Knowledge Networks: The NCCAH and Partner Initiatives
The NCCAH leads or collaborates in several Aboriginal health-related initiatives at its “Centre for Sharing Knowledges,” located at the University of Northern British Columbia. These networks inform and strengthen each other, leading to broader dissemination of knowledge, and richer exchanges across geographic, institutional and professional boundaries.

Aboriginal ActNow BC: The NCCAH has implemented two major projects funded by the BC Ministry of Health: Aboriginal ActNow BC, supporting Aboriginal people in healthy lifestyle choices that help reduce chances of developing chronic disease, and the Aboriginal Preschool Visual Screening Strategy, ensuring children are screened for vision disorders before they start school at age six. Aboriginal ActNow is a cross-provincial Aboriginal specific public health promotion initiative conducted in partnerships with urban Aboriginal, First Nations and Métis organizations, and has been a model of national and international interest.

First Nations Environmental Health Innovation Network: This initiative links First Nations communities with environmental health researchers across Canada. The FNEHIN virtual network provides access to research findings, researchers, and support for research capacity. The FNEHIN Secretariat is hosted by the NCCAH and the BC Leadership Chair for Aboriginal Environmental Health at the University of Northern B.C. and involves nine partners.

Network Environments for Aboriginal Research BC: supporting an environment where researchers and communities collaborate to develop research capacity that is relevant to Aboriginal Peoples and competitive in national and international arenas. NEARBC relaunched its website in 2010 with the support of the NCCAH and continues to provide leading information, research findings and resources on Aboriginal health. 

Our Host: University of Nothern British Columbia
When the National Collaborating Centre program was first initiated in 2005, the University of Northern B.C. in Prince George, British Columbia, offered to host the Centre as part of its dedication to First Nations and Aboriginal programming. The university serves a region rich in cultural diversity, including 17 First Nations groups with more than 27 distinct languages and dialects. 

UNBC brings a strong focus to research relevant to people living in rural and northern communities, to Aboriginal peoples, and to the determinants of health. For its part, the NCCAH has drawn funding to the university from multiple sources to support a variety of Aboriginal health initiatives. These include the province-wide, multi-year health promotion strategy, Aboriginal ActNow B.C., and the national First Nations Environmental Health Innovation Network (FNEHIN), linking First Nations communities and researchers.

Local Recognition for Far-reaching Work
The NCCAH mission to improve the health outcomes of Canada's Aboriginal Peoples through data and dialogue was celebrated in 2009/2010 when NCCAH Academic Leader Dr. Margo Greenwood was named Academic of the Year for 2010 by the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of BC.  The award recognized Greenwood's dedication to Aboriginal health and her role in helping publish the report "Aboriginal Children's Health: Leaving no child behind," a partnership between the NCCAH and UNICEF Canada.  The report was highlighted for embodying the NCCAH role in mediating between academic research and community stakeholders.

The NCCAH was also recognized for its role in the health of northern communities in BC and beyond.  The Centre recieved a research award, presented to Dr. Greenwood by the Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Health Authority of BC, in late 2009.