Report says SPOR program effective with some caveats

KPMG has completed a report on the first five years of the CIHR-led Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR), finding it is effective and relevant for connecting research to patient care (R$, March 29/12). The report, covering the first five years of the 10-year SPOR strategy, gave CIHR's contribution a positive review in the areas of national governance mechanisms, consideration of provincial priorities and needs, stakeholder engagement, peer review processes and the process for network development and selection. Citing several areas requiring improvement, the report found there was a lack of clarity regarding SPOR's many elements, and limited measurement of outcomes, leading some to question whether the right things were being measured....