Vice-presidents of research from across Canada converged in Ottawa on April 13 to meet with the presidents of the Social Sciences��& Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Natural Sciences��& Engineering Council (NSERC), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), regarding the impact of the 2012 budget on their funding programs.

While the complete details of the consequences of budget 2012 remain to be fully worked out, the overall tone of the message emphasized the efforts being made by Tri-Council to protect and promote fundamental research, to describe where the new investments in the budget will be rolled out, and to give a first look at where the mandated cuts in programming and operations will occur.

Initial discussion emphasized new investments being made and the expression of support for basic research in the budget language (if not directly in the dollars being distributed). Not only was the overall budget to Tri-Council preserved in a budget cycle where��five to��ten per cent��cuts in overall budgets were the norm, but new investments were committed to support a number of new and existing programs. Thus CANARIE, Genome Canada and the CFI all received major infusions of funding that were accompanied by focused investments (in mental health etc.). While there is no explicit new funding for basic research in this budget, the lack of an overall funding reduction place Tri-Council in rare company around the federal budget table this year.

Over the last number of years, Tri-Council agencies were asked to undertake a strategic review of their expenditures, a process which required a review of all program spending and assessment of savings. The review process identified areas where savings could be achieved in order to redirect funding within the organization for new initiatives or to other government priorities.

While these are clearly no longer the heady times of the early 2000s, when Tri-Council budgets grew rapidly in a largely unrestricted manner, overall support for university-led research by the federal government remains comparatively strong and researchers should be encouraged by this. However, it is clear that at all levels, the funders of university research continue to move towards an emphasis on how the results of university-led research translates into tangible benefits for Canadian society and the Canadian economy. Here it is important for researchers to continue their efforts to explain and educate government and other funders on the need to support fundamental research as the bedrock on which university-led research is built.

It is also crucial to emphasize the need for programing that provides funding for making connections amongst researchers and sustaining the basic infrastructure needed for individual research programs.��We can all, in following up on the steps presently been taken by Tri-Council, encourage the continued protection and development of core people and basic research programing within Tri-Council, and emphasize at every opportunity that the development of Canada’s Innovation Agenda can only be successful if done in partnership with development of our discovery agenda.

For the full commentary, which includes specific details of anticipated programming changes, please click here.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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VPRI will be advised in the consultation process by a Strategic Research Plan��Advisory Committee comprised of individuals from the University and community, whose membership will be announced shortly.��The goal is to engage the community in a discussion of��goals and values to provide shape to��a��strategic research plan��that will set the vision for the continuing development of research at 91��ɫ for the next several years. The expectation is to provide the community with a draft of the plan before the end of 2012, with��a final version going to Senate for approval in spring 2013.

“The establishment of a new strategic research plan will help to advance research intensification broadly at 91��ɫ and identify areas of opportunity for growth and development,” said��Robert Haché (left), vice-president research & innovation. “The plan will help to foster the support of research excellence across the University while providing a strategic framework for driving our research reputation forward in areas of opportunity.”

In order to create a document with the broadest possible support, VPRI��is inviting��all members of the 91��ɫ community to contribute to the development of the strategic research plan by sharing their points of view throughout the consultation and development process.�� The��University community is invited to participate in workshops, focus groups, town hall meetings and other events being organized or through��an online form that is available .

Through an extensive process of broadly-based consultations, VPRI will arrive at a plan that sets well-defined goals within an aspirational vision that is strongly supported by the University academic community, as represented by Senate.

The goals of the strategic research plan��consultation process are:

• To engage in a collaborative, University-building exercise that articulates a clear valuation and appreciation of research at 91��ɫ��and its integration into all aspects of the��fabric of the University;
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• To build a strong, broadly accepted aspirational vision��for��the development of research based on a comprehensive consultation process with the University community and external stakeholders;
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• To appropriately identify and articulate areas of opportunity in the strategic development of research across the institution.

Haché, in collaboration with the Strategic Research Plan��Advisory Committee, invites all members of the��community to be an engaged part of a comprehensive consultation process that will help 91��ɫ continue to move forward in research excellence and scholarship.

For more information,��click .

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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91��ɫ’s Department of Dance is spearheading an innovative health initiative that sends students into the community to lead weekly dance activity classes for older adults at partner institutions in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

The program, supported by the Government of Ontario’s Healthy Communities Fund, focuses on the positive and preventative effects that dance can have for seniors. Drawing on the specialized training the student instructors bring to the project, injury prevention and health promotion are at the core of the program. It features carefully designed movement exercises that build strength, encourage flexibility and full range of motion, proper alignment and coordination, and cardiovascular conditioning.

