Research Funding & Partnerships
REACH approaches funded research as a shared partnership endeavour rather than a collection of independently owned projects. Whenever possible, we bring together researchers, universities, community organizations, practitioners, students, and people with relevant lived and professional experience to develop questions, pursue funding, conduct research, and mobilize knowledge collaboratively.
Our partnerships are intentionally international, interdisciplinary, and contextually responsive. We recognize that priorities, resources, cultures, systems, and community needs differ across settings. Rather than transferring predetermined solutions from one context to another, funded projects provide opportunities for partners to learn from one another, contribute different forms of knowledge and expertise, and collaboratively develop approaches that are meaningful within the communities in which they are used.
REACH also seeks to use funded projects to strengthen long-term research capacity and relationships. Funding supports not only individual studies, but also student training, international collaboration, community engagement, knowledge sharing, and the development of new partnerships that can continue beyond the life of any single grant.
Since its establishment in 2021 through a Canadian SSHRC Partnership Development Grant, REACH and its partners have developed a growing portfolio of funded international and community-engaged research. Funding is viewed as a shared resource for advancing collaborative research and building sustainable partnerships, not as an end in itself.
The "Global Relational Futures Consortium" (opperating as The REACH Global Initiative) is an independent transnational research consortium rather than a funds-holding institution. Research grants and other project funds are therefore housed and administered through the eligible university, community organization, or other authorized entity associated with each funded project. The administering organization often differs from project to project depending on funder requirements, project leadership, and the nature of the project.
Each funded initiative clearly identifies the organization responsible for administering funds, financial authority, budget oversight, reporting, and accountability. This structure allows REACH partners in different countries and institutions to lead and participate in funded research while preserving the Consortium's organizational independence and ensuring that all funds remain subject to the appropriate funder, institutional, legal, and ethical requirements.
Research Funding at a Glance
REACH has developed a growing portfolio of competitively funded research and community-engaged initiatives supported through federal research agencies, universities, foundations, and partner organizations. Because REACH operates as a distributed international research consortium, project funds are administered through the eligible university, community organization, or other authorized entity responsible for each award.
Our Funding & Research Portfolio
5 funded initiatives across federal, university, foundation, and community-engagement funding programs
8 countries represented across the current REACH research and partnership network
29 individual partners contributing research, professional, community, and lived-experience expertise
18+ academic papers
15+ conference presentations
3 international research symposia