Research to Action Fellowship

Empowering Patient Partners to Transform Diabetes Care

The Research to Action Fellowship is a dynamic, nine‐month program that empowers Patient Partners to drive meaningful change in diabetes care. 

Working side‐by‐side with leading organizations, fellows transform research findings into tangible, community‐driven initiatives—ensuring that diabetes care becomes more accessible, equitable, and reflective of real-world experiences.

Fellows work in pairs, teaming up with leading organizations to take research off the page and into their communities.

The Research to Action Fellowship is a nine‐month, $3,000 paid program that:

• Engages patient partners to turn research into action.
• Supports fellows in co‑creating impactful projects with partner organizations.
• Provides mentorship and training from DAC’s team of patient engagement, knowledge mobilization, and communications specialists.
• Includes key events such as the DAC Workshop and the Diabetes Canada Conference.
• Offers unique leadership opportunities, allowing fellows to lead a co‑design session, be featured on dedicated podcast episodes, and contribute thought leadership pieces through published blogs and articles.

Co‑Designing Impactful Projects with Community Voices

Every resource in our Resource Library is developed through a truly collaborative process. In addition to working closely with partner organizations, our Fellows hosted four dedicated co‑design sessions that engaged over 60 community members. These sessions gathered vital feedback on design, content, and cultural relevance, ensuring each project meets community needs and is as effective as it is innovative. All participants in these sessions were compensated for their expertise.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the following community members who chose to be credited for their outstanding input:
Anna Whaley, Christina Marie Mulchandani, Dana Greenberg, Destaalem Araya Tesfay, Pascual Delgado, Rina Sen Gupta, Sally Nystrom, Shayla Hele, Theresa Okafor, Virtue Bajurny, Wendy Reaser, and Zoe Hilton.

Note: These names represent only some of the many valuable contributors whose anonymous feedback also helped shape these resources.

Insights into the Co‑Design participants on their experience:

“The session was clear, informative, and respectful of diverse perspectives—it truly felt like a community effort.”

“I appreciated how our input directly shaped the final designs, making the projects both practical and engaging.”

“The co‑design process was empowering, with a perfect blend of creative freedom and valuable guidance.”

“Developed for community, by community—this experience reinforced the power of collaborative innovation.”

We use terms throughout this application that might be new to some applicants. Below are definitions to help you understand the language we use in the Research to Action Fellowship:

• Patient Partner: An individual with lived or loved experience of a health condition who collaborates with researchers, organizations, and healthcare professionals to shape research, policy, and healthcare improvements.
• Knowledge Mobilization (KM): The process of sharing research findings with the people and communities they impact. This includes translating research into practical tools, policies, or resources that improve healthcare.
• Knowledge Product: A tangible outcome of knowledge mobilization. This can be a video, infographic, comic, blog series, self-advocacy tool, educational workshop, or any creative way to make research accessible and actionable.
• Co-Design: A collaborative approach where people with lived, learned, loved, or laboured experience work together to shape research and create solutions that reflect diverse perspectives.
• Lived, Loved, Learned, Laboured (4L) Experiences: A model that acknowledges the different ways people engage with healthcare:
  • Lived: Personal experience of a health condition.
  • Loved: Experience caring for a family member or friend with a health condition.
  • Learned: Academic or professional training related to healthcare.
  • Laboured: Working in the healthcare system, advocacy, or policy.