Manulife Centre for Community Health Research

The Manulife Centre for Community Health Research (MCCHR) is an interdisciplinary community development and research centre guided by multiple social determinants of health. The centre acts as an incubator for students committed to community-based scholarship and development in the field of health and well-being. The centre welcomes Master’s, PhD and postdoctoral fellows from a variety of academic disciplines to work within any of our communities of practice and research.

MCCHR is guided by a framework of university-community collaboration (UCC); as such, the centre acts as a bridge between the university and the larger community in order to enhance innovation and creative working partnerships with individuals, social welfare, public, non-profit and for-profit entities. MCCHR believes and honours the idea that universities should be of service to the communities in which they operate and values mutuality in working partnerships.

Message From The Outgoing Director

The MCCHR is a research and training incubator for students, faculty, community partners, and working professionals interested in community-based research. Together we honour our commitment to working on behalf of various populations in ways that ultimately are transparent and transformative.

Our purpose at the MCCHR is to foster the idea of university-community collaboration, which is informed by a community development framework. Our team believes that it is imperative for public intellectuals to play a role in weaving partnerships between and among academics and community stakeholders in ways which are authentic. We believe that nurturing relationships amongst ourselves and with our community partners leads to mutually beneficial research projects and/or initiatives, which are relevant to both academic and community audiences.

Since 2013, we have worked with women’s organizations, grassroots organizations, health and social service agencies, sex trade workers, and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. We have collaborated across academic boundaries and encouraged dialogue on a number of international issues.

To learn more about current projects, please see the Social Innovation Research Group website. 

Ginette Lafrenière, MA, MSW, PhD
Director, Manulife Centre for Community Health Research (MCCHR)