Annual Report 2014-15 Transforming health and wellbeing through research and innovation ISSN 1918-3232 (Online) Annual Report (Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions) 2014-15 Annual Report TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ......................................................................................... 2-3 Accountability Statement ................................................................................... 4 Message from Board Chair ................................................................................. 5 Key Research and Innovation Initiatives ........................................................ 6-15 Management’s Discussion and Analysis ....................................................... 16-17 Operational Overview ...................................................................................... 18 Consolidated Financial Statements .............................................................. 19-38 Appendix A: AIHS Funding Awards ............................................................ 39-42 Appendix B: Currently Funded Projects & People ....................................... 43-63 2014-15 ANNUAL REPORT 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Albertans face many issues when it comes to their health and their health care system. There are pockets of excellence in health care but there remain major variations in quality, access and outcomes. Our system is the most expensive in Canada. The parts of the system are not fully integrated, which is a particular challenge for the growing numbers of people with multiple chronic conditions, frailty, and mental health issues. Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions (AIHS) focuses on finding ways to accelerate the creation and uptake of research evidence to support health and health system effectiveness, quality and efficiency. The benefits to Albertans will be better ways of delivering care, improved patient experiences and outcomes, and cost savings. AIHS is able to perform a unique role in our Mobilizing expertise and input from all stakeholders province to address some of these issues through vested in contributing to better health and health health research and innovation support. This role services is the right way to tackle enormously complex has three overlapping dimensions: problems that affect our people and our province. One of this past year’s highlights was the development • Partner, broker and facilitator of targeted, high of a strategic provincial partnership—the Health impact health initiatives; Research and Innovation Collaboratory (HRIC)— • Catalyst for major capacity development in core formed to accelerate research and innovation into areas critical to the support and competitiveness health and healthcare. In addition to AIHS, this of our provincial health research and innovation partnership includes: environment; • Funder of high quality, priority health research • Alberta Health Services (AHS), our health delivery activity and enabler for moving the resulting system; innovations into use and development. • the ministries of Health and Innovation and Advanced Education; • Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures (AITF); • the Alberta Academic Health Network (AHN), representing our universities; and • community care providers, represented by the Alberta Medical Association (AMA). 2 ALBERTA INNOVATES – HEALTH SOLUTIONS This is the first time AIHS has formed such a The new focus on partnered activity heightens the partnership for system coordination on major projects need for reporting on the impact of our investments with the potential for transformative changes in in research and innovation to our funding health delivery. partners and to the people of Alberta. AIHS has a performance management and evaluation unit Initial HRIC processes, platforms and broad system that has set the standard in the province for how priorities were developed over the past year to to conduct impact assessments. In September, demonstrate proof of concept for this collaborative 2014 AIHS and international partners, AQuAS way of thinking and doing. The goal is to develop and Rand Europe, offered the first International such a powerful value proposition that we attract School for Research Impact Assessment in Banff. partners from all sectors and areas of the world who Sixty participants from Alberta, the rest of Canada want to work with us and invest in Alberta to deliver and from around the world participated in the optimal health and healthcare. intensive, hands-on school to learn how to conduct performance measurement and management. Within AIHS, we created the Partnership Office Building capacity to determine what works and whose members have strong established relationships what doesn’t in our broad health system is why with academia, industry and the health system. performance management and evaluation is a The Partnership Office serves as a receptor for the defined platform for the HRIC. opportunities arising through HRIC or from other organizations and also takes a proactive approach— The ongoing successes of our health research and identifying new opportunities and delivering them innovation environment in Alberta are sustained with partners. The results of their work are new through AIHS’s investment in a wide spectrum partners to the ecosystem who bring new funding of activity in our research community with nearly to Alberta’s health researchers and innovators; $77.5 million dollars out the door in this last fiscal new grants that focus on health system issues and year. Over the past five years, the total of AIHS the development of province-wide approaches to investments in health research and innovation is common issues such as data use. nearly $400M dollars, with most of that funding streamed to our provincial universities. We also saw the further development of Alberta’s SPOR SUPPORT Unit, a $48 million initiative All of our activities aligned and will continue to jointly funded by AIHS and CIHR. The Unit—a align with the strategies and priorities identified virtual expertise and services hub for patient- by the Government of Alberta and our partners in oriented researchers in Alberta and the North West Alberta’s research and innovation ecosystem. We Territories—now has academic Leads appointed for are proud to uphold excellence and relevance in each of the seven platforms who are preparing for the the area of health research and innovation for the Unit opening its doors for business later in 2015. province and for the ultimate benefit of Albertans. 2014-15 ANNUAL REPORT 3 ACCOUNTABILITY STATEMENT The Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions annual report for the year ended March 31, 2015 was prepared under the Board’s direction in accordance with the Alberta Research and Innovation Regulation, the Fiscal Management Act, and ministerial guidelines established pursuant to the Fiscal Management Act. All material economic, environmental, or fiscal implications of which we are aware have been considered in the preparation of this report. [Original signed by Robert A. Seidel, QC] Robert A. Seidel, QC CHAIR, BOARD OF DIRECTORS ALBERTA INNOVATES – HEALTH SOLUTIONS 4 ALBERTA INNOVATES – HEALTH SOLUTIONS MESSAGE FROM BOARD CHAIR On behalf of the board of directors of Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions, I am very pleased to speak to our organization’s accomplishments and unwavering dedication to our strategic direction, especially in light of the tragic loss of our visionary president and CEO, Dr. Cy Frank, on March 5, 2015. Thanks to internal restructuring in late 2014 by Cy and his skilled management team, AIHS is in an optimal position to continue pursuing its goals: to deliver health, social and economic gains for Albertans from our support of health research and innovation. The corporation’s home with Alberta Health and strengths and supports to achieve greater national closer alignment to the health system means our and global competitiveness and impact on health. collaborations, partnerships and investments are We support highly rated health research activity and having real and beneficial effects on health and the the innovations that result from that activity with health system. There is a “can-do” attitude that is the goal of better health and wellbeing for Albertans. bringing people and organizations together like never We contribute to the intellectual capacity at our before to really advance and change how we do things universities by funding top calibre people—from for maximum value. Cy Frank’s vision was that the trainees to internationally acclaimed scientists— assets of our broad health system have the potential to working in every area of health research. yield more health and wealth than any other resource we have in Alberta. We are proud to do our utmost to The sum total of the year is impressive despite the make that vision a reality. blow of losing Dr. Frank. I commend the Board, the leadership team at AIHS and all of our staff for We serve the people of Alberta through several areas continuing to advance the corporation’s directions of focus. We seek and broker partnerships with and maintain outstanding operations. other agencies, government departments, academia, the health system and industry to bring know-how from these sectors into approaches to solve health issues, and in doing so, we leverage the public [Original signed by Robert A. Seidel, QC] dollars entrusted to us and maximize the impact of research results. With partners, we are leading the development of agreed-upon areas of core support Robert A. Seidel, QC for the entire health