CHILD-BRIGHT Network

What CHILD-BRIGHT Network does

CHILD-BRIGHT Network is a pan-Canadian patient-oriented research network focused on children with brain-based developmental disabilities and their families. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Montreal at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), the network engages more than 500 members across researchers, clinicians, patients with lived experience (PWLEs), and policymakers. It operates under the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) framework, co-funded by 15 partner organizations across Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze tiers.

The network's core products include the Jooay app, the MyREADY Transition BBD app, and the PORCCH curriculum, alongside applied research programs such as READYorNot and BRIGHT Coaching. In 2026 it launched the Voices Unheard Podcast to broaden knowledge mobilization. Phase 1 (2016–2022) concentrated on discovery research; Phase 2 (2022–2026) is anchored in implementation science and translation of findings into practice and policy.

CHILD-BRIGHT's business model is grant-funded rather than revenue-generating. Funding flows from CIHR's SPOR program plus 15 institutional partners including the Azrieli Foundation (Platinum, $1M+), SickKids and BC Children's Hospital (Gold, $500K–$999K each), nine Silver-tier partners ($100K–$499K each), and two Bronze-tier partners. With 31 employees, the network runs a lean operation against multi-year institutional commitments rather than commercial pricing.

Name

CHILD-BRIGHT Network

Legal name

CHILD-BRIGHT Network

Website

https://child-bright.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CHILD-BRIGHT Network is a pan-Canadian, CIHR-funded patient-oriented research network based in Montreal that engages 500+ researchers, clinicians, families, and policymakers to improve outcomes for children with brain-based developmental disabilities through implementation science and knowledge mobilization.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pediatric Health Research Network

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (62411), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Special Needs Skill-Building & Therapy Learning Apps (Autism, OT/PT, Life Skills) (EDAFAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Parent Support Groups & Peer Networks (EDACALAG), Play-Based SEL & Executive Function Skill-Building Programs (EDACAOAB)

Keywords

• Patient-oriented research
• Pediatric disability research
• Knowledge mobilization
• Research training programs
• Brain-based developmental disabilities

Headquarters

HQ city

Montreal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Research Grants: Primary funding from Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) under Canada's Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR), supplemented by 15 additional funding partners across Canada including foundations, healthcare institutions, and research organizations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CHILD-BRIGHT Network is a pan-Canadian patient-oriented research network that conducts research and offers programs focused on children with brain-based developmental disabilities and their families. Its core offerings include funded research projects, knowledge mobilization resources, training certificates in patient-oriented research, a lived and living experience consultation service, and the Jooay App supporting leisure participation for children with disabilities.

Product overview

CHILD-BRIGHT Network is a pan-Canadian patient-oriented research network that does not operate as a single unified software product but rather as a coordination network offering multiple programs, tools, and services. The core offerings include the Knowledge Mobilization Program facilitating evidence uptake, the Patient-Oriented Research Toolkit for capacity building, and the KT Library containing publications and resources. The network provides training programs including a Self-Directed Training Certificate and PORCCH curriculum, the Jooay mobile application for connecting children with disabilities to activities, the Lived and Living Experience Consultation Service for research support, and various fellowship and funding programs including the Azrieli Fellowship Program and Training Innovation Fund. Phase 1 and Phase 2 research projects form the operational backbone of the network's activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Jooay App: Mobile application promoting participation in leisure for children and youth with disabilities
• MyREADY Transition BBD Mobile App

Products and services

• Jooay App

Quantifiable outcome

• 850,000 Canadian children affected by brain-based developmental disabilities as target population
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Host institution for CHILD-BRIGHT Network headquarters and research operations.
• SickKids (Hospital for Sick Children)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Gold Partner ($500,000-$999,000); investigators based at SickKids lead implementation science research program.
• BC Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Gold Partner ($500,000-$999,000); investigators based at BC Children's Hospital lead research projects.
• University of British ColumbiasupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Silver Partner with Faculty of Medicine supporting research activities.
• McGill Faculty of Medicine and Health SciencessupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Silver Partner supporting network activities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) Networks (CIHR): The broader portfolio of CIHR-funded SPOR networks across chronic disease areas in Canada. CHILD-BRIGHT is itself a SPOR network; peer SPOR networks share funding mechanism, governance expectations, and patient-oriented research methodology, and compete for similar investigator and PWLE pools.
• CanChild: A McMaster University-based research center focused on children and youth with disabilities and their families. Directly comparable in target population (children with developmental disabilities), research-to-practice orientation, and connection to Canadian pediatric academic institutions.
• Maternal-Infant Child and Youth Research Network (MICYRN): A Canadian network supporting multi-centre maternal-child health research. Listed as a CHILD-BRIGHT Silver Partner and operates a similar pan-Canadian research coordination model across pediatric institutions.
• Kids Brain Health Network (KBHN): A Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence focused on brain development and childhood disability research. Listed as a CHILD-BRIGHT Silver Partner ($100K-$499K) and addresses an overlapping mandate around brain-based developmental disabilities, making it the closest Canadian peer in scope and funding model.

Broad incumbents

• Autism Research Institute: A US-based autism-focused research and education organization. Comparable as a research network addressing autism spectrum disorder, one of CHILD-BRIGHT's primary diagnostic populations, though narrower in disease focus and based in the US.
• Cerebral Palsy Foundation: A US-based research and advocacy organization for cerebral palsy, one of the conditions explicitly within CHILD-BRIGHT's mandate. Operates as a research-funder and knowledge mobilization body in an overlapping clinical population.
• IWK Health Centre: A major Canadian pediatric and women's health center in Halifax. Listed as a CHILD-BRIGHT Silver Partner and home base for CHILD-BRIGHT's Implementation Science Research Program Co-Lead (Janet Curran), overlapping with CHILD-BRIGHT's research and training activities.
• Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital: Canada's largest pediatric rehabilitation hospital and a CHILD-BRIGHT Silver Partner ($100K-$499K). Provides clinical care and research infrastructure for children with disabilities, overlapping with CHILD-BRIGHT's implementation science agenda but operating as a clinical provider rather than a research network.
• PCORI (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute): The US-based national patient-oriented outcomes research funder and convener. Operates a comparable patient-centered research model with broad funder scale, and provides the structural parallel to CIHR's SPOR mechanism that underpins CHILD-BRIGHT.

Others

• SickKids (Hospital for Sick Children): A CHILD-BRIGHT Gold Partner ($500K-$999K) and host institution for EDI-DI program leadership (Nomazulu Dlamini). Functions as both a research collaborator and a clinical delivery organization intersecting with CHILD-BRIGHT's pediatric neurodevelopmental focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLebGVjrWcS7CPQPvN8Bz6XB9JtCw3VWXb
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/child-bright-network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CHILD-BRIGHT Network