biomedical research, nephrology, knowledge translation Received 16 May 2017; revised manuscript accepted 20 October 2017 1 The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada 2 BC Provincial Renal Agency, Vancouver, Canada 3 First Nations Health Authority, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 4 Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada 5 Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 6 University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 7 Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ontario, Canada 8 Providence Health Care Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 9 Can-SOLVE CKD Network, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 10University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada 11Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada 12Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada 13The Kidney Foundation of Canada, Montreal, Québec, Canada 14Western University, London, Ontario, Canada 15Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, London, Ontario, Canada 16St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 17University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada 18Ontario Renal Network, Toronto, Canada 19University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada 20Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada 21The Interdisciplinary Chronic Disease Collaboration, Calgary, Alberta, Canada 22University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada 23University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada 24Seven Oaks General Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 25Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada 26The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 27Toronto General Hospital, Ontario, Canada 28University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 29McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada 30Population Health Research Institute, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Corresponding Author: Adeera Levin, The University of British Columbia, St. Paul’s Hospital, 1081 Burrard Street, Room 6010A, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6Z 1Y6. Email: alevin@providencehealth.bc.ca Levin et al 3 What was known before The evidence base for informing effective kidney care is limited, and the translation of existing knowledge to routine clinical care is slow. Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) has raised awareness of the need to generate knowledge that is more relevant to people affected by kidney disease and to accelerate the translation of evidence into improvement in kidney health and care. What this adds Patient-oriented research focuses on priorities and outcomes that matter to patients, seeking to engage them throughout the research process and to generate results that can accelerate improvements in kidney health and care. The Canadians Seeking Solutions and Innovations to Overcome Chronic Kidney Disease (Can-SOLVE CKD) Network embraces a national partnership strategy with researchers, patients, policy makers, and other partners across Canada to transform kidney research and care. Introduction Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a complex disorder that affects more than 4 million Canadians and costs the Canadian health care system more than $40 billion per year.1 The majority of people with CKD have multiple comorbidities, placing them at high risk for complications. However, people with CKD are often excluded from clinical studies related to kidney disease.2 Given this, the evidence base for guiding care in CKD is small, and even in areas where evidence exists, uptake of evidence into clinical practice has been slow. Compounding these complexities are the variable prognoses among patients with CKD and difficulties predicting who is most likely to develop complications over time. As such, health care professionals are unable to accurately inform patients of pertinent information such as time to dialysis or death and trajectories of disease progression. Although progress has been made, many knowledge gaps remain, notably the underlying disease mechanisms, the epidemiology and burden in different locations, and genetic and environmental interactions. Clearly these gaps in our knowledge of CKD need to be filled, but the current state of CKD research is not where it needs to be. A sufficient number of mechanistic targets have yet to be identified, and many trials have failed due to poor study design or challenges with recruitment. Much of the existing evidence base addresses the concerns and curiosity of researchers but does not necessarily align with the areas of highest priority to patients.3 Aligning research with patient needs and accelerating the translation of evidence into practice are now prerequisites for several health research funding competitions in the United Kingdom and the United States.4-6 In Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has launched the national Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR), a coalition of federal, provincial, and territorial partners dedicated to integrating research into care. The ultimate objective of SPOR is to foster evidence-informed and patient-centered care by bringing innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to the point of care, so as to ensure greater quality, accountability, and accessibility of care. As part of SPOR, CIHR is funding provincial SUPPORT (Support for People and Patient-Oriented Research and Trials) Units and national networks