In the past, Northern health care agencies have lacked the capacity to conduct in-house evidence-based planning and program evaluation to support policy development and program design; and until recent years, with a void in university presence, the north also lacked the capacity for health research based in the Territories.

In 2014, the ICHR and partner applicants obtained a CIHR planning grant for a primary care network for the north via the SPOR Initiative (Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research). By creating a research network based in the north, connecting key stakeholders in the policy and clinical sectors, and building strategic alliances with select research institutions with the appropriate research expertise, the quality, timeliness and acceptability of policy advice will increase the likelihood of health system change.