The Praxis Group™ | Involving People.

Alberta, along with many other areas of the world, wrestled with the need to bring public sector spending into alignment with available revenues. In this environment, organizations must demonstrate the benefits of research and development. For this reason, the Alberta Science and Research Authority (ASRA) conducted a three-stage consultation process to assist in setting research priorities provincially.

ASRA contracted Praxis to design a consultation process to obtain input from a cross-section of knowledgeable and interested Albertans. ASRA, in conjunction with Praxis, implemented a modified Delphi process, which allowed participants to increase their understanding of issues with each round. This staged approach reduced the potential for a narrow perspective to emerge, which can develop when participants to a single event do not have the opportunity to review and to consider data and input from others. This consultation helped ASRA establish research priorities and capabilities based on expert opinion.

Stages of the Process

Stage One

At the outset, 1200 questionnaires were distributed to research experts in Alberta, Canada and internationally. The Stage One questionnaire focused on refining a broad list of Research Application Areas (RAAs) as presented by ASRA and to obtain input on the assessment framework. Praxis analyzed the 300 submissions that we presented in the Stage Two instructions document. The results indicated that the RAAs were unevenly represented in these 300 responses. Thus, ASRA distributed additional questionnaires to individuals from the under-represented areas.

Stage Two

The task in Stage Two was to prioritize the RAAs. ASRA distributed the Stage Two questionnaire to those who had participated in Stage One. Participants in Stage Two evaluated each RAA based on the attractiveness and feasibility of research investment in these areas. Participants had the choice of completing a Stage Two questionnaire, attending the workshop where they completed a re-evaluation worksheet, or both. The ASRA-Praxis team held four workshops across Alberta. Participants submitted 105 Stage Two questionnaires prior to the workshops. The results from these questionnaires were analyzed and distributed at the workshops. The 175 workshop participants compared these data to their own original ratings. At the end of their workshop, they re-rated the RAAs based on what they had learned during the workshop discussion. Over 250 people participated in Stage Two with 226 participants submitting rating data.

Stage Three

In the final phase of the consultation process, Praxis provided an analysis of the data gathered in the previous two stages, which assisted ASRA in identifying strategic R and D issues for further study.

Sample Project Files

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Setting Research Priorities for Alberta: Background Paper

Setting Research Priorities for Alberta: A Background Report

Setting Research Priorities for Alberta: Quick Facts

Setting Research Priorities for Alberta: Stage 1 Questionnaire

Setting Research Priorities for Alberta: Stage 1 Results

Setting Research Priorities for Alberta: Stage 2 Instructions