The Department of Health and Social Services actively collaborates with various research agencies, organizations, and universities to support information sharing and cross‐organizational research projects. Particular attention is given to projects which include mechanisms to engage communities in participatory research and effective knowledge dissemination.

Some of our northern research partners are:

Aurora Research Institute – The Aurora Research Institute facilitates and conducts research in the Northwest Territories and acts as a hub of northern knowledge. It advances the territory’s research capacity through discovery, outreach, and education.

Hotıì ts'eeda – Hotıì ts'eeda is a Tłı̨chǫ Government-hosted research support centre for community members, organizations and researchers involved in Northwest Territories health and social services research. Hotıì ts'eeda’s aim is to connect researchers and communities, build capacity and contribute to a health system that is culturally competent and inclusive of Indigenous methodologies and ways of knowing. Also promotes NWT health research priorities.

Institute of Circumpolar Health Research – ICHR is an independent, international non-profit organization actively engaged in research, research facilitation, training, synthesis, exchange and dissemination in rural and remote circumpolar communities including the NWT.

Below is a selection of projects that have been supported by the Department of Health and Social Services. These represent research projects that align with the DHSS Research Agenda and are being conducted within the NWT. Please visit our Research Database for further details and to review additional projects.

• NWT Integrated Care Team Evaluation – This project contributed to the evaluation and health economics analyses for the purposes of quality improvement for the Integrated Care Teams (ICT) in Yellowknife and Fort Smith, and to serve as the foundation for novel ways of continuously evaluating whether primary care teams are providing culturally safe care for Indigenous patients.
• Exploring health impacts of COVID-19 on Indigenous Peoples in the Northwest Territories – This project is being carried out to study the impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous people in the Northwest Territories, to hopefully produce high level policy recommendations for future pandemic response.
• Evaluating the impact of cannabis legalization in the Canadian territories – This multi-year study is examining prevalence and patterns of non-medical cannabis use, the cannabis retail environment, including assessing changes in problematic use and risk behaviours of cannabis usage through implementation of mass surveys throughout the NWT, Nunavut and Yukon.
• Health Effects Monitoring Program – This study is establishing a baseline of contaminant exposure and possible health effects in Yellowknife, Ndilo and Dettah, to ensure the Giant Mine Remediation Project (GMRP) does not negatively impact the health of the communities during remediation activities at the mine site.