IHSPR-CAHSPR Health Services and Policy Research Impact Award

Recognizing health services and policy research that has made an impact.

In 2025, IHSPR and the Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research (CAHSPR) partnered to launch the inaugural Health Services and Policy Research (HSPR) Impact Award competition, building on the existing award partnership established through the Article of the Year Award. The Impact Award recognizes HSPR that has made an impact by demonstrably contributing to the transformation of health systems, improving people’s lives, or generating social or economic benefits. It celebrates research that has moved beyond publication to achieve real-world impact – such as influencing policy, improving service delivery, advancing health equity, or contributing to economic and social prosperity.

The HSPR Impact Award is grounded in the broader context of modernized definitions and recognition of research excellence beyond journal-based metrics and recognizes CIHR’s refreshed definition of research excellence and the recommendations for funders from the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).

The HSPR Impact Award recipient is honored with an award of $10,000, a Certificate of Excellence presented at the annual CAHSPR conference, and an opportunity to present their research impact at the annual CAHSPR conference.

Objectives

The HSPR Impact Award recognizes HSPR that has demonstrably contributed to transforming the health care system, people’s lives, and/or promoted social or economic benefit. Specifically, it recognizes HSPR that has:

  • Influenced decision-making (e.g., informed policy or decision-making regarding the way health services are organized, regulated, managed, financed, paid for, or delivered); and/or
  • had a positive impact on health systems, health policy, service delivery and/or health outcomes by advancing dimension(s) of the Quintuple Aim (e.g., improved patient or provider experience, improved health equity); and/or
  • contributed to broad economic and social prosperity (e.g., innovation, scaled technologies, return on investment)

Application details: The award is launched each fall. Visit the CAHSPR website for more information.

Award recipients

Date modified: