Team Grant: Transforming Health with Integrated Care (THINC) Knowledge Mobilization & Impact Hub

The Transforming Health with Integrated Care (THINC) Knowledge Mobilization & Impact Hub (herein called the THINC Impact Hub or Hub) is a key component of the THINC initiative, which is led by CIHR’s Institute of Health Services and Policy Research in collaboration with multiple institutes, initiatives and partners.

Operating as a single coordinating centre, the THINC Impact Hub will build and support a vibrant pan-Canadian learning community involving all THINC grantees and knowledge user communities towards advancing evidence-informed integrated care transformation and catalyze progress towards achieving the Quadruple Aim and health equity (sometimes referred to as the Quintuple Aim).

The THINC Impact Hub aims to foster initiative wide coordination, learning and collaboration, capacity development, knowledge mobilization (KM), and collective impact (see objectives). The Impact Hub will incorporate six (6) core elements in its design and approach:

1. Learning Community: Build and support a pan-Canadian transformative integrated care learning community involving all THINC grantees and knowledge user communities for shared learning, meaningful collaboration and partnerships, and coordination to advance shared goals and priorities.
2. Meaningful Engagement: Build, maintain, and strengthen pan-Canadian engagement activities with THINC grantees and knowledge user communities to advance transformative, evidence-informed integrated care towards advancing the Quadruple Aim and health equity.
3. Capacity Development: Work collaboratively with THINC grantees and knowledge user communities (e.g., where it is feasible and appropriate to communicate with relevant funded entities with complementary aims and expertise such as the THINC Implementation Science Teams (ISTs), Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research SUPPORT units, integrated care-related Health Research Training Platforms, Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research) to develop human and organizational capacity (e.g., implementation science, rapid learning and improvement, interdisciplinary collaboration, patient-oriented research) across Canada using training and development opportunities and other strategies, in domain areas of critical relevance across the THINC initiative.
4. Knowledge Mobilization and Evidence Support: Complement and amplify the KM activities of THINC grantees by serving as an evidence support system in integrated care that aims to advance the science, application and impact of integrated care research on policy and practice, using innovative KM strategies (e.g., rapid evidence response; policy dialogues; inventories of integrated care innovations; public engagement forums; support for contextualization of evidence to local context), by accumulating, synthesizing, and disseminating timely evidence appropriately tailored to a wide-ranging audience.
5. Collective Impact: Lead the planning and implementation of initiative wide impact measurement and support THINC grantees with project-specific outcome and impact measurements related to achieving any/all of the Quadruple Aim and health equity.
   • Measurement and evaluation of impact including (and not be limited to) use of appropriate impact frameworks (e.g. CHSPRA¹ or CAHS²) , theory of change and complex systems approaches, the anticipated pathways to impact (i.e., what might change, for whom, to what extent, and when, the engagement plan and context in which to deliver impact), a common set of indicators for impact, data collection tools (e.g., data and information systems used to assess impact), means for communicating impact (e.g., final impact report, impact narratives), and a KM strategy to share impact findings.
6. Governance and Operations: Have a clear governance plan encompassing a core leadership team with fair and equitable engagement with THINC grantees, clearly articulated roles and responsibilities, risk mitigation plans, implementation strategies to meet Hub objectives, and innovative governance considerations such as regional ‘nodes’ or other strategies for geographic reach. The governance plan will reflect (a) overall management and oversight of Hub related (e.g., strategic, operational and financial) activities, (b) clearly defined and adequately supported knowledge brokerage across THINC grantees and knowledge user communities, and (c) co-development of planning, implementation, and activities to meet overall Hub objectives.