Review of Achievements in 2021 and Goals for 2022

In this second pandemic year, MIRA further stepped up its activities to adapt to new ways of operating, conducting research during a global pandemic and supporting the MIRA network. As highlighted in this report, MIRA’s team continued to support its researchers and trainees, be involved in outreach activities, funded a substantial number of grants and supported capacity development and educational programs. Furthermore, MIRA underwent its first five-year review in early 2021 and developed a five-year report to summarize and highlight its achievements. The external review board was extremely positive and additional funding was committed by the University for the next five years.

Many of MIRA’s goals for 2021 were achieved, in summary

• During COVID-19 MIRA continues to be at the forefront of the research landscape at McMaster, championing aging as a key priority while implanting design thinking and co-design principles that engage end users.

• MIRA brought together the teams developing proposals for the next two major programs of research: The Intergenerational and Life Course Cohort and Intervention Research Platform and Complex Interventions for Frailty and Aging Well.

• Through a new partnership developed in the past year, MIRA will be a Canadian leader in new ways to enable community engagement and citizen-based research by implementing the VOICE platform to capture the human experience in MIRA’s research processes.

• MIRA hosted the first virtual CIHR Summer Program in Aging in May 2021, the Summer Program in Aging: Longitudinal Studies in Aging: Understanding Health Span and Longevity. This platform enabled interactive virtual training with international researchers, mentors and stakeholders.

• MIRA continued to support the Age-Friendly University initiative and educational activities directed to students and older adults. Specifically, the intergenerational programming Meet My Hamilton, which moved online, continues to be a success. MIRA conducted end-of-program interviews with participants to investigate the impact of this program on both older adults and students participating in the program.

• A new centre was established within MIRA. The MIRA | Dixon Hall Centre received $5M for research to support programs and services for underrepresented older adults. This funding will also support the expansion of MIRA supported projects to this population providing much needed evidence to improve aging and well-being in this population.

• MIRA has developed several partnerships, including internationally, and MIRA’s network produced high-impact publications and attracted high quality trainees

The MIRA team held a strategic planning session in October of 2021 to set strategic directions for the next five years, which will be released in 2022.

Specifically, for 2022 MIRA’s goals are to continue to support all Faculties to engage with MIRA, its funding opportunities and other initiatives.

MIRA will be refreshing its governance committee membership and considering its operational requirements and ways to support its staff in their personal growth and professional development. In 2022, MIRA aims to be on the forefront of community engagement strategies, and to support research and education by rolling out the VOICE platform.

MIRA will continue to deliver its funding opportunities and support its trainees in the post-pandemic era to ensure meaningful impacts. MIRA will also develop a new focus on knowledge translation now that outputs from MIRA supported work are accumulating.

MIRA is considered a model for research institutes at McMaster University and aims to be the flagship institute on research in aging in Canada and worldwide by supporting interdisciplinarity; applying creative thinking, co-design and design thinking principles; harnessing the human experience; and listening to the voices of older adults in all the work MIRA does to have maximum impact on the well-being of older adults.