The Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative

The Collaborative Housing Research Network (CHRN) is a National Housing Strategy (NHS) initiative. It was created to support housing sector innovation and new housing solutions. CHRN brings together groups of researchers and other stakeholders to perform comprehensive research into housing conditions, needs and outcomes. It features 5 research teams, each coordinated by a project director and responsible for one thematic research area. These research areas support NHS priority areas of action.

These separate research teams are connected by the Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative (CHEC) hub. This network of networks will coordinate research collaboration and planning between the research teams. It will do the same externally with government and the housing community. CHEC will also train the next generation of housing professionals and academics. This will further contribute to developing innovative housing data and knowledge receptor capacity in the housing sector.

Project scope and expected outcomes

Meeting the needs of a growing, increasingly urban and aging population

CHEC is the knowledge mobilization hub of the CHRN. Knowledge mobilization involves a wide range of activities that make sure research has the biggest possible impact. It works to ensure research reaches the right people and organizations, and seeks to enhance their capacity to use research.

CHEC’s vision is to help Canada achieve housing solutions that meet the needs of a growing, increasingly urban and aging population. In particular, it seeks to maximize well-being, minimize environmental impact, accommodate diversity, strengthen public institutions, and facilitate stable, productive economies.

To do this, CHEC will encourage and promote meaningful collaboration, both between individual CHRN research teams and with external stakeholders. It will also seek to strengthen housing research capacity and amplify its ability to inform policies, programs and initiatives.

Four key objectives

CHEC has 4 key objectives:

• Objective 1: Broker relationships to “join-up” the housing research ecosystem.
• Objective 2: Bring evidence to action by adapting and refining proven tactics of knowledge mobilization from other fields.
• Objective 3: Build, attract and retain housing research capacity in academic, government, private and not-for-profit sector organizations.
• Objective 4: Expand the use of housing data for decision-making.

Each of these objectives will involve a range of activities:

• For Objective 1, CHEC will hold consultations to identify specific research priorities. The Collaborative will help strengthen communication with knowledge users, including municipal governments, housing providers and equity-deserving organizations active in housing. CHEC will also engage in targeted deeper consultations to capture current and ongoing research priorities for policy-making. Finally, CHEC will use stakeholder gatherings to collect feedback on priorities.
• For Objective 2, CHEC will work with partners with knowledge mobilization expertise. Together, they will adapt proven knowledge mobilization tools and mechanisms from other disciplines, such as the health sector.
• For Objective 3, CHEC will work to expand the sector’s research capacity through a range of activities. It will attempt to bring graduate students to housing research and attract existing researchers to housing research through career reorientation awards. It will also launch a Certificate of Professional Learning in Housing Research and Policy.
• For Objective 4, CHEC will support the use of housing data among researchers. It has partnered with Statistics Canada and the Canadian Research Data Centre Network to train CHRN researchers on those data sources. CHEC will also support development of a pan-Canadian data inventory that identifies available housing data sources. Finally, CHEC will support a data community of practice within CMHC’s Expert Community on Housing (ECOH).

A large network of key players

CHEC has already developed a large network of key players involved in housing, housing research and knowledge mobilization. It has also examined ways of accelerating the evidence-to-action cycle and carried out a national survey to help set research priorities. Finally, it has piloted a career reorientation program and explored how to support a network of trainees.

CHEC will manage reporting and help share knowledge within the network and externally. It has created a communications structure for the network. A visual identity for the hub and the broader research network has also been developed. Moving forward, CHEC will manage a website on its activities, including a blog and podcast. These will play an important part in its work to share research results with the widest possible audience.