Canada Research Chair in Shared Decision Making and Knowledge Translation

What Canada Research Chair in Shared Decision Making and Knowledge Translation does

The Canada Research Chair in Shared Decision Making and Knowledge Translation is a federally funded academic research chair established in 2006 and hosted at Université Laval's Faculty of Medicine within the VITAM – Centre de recherche en santé durable in Québec City. It advances shared decision-making in healthcare by equipping clinicians, medical students, and family medicine residents with the skills and tools to involve patients actively in decisions throughout the continuum of care, while engaging patients and citizen partners directly. The Chair, held by Dr. France Légaré, has produced more than 493 peer-reviewed publications, over 462 PubMed-indexed articles, more than 49,968 citations, and an H-index of 95, anchoring its credibility in the field.

Its core offering is an integrated suite of knowledge-mobilization resources delivered through the decisionpartagee.vitam.ulaval.ca platform: decision aids in document, video, and questionnaire formats; continuing professional development activities for healthcare professionals and trainees; standardized questionnaires to support implementation; and educational video capsules that facilitate dialogue between patients and providers. The portfolio is complemented by international knowledge-mobilization initiatives, including the April 2026 ENGAGÉEs International Forum convened with partners in Canada, Brazil, Cameroon, and Senegal to promote equitable shared decision-making for women and girls in the Global South.

The business model is non-commercial: the Chair is funded through the federal Canada Research Chairs program and complementary provincial (FRQ) and institutional sources, and all outputs are distributed free of charge. Its go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, relying on academic channels, partner institutions (KT Canada, CIUSSS Capitale-Nationale, Unité soutien SSA Quebec, VITAM, Université Laval), digital communications (bilingual website, CyberImpact newsletter), and international forums to reach healthcare professionals, students, patients, community groups, and government organizations.

Name

Canada Research Chair in Shared Decision Making and Knowledge Translation

Legal name

Canada Research Chair in Shared Decision Making and Knowledge Translation (Chaire de recherche du Canada sur la décision partagée et la mobilisation des connaissances)

Website

https://decision.chaire.fmed.ulaval.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Canada Research Chair in Shared Decision Making and Knowledge Translation is a federally funded academic research chair at Université Laval that develops decision aids, training, and knowledge-mobilization resources to enable shared decision-making between healthcare professionals and patients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Research and Knowledge Translation Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic Medical Centers & Teaching Hospitals (University-Affiliated) (EDAHAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) & Teaching Hospitals (HLAFAAAA), Public Research Universities with Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) (EDAHAAAC)

Keywords

• Shared decision-making
• Healthcare research
• Knowledge translation
• Patient engagement tools
• Continuing professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Québec

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government research funding (Canada Research Chair program): The Chair is funded as a Canada Research Chair, which is a prestigious federal government research program. It operates within Université Laval and receives institutional support. Revenue supports research activities, team salaries, training programs, and international knowledge mobilization.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Academic research chair that develops and disseminates tools, training, and resources to implement shared decision-making between healthcare professionals and patients throughout the care continuum. The Chair conducts peer-reviewed research, produces decision aids, questionnaires, video capsules, and continuing professional development activities, and mobilizes knowledge nationally and internationally through partnerships.

Product overview

The Canada Research Chair in Shared Decision Making and Knowledge Translation offers an integrated suite of knowledge mobilization resources centered on shared decision-making in healthcare. The portfolio consists of four interconnected offerings: Decision Aids (available as documents, videos, and questionnaires), Continuing Professional Development Activities (training programs for medical students, residents, and practicing health professionals), Questionnaires (assessment tools for implementation), and Video Content (educational resources for patient-professional dialogue). Together, these resources aim to equip healthcare professionals and patients with the skills necessary to promote shared decision-making throughout the healthcare continuum.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Decision Aids (Outils en prise de décision partagée) Tools related to shared decision-making available in various formats such as documents, videos, and questionnaires to facilitate implementation across different health contexts and user types. Intended for healthcare professionals and patients.
• Continuing Professional Development Activities (Activités de développement professionnel continu) Training and professional development programs for medical students, family medicine residents, and practicing health professionals to develop skills for promoting active patient participation in decision-making.
• Questionnaires Assessment tools in questionnaire format designed to facilitate the implementation of shared decision-making in healthcare settings.
• Video Content (Capsules vidéo) Educational video resources dedicated to shared decision-making, offering clear and accessible content to help understand options and foster informed dialogue with healthcare professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• The research program creates a more people-centred health system and ultimately sustainable cities and communities with a focus on justice and equity.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• International partners: Canada, Brazil, Cameroon, SenegalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026The ENGAGÉEs International Forum (April 2026) brought together partners from Canada, Brazil, Cameroon, and Senegal to promote equitable shared decision-making for women and girls in the Global South. The event strengthened international collaborations and identified priorities for the next steps of the project.
• Santé Québec (CIUSSS Capitale-Nationale)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSanté Québec, through CIUSSS Capitale-Nationale, is listed as a partner of the Chair. The partnership supports the Chair's mission to implement shared decision-making across the healthcare continuum and in social services.
• KT Canada (Knowledge Translation Canada)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKT Canada is listed as a partner. The partnership aligns with the Chair's focus on knowledge translation and mobilization, supporting national scaling of shared decision-making research.
• Unité soutien SSA QuebeccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnité soutien SSA Quebec is listed as a partner, supporting the Chair's initiatives in health and social services research, scaling, and knowledge mobilization.
• VITAM - Centre de recherche en santé durableflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerVITAM – Centre de recherche en santé durable (Centre for Sustainable Health Research) is the host institution of the Chair at Université Laval. The Chair operates within VITAM's research ecosystem, sharing facilities and collaborating on sustainable health research initiatives.
• Université LavalflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversité Laval is the hosting university of the Chair, providing institutional support, infrastructure, and academic credibility. The Chair is affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine.
• Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFRQ (Fonds de recherche du Québec) is listed as a partner, supporting the Chair's research activities through Quebec's research funding ecosystem.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Healthwise: Commercial vendor producing patient decision aids, health education content, and clinical SDM tools at scale — adjacent competitor that commercializes the same category of outputs the Chair offers free of charge.
• Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice: U.S. academic center with deep work on shared decision-making, patient engagement, and clinical practice policy — overlapping thematic ground with the Chair's research mandate but operating at broader health-system scale.
• Mayo Clinic Shared Decision Making Program: Major U.S. academic medical center running a dedicated SDM national resource center, producing decision aids and training for clinicians — directly comparable function housed within a much larger institution.

Direct peers

• MAGIC (Making Good Decisions in Collaboration with patients): UK-based research initiative focused on shared decision-making implementation in clinical practice, comparable as a peer research network producing SDM tools and implementation evidence.
• Radboud University Medical Center — Shared Decision Making Research: European academic medical center with a dedicated SDM research group producing decision aids and implementation science, comparable in research scope but operating from a different geography.
• Ottawa Hospital Research Institute — Patient Decision Aids: Ottawa-based research program that develops and validates patient decision aids and shared decision-making tools, directly comparable to the Chair's decision-aid product suite and SDM training focus.
• McMaster University — Knowledge Translation Program: Canadian academic KT program already partnered with the Chair via KT Canada, producing overlapping methodology and training outputs in knowledge translation and SDM implementation.

Regional players

• Université de Sherbrooke — Centre de recherche du CHUS: Quebec-based academic research center with active patient-partnership and shared decision-making research, comparable as a regional Quebec peer within the same provincial ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Canada Research Chair in Shared Decision Making and Knowledge Translation