“The benefits of dance and music for physical and mental health cannot be overestimated,” says��Department of Dance��Professor Mary Jane Warner (right), the project manager. “Blending fitness and recreation through dance with the opportunity for creative expression is powerful motivation. Fitness strategies like this can help seniors stay active, in their homes and out of hospital beds.”

According to the Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care, the number of seniors in Ontario is expected to double in the next 16 years. In 2009, 18 local hospitals reported that community services such as recreational and exercise classes, along with facilities for the elderly, are hugely insufficient to meet their referral and discharge needs.

91��ɫ’s Dance Department launched the project last fall with one-hour weekly dance classes held in the community. Over the course of eight to 10 weeks, more than 190 seniors at 10 facilities across the GTA took part. Three additional locations and five more classes were added last month to accommodate the growing demand from enthusiastic participants.

Current community partners include North 91��ɫ’s Bernard Betel Centre, Black Creek Community Health Centre, Downsview Services to Seniors, Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women at two locations in North 91��ɫ and one in Woodbridge, North 91��ɫ Seniors Centre, Toronto Heliconian Club, St. Clair West Service for Seniors, three Unison Health and Community Services in North 91��ɫ, and Vaughan Community Health Centre. Feedback from the seniors and student-teachers – as well as the institutions hosting the sessions – is overwhelmingly positive.

“It’s incredibly satisfying when you hear how much these classes mean to the participants. You really feel like you’re making a difference in people’s lives,” says project coordinator and research associate April Nakaima. “One woman, a diabetic, was congratulated by her doctor for the drop in her blood sugar; she credited the class for this good outcome. Several other women credited the class with helping them lose inches from their waistlines. Another participant says she found the dance class more beneficial in combating her depression than other programs. Getting responses like this after just eight weeks has been both astounding and deeply gratifying.”

Nakaima, a former research coordinator at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, serves as adviser and guest lecturer to the program. She brings extensive expertise and experience to the project, having previously developed a highly successful dance program for older adults living in government-assisted housing.

The participants are incredibly diverse, and so the project delivery must be too, Nakaima says. “One of the most fascinating aspects is accommodating such a wide range of fitness, mobility, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. Some classes are done with people mostly seated. A couple of groups need translators. We even take music requests from the participants.”

Rhea Bowman, one of 16 student teachers, leads seniors in a dance class

Sixteen student teachers from 91��ɫ’s Dance Department are taking part in the program, earning course credit for their third-year pedagogy class. With a range of teaching experience under their belts and a targeted orientation program, they bring a solid foundation to their training to lead the dance activity classes. The pedagogy classes prepare them to teach in dance studio settings, recreation and community centres, and the public school system. The course covers teaching participants of all ages and abilities, with a strong emphasis on creative movement as a form appropriate for everyone, including the elderly. There are also courses in kinesiology, conditioning, somatics and injury prevention that prepare the students to work safely with participants.

Some students are planning to teach dance in community settings or within the school system. Others bring a particular interest in dance therapy or rehabilitation, looking to serve clients with special needs, such as the elderly or people recovering from illness or injury.

‘The experience has been amazing,” says fourth-year dance major Rhea Bowman, who is teaching her second group of predominately Spanish-speaking participants at the Black Creek Community Health Centre. “We dance to Spanish, soca and calypso music, and some of the ladies have taught me more intricate Spanish dance steps. They are teaching me Spanish words too!

“I feel very passionate about fitness for older adults after seeing how beneficial this dance class is for them,” says Bowman. “I would love to continue to do this work after the year is done.”

Bowman’s classmate, Candace Calarco, who is teaching at the Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women located near 91��ɫ’s Keele campus, is equally enthusiastic. “So far, this placement has been a totally positive and exciting experience,” she says. “Working with seniors has really expanded my knowledge about movement and the human body, and how to teach a group with a wide range of physical abilities.”

The student teachers come together each week to share their experiences and strategies on solving the challenges they encounter in the course of their teaching. Input is also invited from the participating seniors and community partners. This ongoing feedback loop strengthens the experience for everyone involved.

“The student teachers from 91��ɫ’s Dance Department are professional, knowledgeable instructors who address the physical exercise needs of our clients while taking their medical conditions into consideration,” says Rukhsana Naheed Cheema, the seniors coordinator at the Elspeth Heyworth satellite location in Vaughan’s Blue Willow Activity Centre. “The pleasant personalities of these skilled instructors add to the seniors’ love for the program. It has not only improved their health, but their mood and spirits as well. They hope it can go on forever.”

Plans are in the works to create a dedicated course to keep the program running in the future.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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