As part of the growing portfolio of international partnerships, Nicholas Armstrong, Institute for Veterans and Military Families senior director of research and policy, along with Gilly Cantor, program evaluation manager, presented “Adapting the Collective Impact Model to Veterans Services: The Case of AmericaServes” at the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR) 2017 Forum.The forum is an annual conference aimed at better serving veterans, service members and military families.

AmericaServes is a unique innovation that aims to improve veteran well-being through improved access and navigation to services in communities.  Armstrong and Cantor also participated in a select working group to propose new evidence-based research topics on military-to-civilian transition.

The CIMVHR 2017 Forum is the first collaborative event for the IVMF and the CIMVHR team, but not the only international institute joining forces with the IVMF. The institute recently signed a partnership agreement with the Veterans and Families Institute (VFI) at Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom. Both partnerships, says Armstrong, are part of the IVMF’s growing initiative to expand its international reach to exchange ideas, share insights, learn and collaborate.

“Our nations’ veterans and military families have a shared experience both in service and in transition to civilian life,” says Armstrong. “We’re thrilled about the potential for these new research collaborations and potential they hold to draw new insights and learning in the collective support of those who serve our respective nations.”

Armstrong will also join an expert advisory group on a U.K. Ministry of Defense’s sponsored effort focused on developing, evaluating and tracking veteran well-being.

The annual CIMVHR 2017 Forum gathers thought leaders from around the globe to present new research, exchange ideas, share insight, learn and collaborate. This year’s conference was held Sept. 25-27 in Toronto. The announcement of the collaboration was made at the CIMVHR’s eighth annual conference being held in partnership with the Invictus Games, an international Paralympic-style multi-sport event, in which wounded or sick armed services personnel and veterans take part in sports including wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball and indoor rowing.