ICES@Queen's Health Services Research Facility

A satellite site of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto, ICES currently has two active satellite locations: ICES@Queen's (opened in 2007), and ICES@uOttawa (opened in 2010).  Two additional locations are currently under development at the University of Toronto, and the University of Western, Ontario. 

Expanding the Capacity of ICES

The purpose of establishing satellite sites is to expand capacity for high quality health services research on a province-wide basis.  This expansion model creates an opportunity for groups of researchers who with to pursue research that aligns with the ICES mission and goals, and who cannot otherwise access linked healthcare administrative data to join the Institute from remote locations.  This initiative will expand the capacity of ICES to conduct research that contributes to the effectiveness, quality, equity, and efficiency of health care and health services in Ontario through an increased number of scientists and an increased breadth of scientific expertise.

History of the ICES Ontario Expansion

Under the initial agreement by which ICES received data holdings from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC), it was not possible to share the data with researchers outside the ICES building on the Sunnybrook campus (now called ICES-Central).  However, with the signing of a new agreement with the MOHLTC in 2005, ICES is now able to make the linked health data available under appropriate conditions to others who work outside the Sunnybrook site.  In the spring of 2006, ICES made a proposal to the MOHLTC as part of its renewal application that an ICES site be established at each of the Ontario medical schools, and the University of Waterloo.  The MOHLTC endorsed the principles of increasing access to high quality data for researchers, and building broader capacity for policy-relevant health services research, and a plan to pilot this model at Queen's University in 2007 was established.