How Cross-Institutional Collaboration Addresses Community Challenges: Insights from the Community Indicator Framework (CIF) - Panel Discussion

About the Event

This presentation examines how cross-institutional collaboration shaped the development of Thunder Bay’s Community Indicator Framework (CIF). Led by the City through CityStudio, the CIF aligned municipal, academic, and community partners to build a shared evidence base supporting Community Safety and Well-Being priorities and coordinated responses to complex community challenges.  This event is hosted by NOSM University, Lakehead Health Sciences & Confederation College.

Speakers

Dr. Helle Møller is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Lakehead University. Her work spans the determinants of health, social justice, and equity, with particular attention to perinatal people, people on the female continuum, and Indigenous communities in northern, rural, and remote regions.

Gustavo Petterle is a Professor of Health Informatics and Healthcare Administration at Confederation College and a PhD candidate in Health Sciences at Lakehead University. His work focuses on AI-enabled evaluation, analytics strategy, and participatory governance, including the co-development of a Community Indicator Framework (CIF) to support evidence-informed planning, innovation, and community impact.

Christina Foresto is a professor of Health Informatics at Confederation College. With a background in health analytics and biostatistics, her passion lies in leveraging data and digital tools to support evidence-based decision making in healthcare settings. Most recently, her work has centred around community-based data initiatives in Northwestern Ontario.

Louisa Costanzo is the Community Safety and Well-Being Manager for the City of Thunder Bay. Her work centres relationships, shared learning, and the thoughtful use of data and lived experience to support equity-informed, human-centred approaches that help communities turn insight into action.