Work With Us
We understand the evidence required to inform health care and drug policy decision making.
Our Key Functions
- Engage funding partners, decision makers, and knowledge users to identify meaningful and relevant research questions.
- Conduct timely high quality health-focused real world evidence research studies that use population level health system data assets.
- Ensure the integrity of results and produce robust evidence to inform decision making.
Why Work With Us
Rigorous Academic Approach
Cross Sector Partnerships
Data Analytics Expertise
Timely Actionable Results
Our Process
Our process begins with understanding funder needs and identifying the right research questions, and ends with disseminating evidence that can be used for decision making.
Consortium-led research projects engage funding partners, decision makers, and knowledge users, and also produce evidence from a trusted, independent, academic source. This is achieved through the following process of engagement:
Engagement
Discovery
Alberta RWE Consortium and funding partner
Understand funder needs and identify research questions that will generate meaningful evidence.
Proposal
Alberta RWE Consortium and funding partner
We prepare a research proposal for the funding partner that encompasses the scope of work.
Agreement
Alberta RWE Consortium and funding partner
A research collaboration agreement is entered into by both parties that aligns with our rules of engagement.
Protocol
Alberta RWE Consortium with opportunity for engagement
Our team develops a research protocol. Feedback is welcome, and final decisions remain with the Consortium.
Analysis
Alberta RWE Consortium
After obtaining ethics and data custodian approvals, our team independently conducts the analysis according to the protocol.
Report
Alberta RWE Consortium with opportunity for engagement
We prepare a research report. Feedback is welcome, and final decisions remain with the Consortium.
Publication
Alberta RWE Consortium with opportunity for engagement
The academic research team authors scientific publications. Feedback is welcome, and final decisions remain with the Consortium.
Our rules of engagement provide a transparent framework for funding partners, decision makers, and knowledge users to actively participate in the research process, and ensure evidence is produced from a trusted, independent, academic source.
What Our Partners Say
Colin Josephson, MD MSc (physiol.) MSc (epidemiol.) FRCP(C) CSCN (EEG)
The Alberta RWE Consortium was instrumental in the end-to-end success of our multiple industry-supported population-based projects – encompassing all stages from conception to design, to implementation.
They were an invaluable resource for navigating the complexities of industry representatives, ethics boards, and legal departments, helping streamline the process of accessing and evaluating administrative health data to improve the health of Albertans.
Their expertise ranges from contract negotiations, ethics submissions, data acquisition, and analytics support, providing reliable support for all aspects of investigator-led research studies. I would highly recommend them to all of my academic colleagues.
Dan Ekstrand, Patient Access Associate Director, Novo Nordisk Canada Inc.
In 2023, Alberta Real World Evidence Consortium (ARWEC ) published “Health care cost of severe obesity and obesity-related comorbidities: A retrospective cohort study from Alberta, Canada.” The study was funded by Novo Nordisk Canada Inc, pursuant to a strategic partnership with the University Hospital Foundation. The study is one of the most rigorous observational studies published to date that estimates the incremental costs of obesity-related health conditions to public payers. In conducting the study, AWREC explored Alberta’s rich data platform and determined its utility in capturing the impacts of living with obesity on the health of Canadians and on healthcare resource utilization. This information is difficult to accurately capture through traditional datasets. ARWEC collaborated throughout the process to ensure the evidence met the highest scientific standards and provided robust evidence to academics and decision-makers alike. The learnings from ARWEC’s published work have utility for healthcare systems aiming to prevent and manage obesity and its complications.
Vikram Karnik, MD FRCPC
Working with the team has been an awesome experience. Their insights and guidance were invaluable in launching our project. Their responses are always incredibly timely, and the accountability for their work is very impressive. I am so grateful to work with this team!
Leading medtech company
As an industry partner to surgeons, hospitals, and health systems, we are committed to generating high-quality evidence to support decision-making. Collaborating with Alberta RWEC has been invaluable to this process. Alberta’s RWEC helped generate clear and relevant insights that conveyed the value of our surgery technology within a Canadian context. Their expertise and objectivity have helped us translate complex data into clear and credible information to help guide policy and program development.
Michael Leo, Director, Market Access & Government Affairs
CSL Behring Canada
The research and analysis undertaken by the Alberta Real World Evidence Consortium on behalf of CSL Behring has advanced the robust evidence needed to demonstrate the value treatments for rare disorders to the Canadian healthcare system. It is precisely this kind of evidence – factual, real-world and drawn from Alberta’s rich administrative data sets that point all stakeholders towards a better future of policy-making related to improved access for patients, justifiable reimbursement and value for money in a public healthcare system. The work that was undertaken was all the more impressive since it involved many public jurisdictions in the Canadian healthcare system to provide a complete solution. The ARWEC team was professional, knowledgeable and innovative in their approach to this research – a great team to work with.