Locally Driven Collaborative Projects (LDCP) Program

How do we get to harm reduction in the middle of multiple crises? Understanding changes in harm reduction services in Ontario over the pandemic and describing regional needs to address the ongoing overdose crisis.

Funding cycle: 2022-23
Lead Public Health Unit: Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health
Collaborating Public Health Units and local organizations: Toronto Public Health; The Ontario Drug Policy Research Network; Queen’s University.

Public health units across the province have identified substance use and harm reduction among the most vital to prioritize during the pandemic recovery period. This collaborative project aims to describe regional changes to harm reduction service delivery in Ontario over the COVID-19 pandemic, and the relationship between these changes and opioid-related morbidity and mortality. Program-level harm reduction services data and surveillance data at the health unit levels will be used to create snapshots for each of the 34 health unit regions in Ontario. The evidence gathered through these snapshots will be used to identify priority areas within the province, for increased situational awareness around changes in harm reduction service delivery and opioid-related harms over the past few years, and most notably, to inform program planning and advocacy as local public health works with harm reduction partners to bolster harm reduction service delivery moving forward. Ultimately, evidence from this project will be used to enhance situation awareness related to drug harms and services in the province, and inform program planning and advocacy as public health continues to prioritize and enhance harm reduction and mental health promotion in the province.

Implementing an evidence-informed public health approach to health promotion around substance use and preventing substance-related harms among youth in Ontario

Funding cycle: 2022-23
Lead Public Health Unit: Grey Bruce Health Unit
Collaborating Public Health Units and local organizations: Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit; KFL&A Public Health; Unity Health Toronto; Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

While harm reduction efforts are imperative to save lives and support people with problematic drug use, efforts to prevent, delay and reduce substance use have the potential to further decrease substance-related harms. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated risk factors, with disproportionate socio-economic impacts on Indigenous people, other racialized and/or low-income families. This project will provide an environmental scan of evidence- based strategies as well as potential indicators for monitoring preventive programs related to substance use in Ontario. Reporting on current PHU practices, as well as including information on program barriers and facilitators, this project will provide an understanding of the current implementation of evidence-based strategies across public health units and key stakeholders with specific focus on primordial prevention (SDOHs, ACES), and primary prevention (e.g., school-based, and non-for-profit organizations programs). The project will collect quantitative and qualitative data that captures diverse experiences and perspectives on strategies in Ontario that promote health and reduce harms from substance use among youth. Findings from this endeavor will inform PHU efforts in addition to key partners and stakeholders, including those involved with people with living/lived experience of substance use.

Lessons learned from the collection of socio-demographic data during the COVID-19 pandemic

Funding cycle: 2022-23
Lead Public Health Unit: Peel Public Health
Collaborating Public Health Units and local organizations: Ottawa Public Health; Upstream Lab, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Public Health Units (PHU) expanded the collection of sociodemographic data (SDD) during COVID-19 case management activities and at COVID-19 vaccination clinics. Collection of SDD informs PHUs about who is utilizing their services and helps to identify and quantify disparities in health. In the pandemic recovery stage, it will be critical for PHUs to build on this SDD collection momentum by reviewing what worked during the pandemic, barriers to collection, assessing how those lessons can be applied across other Public Health services, and prioritizing the necessary data infrastructure initiatives to support ongoing SDD collection and reporting. The project will formally collect, collate, and synthesize feedback from PHUs regarding practices that enhanced SDD completeness during COVID-19 case management and vaccination in order to develop a set of recommendations for SDD collection, applicable across all PHUs.

Breastfeeding

• Infant Feeding Surveillance Pilot Study: Final Report and Recommendations | 2015
• Infant Feeding Surveillance Knowledge Translation Project: Final Report and Analytic Guidance Documentation for the 6-Month Retrospective Single Time Point Questionnaire | 2017
• Infant Feeding Surveillance Knowledge Translation Project: User Guide and Report on the Analytic Guidance for the Prospective Multiple Time Point Questionnaires | 2018
• LDCP Prospective Questionnaire Multiple Time Point Data Dictionaries | 2018

Built Environment

• Healthy Rural Communities Toolkit: A Guide for Rural Municipalities | 2015
• Promising Practices for Healthy Built Environments in Ontario’s Public Health Units | 2019
• Mapping the Municipal Planning Process in Ontario: Opportunities for Public Health Input| 2019
• Resources for Practitioners | Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit

