Trade Missions: A Framework for Initiating Multinational Collaboration

Shirley Fenton
Managing Director, Waterloo Institute for Health Informatics Research

Monday, April 28, 2008
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Davis Centre 1304, University of Waterloo

View Video of Presentation in HI Alive Archive: Research Seminars Archive 2007-2008

Abstract
For most of us, participating in a trade mission would not be an attractive proposition. However, earlier this year, the Embassies of Canada in Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, The Hague and Brussels and the Canadian Consulate in Munich organized the Canadian E-Health and Telemedicine Trade Mission. The purpose of this mission was to raise awareness of Canadian research, industry and markets in eHealth and telemedicine, and to open doors for collaboration. The 8-member Canadian team included representatives from academia and industry who gave state of the art briefings on IT and telecom for healthcare. This 4th Canada-European ICT Trade Mission drew record participation from senior management from regional health authorities, network operators, hospital administrators and systems integrators focused on the healthcare sector. After the US, Europe is Canada’s most important trading partner with two-way trade totaling $90.6 billion in 2006. These countries share many of the same interests and problems as Canada, and they are our peers related to information and communications technologies, research facilities and eHealth solutions. I will discuss the nature and potential value of trade missions, what we learned and how we benefited from participation in this trade mission, particularly from the vantage point of UW and the Waterloo Region. I will highlight several examples of the progress these countries have made in developing and delivering eHealth solutions, and the collaboration opportunities that have emerged.

About the Speaker
Shirley Fenton (BES, MA, University of Waterloo) is the Managing Director of the Waterloo Institute for Health Informatics Research and a Research Associate of the Computer Systems Group at the University of Waterloo. She is the Program Manager of the Applied Health Informatics Bootcamp. Her research interests include health informatics, workflow, communities of practice, innovative Internet and web applications, and community information utilities/portals. She is active in building research and technology transfer relationships with health care providers, government and companies providing services and technology to the health care system. With CSG, she continues to work on research programs related to information technology and its deployment across various economic sectors. She is a member of COACH and the Intelligent Waterloo Steering Committee.