ABSTRACT

1. Highlights of Findings: Visioning the Office of the Associate Vice President Research—Health/Vice President Research and Innovation  Beth Horsburgh, Jim Thornhill, Vlatka Tustonic, David Yanciw, Joanne Franko, Donna Mitchell, Deborah Houston, Dawn Sinclair, Alana Ferguson, Ben Daniel, Brittany Oster Office of the Associate Vice-President Research - Health (University ofSaskatchewan)/Vice-President Research and Innovation (Saskatoon HealthRegion) Room B527, Health Sciences Building107 Wiggins RoadSaskatoon, SK S7N 5E5Phone: (306) 966-2098Fax: (306) 966-4737 Contact Email: ben.daniel@usask.ca ABSTRACT The University of Saskatchewan (U of S), Saskatoon Health Region (SHR) and Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) pooled resources to create a new office of the Associate Vice-President Research Health (AVPR-H) and the Vice-President Research and Innovation (VPR&I) with joint commitments to initiate and support excellence in health research and innovation and to build synergies among the organizations involved. In order to accomplish these commitments, a broad-based stakeholders’ consultation was conducted. The stakeholders’ consultation was an essential part of developing a business plan for the office and as a way of building useful engagement . Input from stakeholders together with information on their interests and needs, helped the office to wisely choose how to accommodate divergent needs and offer relevant and useful services to its patrons. The stakeholders’ analysis was driven by a qualitative research. In congruence with conventional objectives of qualitative research methods, the main intent was to gain deep, context dependent lived experiences of various stakeholders working in various aspects of health in Saskatchewan. The study was intentionally made rigorous, needs driven and participatory in nature. It was also meant to understand the dynamics of health research and innovation in its natural (rather than experimental) settings. This poster summarises key findings, as well as the methodology employed in the study. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2. KEY FINDINGS A stakeholders analysis is a rigorous emergent research methodology often employed to understand the diverse needs of patrons with a key goal of addressing their needs. The study employed an eclectic and multistage stakeholder approach embedded within the domains of conventional qualitative methods and grounded theory. Interviews and focus group meetings were used for data collection. The entire methods and procedure used for collection of data, analysis and reporting is shown in figure 1. Key findings of the study revealed several interesting trends which were purposefully broken down into themes and sub themes. These included: the vision for the office, expected outcomes, areas of pre-eminence for health research in Saskatchewan, key office roles, opportunities available to the office as well as challenges needed to be addressed either directly by the office or all institutions involved in health research and innovation as well as health care systems in the province. 2.2 Expected Outcomes 1.1 The Research Process 2.1. Scope of the Office Figure 1. Multistage Research Process 2.3 Areas of Pre-eminence 3. CONCLUSIONS Figure 2.1. Office Scope Figure 2.2. Expected Outcomes 2.4 Challenges 2.5. Office Roles Health research and innovation often preserve and enhance individual and collective health status. Results of health research are often used to improve the delivery of health services. Furthermore, rResearch showed that investment in health research can generate immense opportunities for commercialization—paving ways for the transformation of knowledge and technology into new goods, processes and services satisfying market demands. The office of the AVPR-H/VPRI was established to promote health research and innovation in Saskatchewan. In order to achieve these goals, it embarked on broad consultation of its actual and potential patrons, identifying their needs and current challenges. The overall findings are presented in this poster. Figure 2.3. Areas of Pre-eminence 2.6. Relationships 4. RECOMMENDATIONS 5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Figure 2.5. Office Roles Figure 2.4. Challenges • Foster partnerships between corporate, community, academic and government • Establish a provincial centre for health data • Promote interdisciplinary research and interpropfessional education • Establish communication system on health research and innovation • Develop benchmarks and accountability framework for the assessment of health research • Develop collaborative mechanisms within health research and academic programming • Develop ways to enhance clinical research • Identify systemic barriers to health research and develop ways to address them • Support new technologies in both healthcare practices and research practices; such as e-Health or the innovation opportunities presented by the biomedical beam line • Resource office effectively for increased ability to meet expected outcomes and avoid disappointment from stakeholders 2.7. Available Resources This project was commission by the office of AVPR-H/VPR & I and sponsored by the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon Health Region and Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation. We would like to thank all participants who took part in the study and the advisory committee for the office. The research team is also indebted to numerous individuals and organizations that contributed to completion of the project. Figure 2.6. Relationships Building Figure 2.7. Resources Available