Island brain bank formed

The best and brightest brains on Vancouver Island are focusing their attention on island issues.

In April, the Vancouver Island Community Research Alliance (VICRA) was established with a formal agreement among the five publically funded Vancouver Island post-secondary institutions to come together in mobilizing research and knowledge to help local communities. The University of Victoria, Camosun College, Vancouver Island University, Royal Roads University and North Island College are involved. UVic’s Office of Community-Based Research—the first initiative of its kind in Canada—has taken a lead role from the concept stage.

“Signing this memorandum of understanding speaks to the shared vision about how we serve our communities,” says UVic President Dr. David Turpin. “It’s an exciting time that ushers in a new area of collaboration between universities where we work with the communities to do research that is locally relevant and internationally significant.”

Under the MOU, the partners will identify priority research issues with an island-wide focus and people in the community who can help with that research. They will also develop research partnerships and share information on best practices; encourage their students to participate in the research; and build on each other’s experiences and expertise, drawing on lessons from local, national and global networks/projects.

The partnership is already receiving rave reviews from community groups.

“An organization like VICRA is a fabulous example of collaboration that we can all aspire to and which will hopefully start happening all over the island,” says Maureen Young, a VICRA supporter and director for the Vancouver Island Economic Alliance, which spearheads regional economic development for the island. “This alliance recognizes that we can no longer operate in silos. If we work together on island-wide issues we can achieve great things.”

More: http://web.uvic.ca/ocbr/