SOAR: Support Opportunities and Assistance for Research

Support Opportunities and Assistance for Research (SOAR) is a program designed to support health research initiatives throughout Horizon Health Network. SOAR consists of a team of highly-skilled research professionals with experience in quantitative and qualitative methods and clinical research conduct and administration.

No, it is a competitive program through which individual research projects can obtain support services. The services may consist of an entire research team dedicated to a SOAR approved research project.

All areas of healthcare research will be considered except for industry sponsored clinical trials. Research exploring health outcomes of groups of individuals and their many interrelated conditions and factors will be an important focus. The research should seek the highest level of evidence while balancing the need for practical science. All research is expected to be of the calibre suitable for publication in a recognized scholarly research journal.

The SOAR team is located in Saint John, within Horizon’s Department of Research Services located at Hilyard Place (560 Main Street, Suite A200), but supports projects throughout all of Horizon Health Network.

No, the project’s primary site can be anywhere within New Brunswick and can include collaborators from across Horizon Health or outside of the organization. Requests for project support with regional impacts will be viewed favourably.

No, the primary investigator’s primary affiliation can be based at any Horizon facility in the province.

Any Horizon-affiliated clinicians or staff without current clinical research support can apply. This includes experienced and novice researchers, clinicians, lab technicians, nurses, and administrators. In fact, anyone who has a question that could become a research project (even if they have no clinical or research experience) can apply.

SOAR will not provide support for initiatives focused on Quality Improvement, hospital accreditation, adherence to guidelines, or other similar topics.

The SOAR team is comprised of individuals with advanced degrees in statistics and research methodology, as well as substantial experience conducting various types of research, grant writing, data collection and study coordination.

If the project is already underway, you may not apply to SOAR but please contact Research Services (ResearchServices@HorizonNB.ca) to request statistical or other types of support.

The SOAR team will only provide support for those researchers with project ideas for which they do not have the resources and time to conduct it themselves. If a researcher wishes to conduct the research on their own (or with their team) they are encouraged to contact Research Services (ResearchServices@HorizonNB.ca) to discuss their support needs.