Science of Care Institute

About the Institute

We are the only research and innovation institute in Canada committed to improving health outcomes by emphasizing fundamental compassionate care. Fundamental care is the core of the Institute and focuses on caring practices and environments that address people's psychosocial, physical and relational needs. We bring these elements together to create a health-care experience that is both scientifically advanced and deeply human.

Launched in 2023, the Institute is located at Sinai Health's Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital and includes the Centre for Nursing Excellence.

The Institute empowers our clinicians and employees to grow in their careers by directly influencing what it means to provide exceptional care for the people who are our patients, locally and globally.

Strategic narrative

The Science of Care Institute represents a new frontier in health care that integrates the humanity of caring with scientific research and innovation, deeply rooted in reconciliation, equity, diversity and inclusion.

Our purpose

• Making compassionate care matter
• Redefining the value of care through world-leading science and innovation
• Driving curiosity, connection, co-design and community
• Transforming care and society in deeply meaningful and profound ways

Our strategic spheres

Our strategic spheres work together to define our pathway to excellence. They represent our commitment and daily action to enhance interprofessional and transdisciplinary collaboration, nurture talent and drive groundbreaking discoveries in compassionate care.

Agile and equitable innovation

By emphasizing human-centric sense-making, the Science of Care Institute champions agile and equitable innovation. Through transdisciplinary collaboration, we aim to understand and address health-care challenges holistically, ensuring person-centricity and iterative improvement in care practices.

Workforce magnetism and nursing excellence

We cultivate an environment where our health-care workforce can advance their careers by taking part in research and innovation. Through this approach, the Science of Care Institute helps retain top talent and reinforces a commitment to empathy and human-centred care. This is essential for nurturing excellence in nursing and across our entire workforce at Sinai Health.

Organizational and system learning

We promote a culture of inquiry and evidence-informed practice that enhances professional development and patient care. We act as a living lab within the health-care system, where teams contribute to research and innovation that advances new care processes and best practices to improve the care journey for everyone.

Collaborative practice and partnerships

We advance academic practice and collaborative care for patients, our professions and the health-care system through partnerships in collective action. The Science of Care Institute fosters this collaborative ethos, ensuring that care delivery is evidence-informed, integrated and responsive to individual needs and experiences. This work enhances the overall impact of compassionate care across the care continuum and patient journey.

Our objectives

Discover and innovate

Generate new knowledge and scientific breakthroughs by conducting research and driving innovation.

Build capacity and capabilities

Strengthen our Sinai Health community and partners through co-design and collaborations, including research, innovation programs and resources that use design thinking to solve real-world problems.

Evolve and sustain our business model

Advance and support our business model by seeking funding opportunities, such as peer-reviewed grants, commissioned funding and philanthropy, and by offering revenue-generating consultative services and programs within Sinai Health and with our external partners and community.

Translate and mobilize knowledge

Share results and insights from our research and innovation across our Science of Care Institute community to inform the adoption, scalability and sustainability of new discoveries and knowledge.

Attract and retain top talent

Build high-performing teams by offering opportunities to be part of a person-centred learning health system. We will engage our researchers, clinicians, staff, learners and volunteers to discover, innovate, learn and practise to their full scope in collaborative partnerships. This supports meaning, resilience and joy in work, which are core elements of Magnet® designation.

Influence and impact

Improve care using evaluation science and narrative stories that broaden our reach and make compassionate care more visible and valuable to society.