Canada and now has over 20 affiliated practice-based research networks. MICYRN’s work to date has been supported by the member organizations and a start-up grant from the Canadian Children’s Foundations.

STRATEGY

MICYRN has developed a high-level strategic plan “map” illustrating how the organization will have an impact towards improving maternal and child health. The map outlines MICYRN’s national initiatives and areas of action and highlights the three key result areas that these activities collectively intend to achieve. It also illustrates the strong foundation of governance and infrastructure currently in place which is critical to effectively supporting these activities and ensuring sustainability so that MICYRN’s achievements will have a significant and lasting impact.

Download the PDF of the High-Level Strategic Plan here.

OVERARCHING GOAL

The overarching goal of MICYRN is to empower the health research community to develop and implement solutions to issues affecting maternal infant child & youth health and health services We invite you to make use of the information and links provided on this site. Please join forces with MICYRN to help achieve common goals, to share your news and events, and to take advantage of funding opportunities.