What We Heard: Progress Across Implementation Science Teams – Strengthening the Health Workforce for System Transformation
August 2026
Executive Summary
The Strengthening the Health Workforce for System Transformation program is an $11.6M investment supporting 15 Implementation Science Teams (ISTs) across Canada and one Evidence Support and Knowledge Mobilization (ESKM) Hub. This report summarizes the midterm reflection reports from the teams, which showcase their progress from the beginning to the midpoint of the funding period (June 2024 to January 2026).
Program Midpoint: At a Glance
- At the midpoint of funding, teams are actively implementing and evaluating workforce innovations across diverse health system sectors (e.g., primary care, cancer care, long-term care) and workforce domains (e.g., nursing, physicians, support workers, genetic counsellors).
- Despite addressing different workforce challenges, projects are generating common lessons about what enables successful workforce transformation. These include strong partnerships, adapting interventions to local contexts, investing in capacity building, and continuous engagement with decision-makers, providers, patients, and communities, which have all emerged as key drivers of success.
- Collectively, the projects are building a growing evidence base on effective strategies to support a strengthened, healthy, resilient and equitable health workforce.
Emerging Program Insights
Successful workforce solutions are tailored
Implementation success depends on adapting solutions to local workforce realities, organizational contexts, and community priorities. Teams consistently reported that context, readiness, and interest-holder engagement in planning and implementation are critical determinants of success.
Partnerships are driving implementation and impact
With over 100 partner organizations engaged by the research teams, the program has catalyzed a highly connected network of collaborators spanning health care delivery organizations, academia, community organizations, patients, and policymakers. These partnerships are improving the relevance, feasibility, and potential uptake of workforce innovations.
Capacity building is strengthening the conditions for lasting change
Teams are investing in trainees, health providers, leaders, and communities through mentorship, training, co-design, experiential learning, and communities of practice. These capacity building efforts are supporting both the implementation and sustainability of the interventions.
Knowledge mobilization (KM) is embedded throughout the research process
Teams are complementing traditional research dissemination approaches with training resources, implementation supports, knowledge exchange forums, and decision-maker engagement strategies to help accelerate the use of evidence in practice and policy. The ESKM Hub is helping to connect teams, amplify KM activities, and support the uptake of these efforts.
Common enablers and barriers are emerging across the program
Strong partnerships, leadership support, local champions, and alignment with organizational priorities are supporting implementation efforts. At the same time, competing organizational priorities, staff turnover, and limited bandwidth of health providers and decision-makers to engage with research within their operational realities continue to pose challenges to progress across settings.
Why It Matters
These midterm findings suggest that sustainable workforce transformation depends not only on generating evidence, but also on implementation support, collaborative partnerships, capacity building, and knowledge mobilization. As projects progress toward implementation, spread, and sustainability, the program is generating practical lessons that can inform future workforce policy, practice, and research investments across Canada and contribute to a healthier, more resilient, and more equitable health workforce.
Acknowledgements
The Strengthening the Health Workforce for System Transformation funding opportunity is made possible thanks to the engagement and shared commitment of program partners and the researchers and knowledge holders/users, including policy- and decision-makers, providers, communities, patients, and members of the public who make up the research teams.
CIHR's Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) would like to express gratitude toward program sponsors for supporting this research, including the Institute of Aging (IA), the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), the Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health (IHDCYH), the Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH), the Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (CRPPHE), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Michael Smith Health Research BC (MSHRBC), and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (The Partnership).
The progress reflected in the midterm reports underscores the dedication, innovation, and collaborative efforts of the funded research teams and their partners across Canada. The program has mobilized researchers, health system leaders, health workforce interest-holders, and community partners to address complex workforce challenges and generate actionable evidence for change. The contributions of these teams are helping to advance our understanding of how health workforce transformation can be achieved in diverse settings and contexts.
As projects continue into the next phase of their work, the funding organizations extend their appreciation and congratulations to all teams for their ongoing commitment to strengthening the health workforce and improving health systems for the benefit of communities across Canada.
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