The Patient Governance Council (PGC) is an agile decision-making body reflecting the significant breadth of expertise among Can-SOLVE CKD patient partners. It is composed of up to 15 patients/caregivers affected by kidney disease who draw on their lived experience with kidney disease as well as their personal and professional experience to support meaningful patient engagement in Can-SOLVE CKD. The PGC meets monthly to provide input and guidance to Can-SOLVE CKD, from setting priorities to supporting patient engagement in all aspects of research.

Contact: Melanie Talson, Patient Partnerships and Capacity Building Manager (mtalson@cansolveckd.ca)

The Indigenous Peoples’ Engagement and Research Council (IPERC) serves to guide the conduct of the Network’s activities in accounting for the unique aspects of patient-oriented research involving First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.

Using an ethical framework that encompasses the principles of ownership, control, access and possession (OCAP) and the elements of participatory research, IPERC’s mandate is to ensure that Can-SOLVE CKD appropriately incorporates, addresses and respects the unique needs and perspectives of Indigenous peoples.

Members of the council include patients, families, caregivers, Knowledge Keepers, health professionals and federal/provincial decision-makers.

Contact: Jocelyn Jones, Indigenous Initiatives Manager (jjones@cansolveckd.ca)

The Steering Committee is responsible for overall strategic leadership and governance of Can-SOLVE CKD. It is composed of representative from diverse stakeholder groups, and includes the co-chairs from other committees (e.g., IPERC, ROCKeT, etc.) as well as the co-principal investigators of the network.

The Steering Committee meets quarterly and reports to the Boards of Directors of the Canadian Society of Nephrology (CSN) and the Kidney Foundation of Canada(KFOC).

The ROCKeT Committee is a joint venture between the former Research Operations Committee (ROC) and the Knowledge User/Knowledge Mobilization Committee (KU/KT). It consists of a diverse group of patient partners, researchers, project managers, scientists, knowledge translation and implementation science experts and policymakers from across Canada.  

The purpose of the ROCKeT Committee is to assess key elements of the Can-SOLVE CKD Network’s research projects and advise the project teams and Steering Committee accordingly. It provides guidance to the project teams on strengthening aspects of their projects and may seek external advice when necessary. ROCKeT also provides project teams with support and expertise around knowledge mobilization and implementation processes to facilitate the scaling, spreading, and implementation of evidence. 

Contact: Cynthia MacDonald, Project Manager (cmacdonald@cansolveckd.ca)

Contact: Selina Allu, Knowledge Translation Broker and Implementation Support Practitioner (soallu@ucalgary.ca)

The Pediatrics Committee is responsible for coordinating and conducting high-quality pediatric kidney research across the Can-SOLVE CKD Network. Its aim is to improve the health of children across Canada who are living with kidney disease. The committee currently includes pediatric kidney doctors and researchers from across the country. They identify research priorities by working closely with other researchers, experts, and community and funding partners, together with the larger Can-SOLVE CKD Network.

Contact: admin@cansolveckd.ca