The Alberta SPOR SUPPORT Unit (AbSPORU) formally launched its flagship learning health system initiative in June. The initiative, called The Implementation Science Collaborative, is a mechanism to integrate health system, academic, and AbSPORU expertise to facilitate effective spread, scale and sustainment of health innovations. This initiative brings together multiple health-system stakeholders and IS scholars who contribute through three groups:

●      Steering Committee – local healthcare leaders, academic and health system partners who share local knowledge of widespread implementation barriers in Alberta.

●      Scientific Advisory Board  – International implementation science experts who examine the practical barriers identified by the Steering Committee and advise on implementation research designs and measures to embed into innovation projects.

●      Working Group  – AbSPORU staff, Strategic Clinical Networks™ and health system researchers who find projects well suited for embedding implementation questions addressing the challenges identified by the Steering Committee. The Working Group also collects, synthesizes and shares implementation research results with Alberta’s implementation communities.

By coordinating the expertise in these groups, AbSPORU is leveraging Provincial assets to advance Alberta’s learning health system and strengthen implementation capacity across the province.