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The third meeting of the Advisory Board of the INMHA was held at the University Club in Montreal on June 27, 2001 with all but three members in attendance. Following approval of the agenda, the minutes from the previous meeting held on 2 May 2001 were approved. Then, Dr. Charlyn Black, Special Advisor to the President of CIHR, summarized current activities at CIHR on the development of a strategy to ensure Knowledge Translation (KT), especially those related to Institute-specific strategic initiatives. Her presentation led to many questions and it became clear that INMHA intends to be an active partner in the development of an optimal KT strategy. In fact, INMHA is one of the two partnering Institutes in an RFA to be announced in early July on the development of innovative research strategies on KT, best practice etc. All interested individuals should consult the CIHR Web site for details.

Recent activities of the Scientific Director, the Assistant Director and the Institute Liaison were summarized. They included two SD meetings in Ottawa, visits in the Maritimes and Alberta, a successful meeting with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Ottawa on 23 and 24 June, the development of the Institute Strategic Outlook Plan for CIHR Governing Council (submitted 10 June and to be posted on the Web site in the near future). The Institute has strongly supported the recently announced CIHR Training and New Emerging Team (NET) Grant Programs and has made a strong commitment to the support of an additional IHRT on Brain Repair in collaboration with 3 other Institutes and NGOs. Following discussion with all members of the IAB in early June and individual rating of priorities, the chosen topics for the NET program include: Research on Stigma and Discrimination against Canadians suffering from disorders covered by INMHA; Innovative approaches toward understanding placebo effects; Neurodevelopment and early life events in brain disorders; and computational neuroscience and artificial intelligence.

Reports were then received on the activities of the Focus groups.

Dr G. DuVal summarized discussions with CIHR regarding ethics and research on ethics. He proposed that the IAB support a pan-Canadian multi-Institute initiative on ethics including training of the next generation of scientists etc. The IAB agreed to give this proposal serious consideration once a clear indication has been received concerning the directions CIHR intends to take.

Dr. Eric Single reported on recent activities of the focus group on Communication and Knowledge Translation. This group strongly recommended the development of an effective Communication Plan for the Institute and proposed that a full time staff member be hired to focus on Communication and KT. The IAB fully recognized the critical importance of Communication at all levels for the Institute. Accordingly, it was agreed that a full time staff member should be hired to deal with all aspects of Communications including the development of a suitable plan, interaction with CIHR, NGOs etc. KT must always be a key element in future INMHA communications.

Mr. Phil Upshall summarized recent discussions on strategies for interacting with the Federal Government and presented a report on the meeting with various NGOs held on 23/24 June. A strong message must be developed in collaboration with CIHR to first thank government for the creation of CIHR and for the increase in budget. However, the message must also clearly demonstrate the need for additional support with the doubling of the present CIHR budget over the next 3-4 years. It was emphasized that each IAB member should visit his/her MP during the summer to transmit this same positive message. Members of the scientific community are also urged to do so. Mr. Upshall reported that all participants rated the meeting with NGOs as a great success. NGOs whose interests overlap with those of the Institute are numerous and diversified. They wish to be involved in the development of a first class INMHA and a detailed report on the meeting will be posted on the Web soon. Communication rated as the number one item to ensure the development of a successful relationship between INMHA and NGOs, and this is consistent with the recommendation of the Focus group. It was also suggested that at least two other meetings with NGOs be held, one in Eastern and one in Western Canada, and that a annual meeting with scientists and interested NGOs be held in late March-early April.

Dr. Richard Briere, Assistant Director, presented information on a key element in the development of the Strategic Plan, namely a data base on the burden of diseases covered by the Institute. These data clearly demonstrate that societal and economic costs associated with brain disorders, mental illnesses and addictions are just tremendous and rising rapidly. They will now be validated by individual members of the IAB and NGOs to ensure validity and credibility. All scientists of the INMHA will also be asked to participate in this important process.

The remainder of the meeting dealt with the development of the Strategic Plan, the final version of which is to be considered by Governing Council in November 2002. Mrs Rita Cavaliere summarized data and information collected thus far, including the results of a series of interviews with CIHR, NGOs, scientists, university personnel, industries etc. She then highlighted the key steps towards development of the plan and proposed to focus on the following five distinct areas

1. developing a capacity for innovation in research in neurosciences, mental health and addiction

2. pursuing and sustaining collaborative partnerships

3. promoting linkage and exchange between the research community and various levels of decision-makers

4. developing an organizational capacity for leadership in mission management and

5. developing and sustaining structured efforts in communication.

In each case, a summary of the current situation was discussed and action plans were proposed for discussion in detail over the coming months so they can be finalized at the next IAB meeting which will be held in Ottawa in late September. Before then, the focus group on Strategic Planning and Budget will meet at least twice and it is also expected that a draft version of the Strategic Plan will be on the Web Site in late August so individual scientists, interested members of the general public and NGOs can make comments and suggestions before the next IAB meeting. It is the hope of all IAB members and the SD that the Strategic Plan will be sufficiently innovative and exciting to help us gather additional support for research in NMHA. All scientists, trainees and NGOs interested in the topics of the Institute are invited to comment on the key elements of the Strategic Plan.

Your comments and suggestions are essential as it is your plan and the success of INMHA depends on your participation. This important material should be submitted to Dr. Richard Brière: briric@douglas.mcgill.ca.