Childhood Health Weights

• Beyond BMI: a feasibility study implementing NutriSTEP in primary care practices using electronic medical records (EMRs)  |Government of Canada
• Beyond BMI: Investigating the feasibility of using NutriSTEP and electronic medical records as a surveillance system for healthy weights including risk and protective factors in children | 2015
• Poster Presentation Fact Sheet Pamphlet | 2016
• Beyond BMI: Building an EMR-based Childhood Healthy Weights Surveillance System to Include Nutritional Risk and Protective Factors Through the Collection and EMR-integration of NutriSTEP | 2018

CQI   

• Cross-Case Analysis Summary Report | 2019
• Quality Improvement (QI) Maturity Tool Report | 2017
• CQI Scoping Review | 2017
• CQI Scoping Review Search Strategy | 2017
• Research Brief | 2017
• Poster | 2017
• Project Summary | 2018
• Literature Review
  • Full Report | 2017
  • Summary | 2017
• Ontario Public Health Unit Survey
  • Full Report | 2018<
  • Summary | 2018
• Gathering and Sharing Learning with First Nations Communities | 2020
• Food Literacy Framework - Infographic | 2018
• Call to Action for Public Health Units | 2017
• A Summary of Findings: A Locally Driven Collaborative Project on public health data sharing with community organizations to promote health equity | 2019
• Putting the Pieces Together (2019): A guide for public health to share data with community organizations to promote health equity | 2019
• Evidence Brief: Identifying Facilitators and Processes for Sharing Local Data with Community Partners to Enable Improvement in Health Equity | 2017
• Dialogue Summary: Identifying Facilitators and Processes for Sharing Local Data with Community Partners to Enable Improvement in Health Equity | 2017
• Putting the Pieces Together: A guide for public health to share data with community organizations to promote health equity | 2018
• Webinar: Using Health and Demographic Information to Support Community Services | 2018
• Identifying Areas of Focus for Mental Health Promotion in Children and Youth for Ontario Public Health | 2016

Patients First

• Develop and Test Indicators of Ontario Local Public Health Agency Work to Address the Social Determinants of Health to Reduce Health Inequities Phase 2 Report | 2016
• User Guide: Health Equity Indicators for Ontario Local Public Health Agencies | 2016
• Final Report | 2018
• Children Count Pilot Study Report | 2019
• Children Count Pilot Study Toolkit | 2019
• Children Count: Provincial Task Force Recommendations | 2019
• Children Count: Provincial Task Force Recommendations Summary | 2019
• Final Report | 2017
• Final Summary Report | 2017
• Executive Summary: Building Evaluation Capacity in Ontario’s Public Health Units: Results from ten action research projects | 2015
• Infographic: Building Evaluation Capacity in Ontario’s Public Health Units: Results from ten action research projects | 2015
• Final Report: Building Evaluation Capacity in Ontario’s Public Health Units: Results from ten action research projects | 2015

Social Media

• Social Media Toolkit for Ontario Public Health Units | 2014

Check out the following Frequently Asked Questions that pertain to the LDCP Program and how you can participate.

Do the LDCP cycles build on each other?

Collaborative teams in each cycle are independent from one another, and the projects themselves do not necessarily build or continue from one cycle to the next. From a programmatic perspective, PHO staff strive to ensure that LDCP cycles undergo continuous quality improvement by building on ‘lessons learned’ during past cycles.

How much funding is available for LDCP projects?

The amount of funding available varies per LDCP cycle. During the 2023-2024 cycle, the maximum total program funding available is $400K with a cap of $125,000 per project In addition to funding, successful project teams are also eligible for a range of PHO logistical, technical and capacity building supports, which may include: research and partnership facilitation, communications and project administration, skills development and training, infrastructure, research ethics, library services, product development and knowledge exchange.

How can an academic get involved with the LDCP program?

There are several ways in which academic partners can get involved with the LDCP program: as external reviewers, content/methodological experts and, occasionally, as LDCP team members. As external reviewers, academics provide constructive feedback to LDCP teams on their project proposals. Academics can also provide content expertise and methodological guidance to teams at workshops and, in some cases, be involved as co-applicants to help with the direct implementation of the projects. We encourage academics who are interested in getting involved to contact ldcp@oahpp.ca.

Can community agencies or academics apply for funding in the absence of a public health unit?

No, the purpose of the LDCP program is to enable Ontario public health units to build their capacity to conduct applied research and program evaluation projects. PHO’s role is to enhance the research and evaluation capacity of LDCP teams by providing expertise or leveraging support from partners, supporting implementation, and monitoring funds and deliverables.  Although PHO supports teams as they develop proposals and implement projects, all project decisions are ultimately up to the members of the collaborative team. Accordingly, to receive LDCP funding, each project must be led by a public health unit and include at least two other public health units as co-applicants.

