Although evidence-informed decision-making is essential to public health, it is challenging in practice as there is a continual burgeoning of both evidence and emerging issues, which public health practitioners need to address at local, regional and national levels. One way that Canada has chosen to address this challenge is through its six National Collaborating Centres (NCCs).

The purpose of this article is to describe what the NCCs do, identify their current priorities and topic areas for 2020 and beyond, and describe how they are able to facilitate the bridging of evidence and other knowledge systems into policy and practice.

The authors conclude that the NCCs continue to fill a critical role in public health in Canada by helping to identify knowledge gaps and to bridge the divide between evidence, policy and practice. The NCCs have successfully demonstrated the ability to support the implementation of evidence in multiple, often complex settings, and will continue to take a leading role in Canada’s public health system.

Citation

Dubois A, Lévesque M. (2020). Canada’s National Collaborating Centres: Facilitating evidence-informed decision-making in public health. Canada Communicable Disease Report (CCDR), Volume 46-2\3.