The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, announced the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) Canadian Data Platform, a new $81 million initiative that will make it easier for researchers to access and analyze health research data from across Canada. Several partners across the country have contributed to the initiative, including ICES and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
“This is a game changer for Canada. Our pan-Canadian team has been working for almost five years to create a vision, and we are thrilled that [Canadian Institutes of Health Research] CIHR and our partners are providing funding to make that vision a reality. Data are as fundamental to research and improvement as the internet is to communications. Analyzing data from across the country can lead to insights that would be impossible if limited to a single province. A streamlined, simplified process for requesting comparable data will create new opportunities for researchers across the country,” says Dr. Kim McGrail, scientific director, SPOR Canadian Data Platform.
The SPOR Canadian Data Platform will be led by Dr. McGrail at the University of British Columbia. The platform will be a single portal that will help researchers address health challenges that cross jurisdictions, potentially leading to advancements that improve health and healthcare in Canada.