Annual Conference on Patient-Oriented Research Hosted by AbSPORU
2026 NorthWest SPOR Collaborative Forum
THANKS FOR ATTENDING — SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!
AbSPORU’s Northwest SPOR Collaborative Forum took place from May 12 to May 13, 2026 at the Château Lacombe hotel in Edmonton, Alberta.
The theme was — People and Partnerships: Powering the Future of Health Research.
Event Details:
- Dates: Tuesday, May 12 – Wednesday, May 13, 2026
- Location: Chateau Lacombe hotel | 10111 Bellamy Hill Rd NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 1N7
- View our preliminary conference programming here. Subject to change.
- Email cd.absporu@ucalgary.ca for exhibitor, partnerships and sponsor opportunities
OVERVIEW
Whether held in-person, virtually, or both, our annual conference provides inclusive capacity development opportunities in patient-oriented research (POR) towards the shared goals of increased access to high-quality health care and improved patient outcomes. This event is open to researchers, students, clinicians, patients and caregivers, health-system professionals, policymakers, and more.
The conference provides opportunities for:
- Attendees to engage with other members of the POR community, in order to facilitate training, growth, and support in the practice of POR;
- Recognizing, showcasing, and celebrating POR success, innovation, talent, and partnerships in Alberta and beyond; and
- Furthering AbSPORU’s mandate to support Alberta-based POR and its impacts for health system transformation and enhanced patient outcomes.
Content and Learning Objectives
Each year our conference integrates Alberta-focused content and activities alongside programming delivered collaboratively with our POR partners across Western Canada. Through this, we aim to engage audiences with diverse perspectives and experiences, to enhance the conference impact for everyone.
Through a combination of keynote speakers, expert panel discussions, interactive workshops, poster presentations, and networking opportunities, conference attendees will:
- Gain practical knowledge and skills for conducting POR;
- Develop evidence-informed practices in several key areas of POR, including patient engagement, knowledge translation and synthesis, research methods, accessing data and conducting pragmatic clinical trials;
- Learn about opportunities and services that AbSPORU provides to help achieve research goals;
- Explore the impact of POR and AbSPORU on the research landscape;
- Develop a broader understanding of how to engage underrepresented interested parties in health research; and
- Offer patient and community members opportunity to learn about and further develop health research skills and to network with POR researcher and patient research partner communities.