How do I receive information about the LDCP program?

Information and updates about the LDCP program are available on our webpage. We may also send emails to interested parties (internal and external to PHO) about upcoming LDCP workshops, registration deadlines, and current events to our listserv. If you would like to be added to our listserv, please email ldcp@oahpp.ca.

Can a community organization participate on an LDCP team?

Yes, a member of a community organization can join an LDCP team during the priority setting or proposal development phases. Although the priority setting process and projects themselves are designed and led by PHUs, community organizations are welcome to participate as a member of a collaborative team. In the past, community organizations have acted as both Supporting Non-Health Unit Organizations and Knowledge Users. The exact role that a community organization takes should be discussed and decided upon by the LDCP team members during LDCP workshops. Community organizations may express their interest in participating by contacting ldcp@oahpp.ca.

Can an academic participate on an LDCP team?

Academics are welcome to partner with LDCP teams; however, they cannot lead a project. In the past, academics have typically acted as co-applicants and contributed content and methodological expertise during proposal development and project implementation, and enhanced the research and evaluation capacity of teams. The exact role that an academic partner takes should be discussed and decided upon by the LDCP team members. An academic partner can join an LDCP team during the priority setting or proposal development phases. Academics may express their interesting in participating by contacting LDCP@oahpp.ca.

My health unit would like to participate on one of the LDCP teams as a Supporting Health Unit Organization, but I’m not clear what this would entail. Can you provide us with more detail?

Supporting Health Unit Organizations are part of the core project team and may assist with proposal development, support data collection and analysis, and/or facilitate knowledge exchange. Additionally, these organizations may provide in-kind contributions to the project and may be required to lead implementation of certain aspects of the project. The exact roles and responsibilities of Support Health Unit Organizations will vary from project to project. LDCP teams should discuss in detail what role a Supporting Health Organization will play in their project. The role of the Supporting Health Unit Organization can be documented formally with the Lead Health Unit if desired.

To what extent are knowledge users on a LDCP involved in decision-making? To what extent would they be involved and knowledgeable throughout the project?

We encourage each LDCP team to discuss and further define these roles and responsibilities within their group.  Generally, it makes sense for the core project team (i.e., the lead applicant and co-applicants) to be responsible for decisions about the project and managing the study’s budget; however, the core project team may choose to consult with knowledge users to inform their decision-making.

How can non-health unit organizations be involved in a project?

Non-health unit organizations can be an important source of support for LDCP teams and can join a team as a Supporting Non-Health Unit Organization. The role of Supporting Non-Health Unit involves supporting the lead health unit to ensure all milestones and deliverables are met in a timely manner and all deliverables are produced as outlined in the submission form. For example, a Supporting Non-Health Unit Organization may assist with proposal development, support data collection and analysis, and/or provide a venue for knowledge exchange. The exact role that a supporting non-health unit organization takes should be discussed by the LDCP team members and can be documented formally with the lead health unit, if desired.

Does PHO ever become a member of an LDCP team?

No, PHO staff do not become members of LDCP teams. Rather, they can be listed as Knowledge Users. PHO’s role is to enhance the research and evaluation capacity of teams by providing expertise or leveraging support from partners, supporting implementation, and monitoring funds and deliverables. Although PHO supports teams as they develop and implement their proposals and projects, all project decisions are ultimately up to the members of the LDCP team.

Can an individual who is a co-applicant also be the external (paid) consultant we retain for this project?

Individuals who are listed as a co-applicant or knowledge users on a LDCP project cannot also be retained as a paid consultant for a project. The LDCP team can, however, disburse some of the funding they receive to the individual’s organization so that he or she can hire staff to coordinate the project. 

Our team would comprise early-career researchers with little experience in public health research. Can we still apply?

Absolutely! We welcome proposals from individuals of all academic and occupational backgrounds. Apart from ensuring that the composition of your team complies with our project eligibility criteria, there are no further requirements regarding the profiles of your team members. None of the individuals listed on the LDCP team will be required to submit their CVs and submissions are judged based on the criteria outlined above and their relevance to the current LDCP cycle priority area(s).

I am unsure if my project would qualify for this program. What should I do?

In addition to reviewing the criteria and descriptions above, we recommend that you check our webpage, specifically the LDCP mission and highlighted past projects. If you are still unsure, we invite you to connect with us directly, at ldcp@oahpp.ca

Who decides which projects will receive funding?

All LDCP project proposals undergo multiple independent reviews by PHO staff and experts from external organizations. All reviewers are instructed to ensure that they do not review any proposals for which they have a conflict of interest.