SEARCH Projects
New for SEARCH VII
SEARCH
We have been told that the value of project work would be enhanced if:
- Projects were directly relevant/contributory to initiatives underway in the organization
- Deliverables were produced in a timely way
- Projects could involve or build skills and capacity within teams, as well as within the sponsored participant
SEARCH is working to provide just-in-time content and opportunities to learn through projects that are strongly connected to ongoing organizational initiatives. For SEARCH VII, therefore, we are seeking participants who are connected to ongoing organizational initiatives.
The projects for each year of the program will be similar in focus to previous years, but will be executed quite differently:
Year 1
What's the same? The main deliverable is a Synthesis Project; a review of what is known on a particular topic with emphasis on customizing the results of the review to suit the local context.
What's different? Teams of participants will work together to find and critically appraise a body of literature on a common theme such as "Best Practices for Safe Medication Administration". Individual participants will then work with staff in their home organizations to identify aspects of the literature that are most relevant to their initiative and to contextualize the findings to meet their needs. For example, the review might be refined to focus on "Safe Medication Administration Practices in Long Term Care Settings".
Year 2
What's the same? The main deliverable is a Knowledge Generating Project; a project involving the collection and or analysis of data to answer a question of relevance to the health system.
What's different? Participants will still work with teams, but rather than creating teams within the cohort of participants, we are asking participants to work with existing teams in their home organizations, and to develop a project relevant to their local priorities that builds on the results of the research synthesis completed in Year 1.
Following on the example provided above, an organizational project team may decide to do an evaluation project. To examine current medication practices for the purpose of developing an evaluation tool and process, as well as to establish a baseline to assess the impacts of quality improvement/assurance initiatives.
Participants will work with their organizationally-embedded teams to design the project, collect/access the data, conduct appropriate analysis and write up results in a useful format(s). These teams will have access to SEARCH faculty advisors and SEARCH staff for facilitation and project management assistance throughout the process.