National Association of Friendship Centres Announces Funding of the Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network

June 6, 2012 Ottawa, ON – The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) has approved the Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network’s (UAKN) Partnership Grant Proposal.  The approval entails $2.5 million dollars in funding over five years in SSHRC funding that will be in addition to contributions from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC), other federal departments and partners.

The National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) has been co-leading the creation of the UAKN since 2007 in partnership with Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.  Jeff Cyr, NAFC Executive Director, states, “The SSHRC funding represents a commitment to understanding our urban Aboriginal communities better.  Recent statistics tell us that 54% of Aboriginal peoples live in urban settings but much less is understood about the needs of our urban Aboriginal communities.  Meaningful change in our communities will occur by enacting community driven research through the UAKN on themes such as human development, social cohesion, economic development and civic engagement.  The research produced by the UAKN will be vital in our efforts to influence policy and programs for the betterment of our communities.”

Since 2009 the UAKN Secretariat, housed at the NAFC’s national office in Ottawa has overseen the development of the UAKN and the proposal with SSHRC.  In 2011, NAFC’s UAKN Secretariat partnered with researchers from several universities across Canada to develop a network of Regional Research Centres, led by David Newhouse at Trent University in Peterborough, ON.    The Research Centres comprise networks of researchers, representatives of urban Aboriginal communities, policy-makers from different levels of government and practitioners.

SSHRC is the federal agency that promotes and supports postsecondary-based research and training in the humanities and social sciences. Through its programs and policies, SSHRC enables the highest levels of research excellence in Canada, and facilitates knowledge-sharing and collaboration across research disciplines, universities and all sectors of society.


For more information contact:
Tricia McGuire-Adams
Research Manager
NAFC/UAKN
275 MacLaren Street
Ottawa, ON  K2P 0L9
Email: tmadams@nafc.ca
Telephone: 613-563-4844 ext.336
Website: www.nafc.ca