There are many promising innovative ideas in continuing care, but it can be hard to make the transition from idea to sustainable solution. A new initiative led by CLIQ and the Institute for Continuing Care Education and Research (ICCER) aims to help change that.  

CLIQ, in partnership with ICCER, has been awarded funding through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Voluntary Sector Knowledge Mobilization Support Grant to advance a new project focused on strengthening innovation readiness across the continuing care sector. The project is further supported through in-kind contributions from CLIQ, demonstrating a commitment to building the sector’s capacity to examine, adopt, and sustain innovative solutions. 

The project, From Trial to Practice: Building Innovation Readiness in Continuing Care, builds on the success of CLIQ's Guide for Innovators and represents the next phase of work to support evidence-informed innovation adoption within continuing care organizations. 

As innovation continues to play an increasingly important role in addressing the challenges facing the sector, organizations are often tasked with evaluating new ideas, technologies, and approaches while balancing operational realities and resource constraints. While many innovations demonstrate value during pilot projects, moving from trial to sustained implementation can be a significant challenge. 

This project seeks to address that gap by developing an Innovation Readiness Framework and Toolkit that will help organizations assess their readiness for innovation adoption and implementation. The framework will integrate existing sector resources, tools, and leading practices into a practical and accessible approach that supports organizational decision-making and implementation planning. 

Through collaboration with continuing care operators and sector stakeholders, the project will identify opportunities to strengthen consistency across the sector, reduce duplication of effort, and improve access to evidence-informed resources that support innovation adoption. 

The initiative will also include a series of knowledge mobilization activities designed to encourage learning, collaboration, and uptake across the sector. These activities will create opportunities for organizations to share experiences, explore emerging practices, and contribute to the development of resources that reflect the realities of continuing care. 

By focusing on organizational readiness, the project aims to help ensure that promising innovations can move beyond pilot phases and into sustainable practice, ultimately supporting stronger care experiences and outcomes for older adults.