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A major achievement in 2005-2006 was the establishment of the NCE-New Initiative (NCE-NI) program which, on March 27, 2006, brought five New Initiatives into existence.

The NCE-NI program was created to support networking among already established researchers or research teams and to encourage them to build new partnerships with industries, government departments and agencies, as well as not-for-profit organizations. With their research costs already covered by other sources, the New Initiatives receive NCE funding for two to four years to stimulate research relationships to improve Canadians' social, health-related or economic well-being. In essence, the New Initiatives provide platforms for research coordination and intellectual exchange.

The Canadian Design Research Network (CDRN)

Design determines function. How things are designed plays a vital role in all areas of building and manufacturing. Design that is driven by first-rate research has positive impacts on long-term economic growth and contributes to social benefits.

Based at Simon Fraser University in Surrey, British Columbia, the Canadian Design Research Network (CDRN) is built on the premise that good design is crucial to productivity, innovation and sustainability.

The CDRN brings together researchers from across the country – along with partners in the private and public sectors – to improve Canadian design through research, outreach and collaboration. Its goal is to foster and undertake world-class research in themes such as sustainability, advanced design technologies, digital fabrication, design visualization and simulation, and interactive technologies. The multi-disciplinary network includes the key disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, urban design, planning, industrial design, interaction design, computer science and human-computer interaction.

The Canadian Obesity Network

With more than 5 million obese adults and a half a million obese children, Canada is facing an epidemic that threatens the nation's health and well-being. In 2001, obesity costs represented $4.3 billion – or 2.2% of Canada's total health care budget. There are also substantial economic costs in terms of absenteeism or short or long-term disability.

Like other chronic diseases, obesity results from complex interactions between environmental and biological factors. The determinants of this epidemic are entrenched social trends, including urban sprawl, sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy diets, stress and nutritional illiteracy.

The Canadian Obesity Network, which is hosted by McMaster University in Hamilton, was created to encourage collaborations that will advance knowledge in obesity prevention and treatment. Its mission is to become the primary Canadian network of health professionals, researchers, policy makers and other commercial and non-commercial stakeholders interested in preventing and reducing the mental, physical and socio-economic consequences of excess body weight.

The Emerging Dynamic Global Economies (EDGE) Network

To prosper in the 21st century Canada needs to properly position itself in a rapidly transforming global economic landscape. The large emerging economies — particularly China, India and Brazil — are changing the world and creating major challenges to and opportunities for Canadian businesses and governments at a variety of levels: economic, social, and legal.

The Emerging Dynamic Global Economies (EDGE) Network, which is headquartered at the University of Ottawa, is working to ensure Canada remains economically competitive and productive while preserving the social fabric of its communities, protecting its environment and securing its energy and resource supplies for future generations.

EDGE will produce multi-disciplinary, relevant analysis that leads to practical and effective public policy proposals. It will encourage extensive, informed public discussion and debate, and deliver targeted training and exchange programs to help cultivate the next generation of economic leaders.

The National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE)

Canada is growing older. Adults over 65 make up Canada's fastest growing population group. The senior population will hit 6.7 million by 2021 and grow to 9.2 million by 2041 – when almost one in four Canadians will be a senior. And already there is a shortage of trained medical professionals to care for seniors.

The National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE), a network of researchers and practitioners involved in the care of older adults through medicine, is addressing the challenges presented by this impending demographic shift.

NICE, based at the University of Toronto, will influence the care of Canada's seniors by transferring knowledge about best practices for the care of the elderly; encouraging students to specialize in the care of older persons; refining existing practitioners' skills in the care of the elderly; shifting other practitioners' attention to the importance of caring for older adults; and influencing policy initiatives affecting Canada's seniors.

Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network – PREVNet

Recent high-profile reports of bullying and victimization in which Canadian children have died or been seriously hurt have raised public fears that the problem is a prevalent one. Those concerns were confirmed by a recent World Health Organization Health Behaviours in School-aged Children survey, in which Canada ranked 26th and 27th out of 35 countries on the measure of bullying and victimization.

Canada needs a national strategy on bullying and the Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network – PREVNet has been created to help shape it.

PREVNet, based at Queen's University in Kingston, brings together university researchers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other partners to promote safe and healthy relationships for Canadian children and youth. With a goal of creating socio-cultural change by reducing the negative use of power and aggression in relationships, PREVNet will provide NGOs and governments with the capacity to tailor and disseminate scientifically based resources to build awareness, change attitudes, assess bullying, implement evidence-based strategies and develop effective policies.

Membership of the NCE New Initiatives Selection Committee

Chair:
Dr. Camille Limoges
Consultant
Outremont, QC, Canada

Members:
Dr. Jacques Albert
Carleton University
ON, Canada

Dr. Lajos Balogh
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
NY, USA

Dr. Janine Brodie
University of Alberta
AB, Canada

Dr. Katy Campbell
University of Alberta
AB, Canada

Ms. Margaret Coopey
Agency for Health Care Research and Quality
Maryland, USA

Dr. David Castle
University of Guelph
ON, Canada

Dr. Eric Fong
University of Toronto
ON, Canada

Dr. Michael Geist
University of Ottawa
ON, Canada

Dr. G. Sarwar Gilani
Health Canada
ON, Canada

Dr. Claude Hillaire-Marcel
Université du Québec à Montréal
QC, Canada

Dr. Gordon Huang
University of Regina
SK, Canada

Dr. Diane Ingraham
Cape Breton University
NS, Canada

Dr. Penny Jennett
University of Calgary
AB, Canada

Ms. Natacha Joubert
Health Canada
ON, Canada

Dr. Ahmed Koubaa
Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
QC, Canada

Dr. Janet E. McElhaney
University of British Columbia
BC, Canada

Dr. John McHugh
Dalhousie University
NS, Canada

Dr. Ellen Moss
Université du Québec à Montréal
QB, Canada

M. Edward J. Mullen
Columbia University
NY, USA

Dr. Kenneth W. Neale
Université de Sherbrooke
QC, Canada

Dr. Brigitte Schroeder
Université de Montréal
QC, Canada