Supporting the Canadian public health community to address the structural and social determinants of health and advance health equity for all.
VISION
All people and communities experience a dignified and healthy life in relationship with each other and the planet.
MISSION
The National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health (NCCDH) supports the Canadian public health community to address the structural and social determinants of health and advance health equity for all.
VALUES
The NCCDH is guided by the following values while working to achieve our mission.
Our team members trust, learn from and challenge one another. We encourage self-reflection, growth and change.
Humility
Humbly acknowledge that NCCDH team cannot hold expertise in all topics and encourage self-reflection and partnerships with people who have deeper knowledge than us.
Compassion
Support policies, programs and practices that recognize and address the pain (harm) brought about by interrelated systems of oppression (e.g., racism, colonialism).
Solidarity
Advance ideas and actions that are driven by the needs of the communities we work with and not self-interest; advance building the power of those who are structurally disadvantaged.
Accountability
Bring our work back to our funder, partners, and to the communities that we are in relationship with.
Justice
Support the work of disadvantaged communities as initiators, collaborators and equal partners and support public health to redistribute power to advance health equity for all.
POSITIONALITY STATEMENT
NCCDH recognizes that it holds a significant amount of power in various forms: (1) knowledge, as a currency and as a contributor to the dominant narratives in public health; (2) economic, through its funding structure as part of a federally-funded program since the NCCDH is funded by and reports to the Public Health Agency of Canada; and (3) access to various agenda-setting venues, such as conferences, private interagency meetings, etc.
In positioning itself, NCCDH acknowledges that it is aware of its power and intends to use it to foster a more equitable world, by embracing values of humility, compassion, solidarity, accountability and justice in all of the work that it does. NCCDH is committed to embracing diverse, anti-oppressive, intersectional and collaborative relationships and ways of knowing to support collective change, transformation and well-being. The NCCDH espouses the notion that, as a holder of power, it will support the work of structurally disadvantaged communities as initiators, collaborators and equal partners. The NCCDH believes that public health must work to redistribute power to advance health equity.
See Let’s Talk: Redistributing power to advance health equity to see this positionality statement and to explore more about our work on power and health equity.