What we heard from the 2026 CanWaCH member engagement survey and member roundtables
In spring 2026, the Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH) collected feedback from its 110+ members through the annual member engagement survey and a series of roundtables in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montréal and Ottawa. Members were candid about the pressures facing the sector, clear about where CanWaCH adds value, and practical about the kinds of support they need next.
Members describe a sector under real pressure. Funding uncertainty, delayed decisions, fewer opportunities, increased competition and shifting donor priorities are affecting how organizations plan, staff, partner and deliver. For many, this shows up through reduced capacity, heavier workloads, stalled or scaled back programming, and growing pressure on local partners.
Members also make clear that disruption is not only about money. It is changing how organizations communicate their value, engage donors, work with government and explain the importance of global health to Canadians. Gender equality, SRHR, prevention, public health and rights-based work are also becoming harder to fund, explain or defend in the current climate.
Members continue to see CanWaCH as a trusted convener, connector and source of shared learning. In the survey, 81% say they are satisfied or very satisfied with CanWaCH’s member services, with no respondents reporting dissatisfaction.
Members point to working groups, peer learning, events, webinars, newsletters, data products and shared spaces for dialogue as important sources of connection and support. In the survey, 78% of respondents say they have used CanWaCH as a platform to share evidence, tools or lessons learned with partners in the sector. Among those who have shared through CanWaCH, 86% say they are satisfied or very satisfied with that experience.
Members want CanWaCH’s support to become even more practical, timely and easy to act on. Priorities include clearer intelligence on funding opportunities and donor priorities, updates on Global Affairs Canada direction, support understanding policy shifts, practical technical learning, proposal adaptation, and stronger visibility for member expertise.
Members also ask for more structured ways to connect with one another. This includes targeted matchmaking, peer circles, regional and in person opportunities, stronger francophone engagement, and clearer communication about what member services are available and how to access them.
Members value CanWaCH’s government engagement role, while also calling for focus, credibility and careful positioning. They want CanWaCH to help make the case for sustained investment in global health, gender equality, SRHR and women’s and children’s health, while translating that case for different audiences, including government, donors, boards, volunteers and the broader public.
Some members call for a bolder advocacy role for CanWaCH; others emphasize pragmatic, carefully framed engagement. The common thread is not silence or retreat. It is the need for a clear and coordinated voice that can speak to the current moment without losing sight of CanWaCH’s mandate and values. Among respondents who answered the related question, 86% agree that CanWaCH brings a health and gender equality focus to events, conferences and key moments.
Members also point to the importance of evidence, data and practical resources that help them make decisions and communicate impact. Among respondents who rate CanWaCH’s data related products, 92% say they are satisfied or very satisfied with their relevance and utility.
At the same time, members want more from these tools. They are looking for timely intelligence, plain language analysis, stronger storytelling, and resources that help them communicate the value of global health to decision makers, donors and Canadians more broadly.
Members raise strong interest in new kinds of collaboration. Across the survey and roundtables, they point to stronger partnerships across the sector, closer links with academia, local partners and non-traditional allies, and more practical discussion about private sector engagement, match funding, philanthropy and innovative financing.
They are also clear that new partnerships need guardrails. Members are not asking CanWaCH to chase every shiny new thing. They are looking for values alignment, clarity of purpose and practical support to test promising ideas, share what works and move from possibility to action.
What we heard is not a request for CanWaCH to become everything to everyone. It is a call for CanWaCH to stay focused on what members value most, while sharpening how that value shows up in a more uncertain environment.
This feedback will help shape CanWaCH’s strategic planning and work planning in the months and years ahead, including how we strengthen connection, support timely decision making, advance credible stakeholder and government engagement and reflect the full breadth of Canadian global health leadership.
Members are asking CanWaCH to keep convening, but not only to convene. They are asking for connection that leads to action, intelligence that supports decisions, a sector voice that is grounded and credible, and a network that helps the sector move forward together.
