Research at KCHC

About our Research Committee

KCHC’s Research Committee promotes and supports research activities that can improve the wellbeing of KCHC patients and clients and vulnerable populations in general.

The research committee reviews research proposals and ensures that researchers have taken the necessary steps to be diligent and ethical in the protection of privacy of individuals participating in research, and are committed to respectful relationships so that the research environment is culturally, socially, spiritually, emotionally and physically safe. (See more on the CIHR website)

The Research Committee promotes community-based participatory research to empower individuals as agents of change in their lives and in their communities, while ensuring that research activities do not overly infringe on the delivery of services by staff and the organization. We welcome proposals from all disciplines and methodologies that centre the voice and expertise of our clients and community.

KCHC is situated on traditional shared Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee territories and we work with a diverse group of clients, many of whom claim First Nations, Métis and Inuit ancestry. Other clients may claim Indigenous heritage outside of Canada. All principal investigators seeking to working with KCHC and its clients must demonstrate knowledge of and willingness to work in the spirit of OCAP (see below). Whereas OCAP™ applies only to First Nations, working “in the spirit of OCAP” means applying these principles more generally to empower all Indigenous clients involved in research at KCHC. We believe that working in the spirit of OCAP is valuable for conducting all research, even in non-indigenous communities.

OCAP stands for:

• Ownership (who owns the information collected)
• Control (who decides what is done with the information collected)
• Access (who can access the collected data and final results)
• Possession (literally, who possesses the collected data and finished product – the mechanism by which Ownership is asserted)

For more information on OCAP™ as a specifically First Nations principle, visit https://fnigc.ca/ocapr.html. Your submission must include a description of how your methods interact with four OCAP principles listed above. We recognize that not all disciplines align naturally with OCAP and are happy to have further discussions about how to make your study more OCAP-friendly if necessary.

How can I conduct research with KCHC

Research collaborations with our direct service providers are encouraged.

If you are a community researcher without ties to an academic institution, please email us to discuss your project.

If you are a student or researcher from an academic institution and want to hang a poster or distribute a flyer and require no other involvement from KCHC, please email us the following:

• A copy of your REB approval letter
• The poster/flyer you would like to distribute

If you are interested in full collaboration with KCHC (e.g. access to clients, staff, and/or space), you will need to participate in a full review. To start the review process, we need the following materials:

• Your current proposal and project outline (or draft)
• REB approval, if available. If you’re seeking a letter of support in advance of submitting to your REB, please advise.
• Your letter of informed consent for participation (if available). Please note that we accept and encourage other ways of obtaining informed consent from participants (e.g. verbal).
• A description of your request for KCHC staff involvement (e.g. assistance in recruiting, facilitation, etc.), plus a description of how your proposed work benefits KCHC clients, the organization and society at large.
• A description of how your methods interact with OCAP principles

Projects that do not demonstrate a clear, immediate benefit to KCHC community (e.g. compensation) or to the services they receive may be rejected. Projects that require a high level of staff support will be considered only if staff time is available.