Presenters: Dr. Heather Gainforth

Presentation topic:Transforming research systems for meaningful engagement

Dr. Gainforth will discuss their research that aims to foster and support authentic partnerships. Drawing on extensive work within spinal cord injury (SCI) research, this talk will examine how the Integrated Knowledge Translation (IKT) Guiding Principles can be leveraged to foster collaboration between researchers and research users. Dr. Gainforth will provide practical strategies for upholding these principles and address barriers and facilitators to using the principles. Crucially, the talk will highlight the systemic shifts necessary to transform research systems to enable meaningful engagement.

Date: Thurs, April 9, 2026

Register here: https://bit.ly/3P3IxsR

Learning objectives – by the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Explain the development and purpose of the IKT Guiding Principles in addressing tokenism and ensuring research is relevant, useful and used.
2. Analyze the multi-level barriers and facilitators that influence decisions to meaningfully engage.
3. Identify necessary systemic shifts required to enable and sustain authentic research partnerships.

Bio

Dr. Heather Gainforth is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia Okanagan and a Canada Research Chair in Research Coproduction and Implementation Science. Dr. Gainforth is the Director of UBC’s Centre for Health Behaviour Change and the Associate Director of Meaningful Engagement within the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries. She is a leader in meaningful engagement and research coproduction, helping to bridge gaps between researchers and those who use research. Through her work, she has led an international partnership who co-developed guiding principles for conducting and disseminating spinal cord injury (SCI) research in partnership.