The following letter of support was received on 2 September, 2015 from the Canadian Health Libraries Association.
Dear Dr. Grimshaw,
The Canadian Health Libraries Association/Association des Bibliothèques de la Santé du Canada (CHLA/ABSC) board has heard that funding through the Directed Grant process of CIHR will be discontinued effective September 2015. As this is the main source of funding for Cochrane Canada we wish to express our strong support for the continuation of the current funding model, or an equivalent replacement funding level.
CHLA/ABSC is a professional organization of approximately 400 individuals in all sectors of the health sciences information and library fields. Established in 1976, our vision is “To improve health care and the quality of health research in Canada with the best information”. We are committed to the ideal of access to knowledge-based resources of the highest quality. We believe that informed decisions based upon the best knowledge plays a critical role in improving health and health care in Canada.
Cochrane Canada (CC) is one of the most reliable sources of independent health information. It is the single largest source in the world of the best evidence in health care and is vital to informing health care decisions. CC is a close and valued partner of CHLA/ABSC. Our partnership allows us to mutually achieve our goals: CC to disseminate and translate the knowledge from Cochrane Systematic Reviews (CSRs) into practice, and CHLA/ABSC to provide timely, relevant and accurate evidence-based information to Canadians, in many settings, with recognition of the effectiveness of providing the right information at the right time, on a daily basis.
CHLA/ABSC urges Health Canada to continue to offer a suitable grant avenue for Cochrane Canada to ensure continued funding a critical mechanism that facilitates access to global best evidence. Please feel free to contact me to discuss, or if I can answer any questions.
Yours sincerely,
Jeanna Hough
President
Canadian Health Libraries Association/Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada
president@chla-absc.ca
