Abstract

In the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, Aslan the all-powerful but benevolent lion does not need to have his tail twisted; rather, he twists tails to create convergence and harmony in his dream world. In this issue's lead article, "Twisting the Lion's Tail: Collaborative Health Policy Making in British Columbia," the authors discuss the problems regarding better coordination of health services research, knowledge translation and policy making. The roles of academia, health authorities and government are presently unclear, with leadership differences, power discrepancies, conflicting agendas, lag times and systemic structural complexity. Exploring these issues in British Columbia, Lindstrom, MacLeod and Levy advocate a change in perspective from practice gaps to bridging knowledge boundaries. Recommendations include networking of academia, action research and strengthening of relationships between stakeholders. However, a key cohesive element seems missing. Health technology assessment (HTA) is a formidable, dynamic driving force. With over 20 years' experience in HTA, Canada has a number of world-class innovative agencies federally and provincially that actively involve academia to generate evidence for informed policy making. Increased use of evidence-based medicine in research and the clinic may be achieved by augmenting HTA's scientific capacity through the creation of pan-Canadian exchange forums and by boosting the demand for knowledge translation.