We aim to support 1-2 new working groups each year in response to members’ interests. If you would like to propose a topic, please contact info@iamhrf.org

Our working groups are time-limited and subject to regular review to ensure they remain relevant to emerging challenges and opportunities in the sector.  

Digital Mental Health

In 2023, we launched a working group on digital mental health. This topic is an emerging priority for funders according to our annual member survey.

Topics the group has discussed over the past year include:  

  • Understanding challenges and opportunities for informative clinical trials in digital mental health
  • Digital mental health tools and local solutions for child and adolescent mental health
  • The regulation and evaluation of digital mental health technology
  • How lived experience can shape research and development in digital mental health 

Members: Fondation Botnar, Fonds de Recherche du Québec, Grand Challenges Canada, Health Research Board, MQ Mental Health Research, National Institute of Mental Health, Raintree Foundation, UKRI Medical Research Council, Wellcome, and ZonMw. 

The group also benefits from the input of our lived experience advisers, Anne-Laure Donskoy and Vijay Rajkumar.

Communications Working Group (New)

In 2025, we launched a new working group on communications with the aim of creating a storytelling framework to support mental health research advocacy, as part of a unifying narrative for the field.

The goal of this working group is to showcase the value of mental health research, and through this:​

  • Drive more investment and commitment to mental health research​
  • Diversify sources of investment and commitment​
  • Proactively shape a unifying narrative for mental health research​
  • Build a sense of community in mental health research that can make a collective impact​ 

Members: Graham Boeckh Foundation, United for Global Mental Health, Grand Challenges Canada, and MQ Mental Health Research.  

The group also benefits from the input of our lived experience advisor, Vijay Rajkumar.