Models and mechanisms for building and funding partnerships.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) recently replaced two former federal agencies, the Medical Research Council and the National Health Research and Development Program. CIHR has attracted widespread international attention as a grand experimental model that emphasizes excellence, interdisciplinarity, networking, partnership, and a collective process for priority setting, alongside continuing support for the best ideas of the most talented investigators. CIHR identified four cross-cutting health research themes (biomedical research; clinical research; health service; systems research; and research into the societal, cultural, and environmental determinants of health) across its 13 virtual institutes. Each institute is required to bring together investigators working in specific aspects of health research, as they relate to the mandate of the institute, in order to stimulate novel interdisciplinary research approaches. The challenge to Canadian members of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and their collaborators from other countries is to engage in partnership with CIHR, so that together we can ensure unparalleled quality, safety, and efficacy of healthcare systems in Canada and around the world.