From Insights to Action: Enhancing Clinical Research at The Ottawa Hospital Through a Mixed-Methods Improvement Project

The Ottawa Hospital—one of Canada’s largest academic health sciences centres—and its research arm, the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, undertook a comprehensive review of the hospital’s clinical research ecosystem in 2022 to identify systemic challenges and opportunities to better integrate clinical research within hospital operations and patient care. Interest holders were engaged through qualitative interviews and pre- and post-review quantitative surveys. Barriers identified included limited funding access, lack of protected research time fragmented technology infrastructure, inconsistent support for non-physician researchers, and limited access to patients for research purposes. Findings informed an action plan comprising over 30 initiatives under four strategic goals: strengthening infrastructure, building capacity and culture, enhancing patient access to research opportunities, and streamlining governance. Progress was evaluated by the 2025 post-review survey data. This Performance improvement project offers a replicable roadmap and framework for healthcare and research centres seeking to build a supportive, collaborative, and patient-centred research environment.