Vision Statement:

To create, advance and apply knowledge through interdisciplinary research to help children thrive.

Mission Statement:

HELP will make a unique international research contribution to understanding the biological, psychological and societal factors influencing children's health and development.

In pursuit of this mission, HELP will:

Highlight the importance of the early years on health & development.
Utilize a longitudinal, life-course perspective.
Facilitate cell-to-society research collaborations and discourse.
Foster inter-disciplinary, inter-institutional, inter-cultural and inter-sectoral partnerships.
Facilitate knowledge exchange capable of transforming lives and communities.

Organizational Principles:

HELP’s work is underpinned by the following principles:

HELP is a research consortium of six major universities in BC: UBC, UVic, SFU, UNBC, TRU and UBCO.

HELP Affiliates include faculty, post-doctoral research fellows, researchers and graduate students.
HELP supports capacity building across the consortium to fulfill HELP’s vision and mission statement.
HELP offers unique training opportunities for junior scholars and graduate students.

A population-based perspective is at the core of HELP’s investigation of the large and modifiable differences in children’s development.
HELP partners with, and positions itself within the intersection of government, academic, community and advocacy organizations.

HELP develops processes to engage with Aboriginal and cross-cultural groups to interpret, disseminate and utilize child development data related to the core research program.

HELP is funded through a diversity of sources with principal funding from the BC Ministry of Children & Family Development.
HELP employs a capacity building lens for research and knowledge exchange activities.
HELP seeks opportunities to expand within BC, nationally and internationally.

Shared Outcomes/Goals:

The earliest years of children's lives (0-age 6) have a significant impact on their health, well-being and competence later in life. As such, HELP seeks to influence the following broad outcomes/goals for all children:

To improve nurturant environments for children so that all children will thrive.
To reduce inequities in patterns of all children’s development and educational outcomes.
To increase universal access to environments that support families and promote healthy development of all children.
To enhance understanding of the social determinants of child health & development across family, neighbourhood and society.
To influence structural advances that improve the health and well-being of children and families in BC and beyond.
To increase awareness that all aspects of a child’s development – emotional, social, cognitive, physical and language – are interdependent and of equal importance.
To increase inter-sectoral, multi-level commitment and investment for the development and expansion of effective ECD policies and programs for all children.