Initiative calls for ‘radical collaboration’
Alberta’s hospitals and health data need to be opened to a growing sector of health researchers and entrepreneurs if Edmonton’s Health City initiative is to succeed, say officials.
Health City — unveiled Thursday but first pitched in Mayor Don Iveson’s 2016 State of the City address — aims to tackle one of the big gaps that’s keeping the great health research happening in Edmonton from leading to more local jobs.
Health staff, researchers, entrepreneurs and funders can’t operate in silos anymore, said Jodi Abbott, chair of the steering committee, calling for “radical collaboration.”
“We have this incredible health system that is like no other,” said Abbott, who is also president of NorQuest College. “How do we create an environment of innovation?”
Roughly 250 industry executives, researchers and health professionals gathered at the Shaw Conference Centre to hear details of the new strategy Thursday. It’s based on more than 200 stakeholder interviews, Abbott said.
“We have a clear sense of what’s needed,” Iveson said after the presentation, adding all players are finally ready to move it forward.
Jason Pincock, chief executive for DynaLife and member of the steering committee, said the issue is as Albertans, “we haven’t done a great job of buying our own research.”
Alberta invests in top-level university researchers, he said. They have breakthroughs with new drugs, services and equipment. But safely testing and commercializing these is incredibly complex and Alberta’s unified health system can be difficult to work with, said Pincock.
Researchers and entrepreneurs often head elsewhere to find the independent hospitals and financiers ready to test the products and get them ready for market.
“If they go somewhere else, chances are their first employees will be there,” he said.
They’ll never come back, he said. Alberta’s health system will be stuck buying someone else’s innovation again.
Edmonton should focus on Health City because it has so many pieces of the puzzle already, Abbott said. Alberta’s health system, which serves four million people, has vast amounts of health data it just needs to share with researchers, and TEC Edmonton, which supports new companies, already has a focus area on health.
What’s needed is to bring all parts of the system together, said Abbott. Then health experts can focus on supporting the best ideas together, lining up seed grants from Alberta Innovates with the products Alberta Health Services is eager to pilot.
Venture capital will be needed to scale up businesses. But successful entrepreneurs can be connected with startup companies through Health City, said Pincock: “One success builds on another success.”
Health City launched its website Thursday, EdmontonHealthCity.ca, with blog posts highlighting the innovation Edmonton has already achieved.
The initiative will continue to be guided by a community board. Their staff will initially work under the City of Edmonton, but funding is expected to come from all levels of government and industry as the project grows.