Research summary
Researchers are accountable to their funders and academic institutions-yet little attention is paid to whether they are held accountable to the communities they conduct research with and for. Dr. Melody Morton Ninomiya, Canada Research Chair in Community-Driven Knowledge Mobilization and Pathways to Wellness, is shedding light on the role of effective knowledge mobilization (the connection between academic research and organizations, people and governments) in community-driven wellness research.
She and her research team are working with First Nations, communities and organizations that want to co-develop and conduct research projects that prioritize local knowledge systems, protocols and/or priorities. Their aim is to ensure that researchers are accountable to Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities by building on strengths and assets that support community wellbeing. She and her team are also mobilizing knowledge in ways that are highly valuable to communities but not always recognized in academia.