Our History

13 Years of Community-Based Research in the North

The Arctic Institute of Community-Based Research (AICBR) was co-founded in February 2007 by longtime Northerner, Jody Butler Walker and Norma Kassi, a Vuntut Gwitchin citizen from Old Crow, Yukon. The organization (then named Arctic Health Research Network-Yukon) was originally established as part of a tri-territorial health research network (Arctic Health Research Network) linking the northern regions of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut to develop health research capacity in the North.

AICBR evolved to be a unique Northern non-profit organization working together with northern Indigenous communities, non-governmental organizations, governments (Indigenous, municipal, territorial, and federal), academics, graduate students, research organizations, and the private sector on issues of community importance. Key priorities included food security and food sovereignty, healthy lifestyles, youth engagement and mental health, and climate change adaptation. AICBR’s approach prioritized the principles of community-based research, youth engagement, collective impact, partnership development, community capacity building, knowledge sharing, intersectoral collaboration, and evaluation.

In October 2020, after 13 years of bringing together Indigenous knowledge and western science to promote and facilitate research activities and training that contributed to Northern health and well-being, the organization officially closed its doors. The knowledge and resources created, however, are not lost. The impacts of community-based research run deep and the legacy of the organization is such that communities own their knowledge and can build upon it to further their planning and action on the issues most important to them. As a facilitator, promoter and conductor of community-based research, AICBR helped to guide a process for knowledge generation and mobilization such that communities were meaningfully engaged in issues of importance, partnerships were long-lasting and ethical northern-based research capacity was strengthened. We want to thank all partners, board members, funders, and valued staff for their contributions to this vision.