TAHSN pilots a multi-hospital research collaboration framework
Following the early success of the Master Collaboration Agreement (MCA) that was signed between the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the University Health Network (UHN) in late 2024, additional TAHSN hospitals have collaborated to adapt the agreement to a multi-party arrangement, focused on research.
In Dec. 2025, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Unity Health Toronto signed a newly developed, multilateral version of the MCA along with CAMH and UHN. This collaboration model is now being piloted throughout spring 2026 and was built for scalability, with the objective of eventually spreading across all 14 TAHSN hospitals.
The goal of this MCA is to strengthen and leverage TAHSN’s large research ecosystem. It also advances TAHSN’s reputation as a research hub that is competitive for industry and talent, and that helps deliver high-quality and innovative patient care.
The MCA creates a strategic collaboration and legal framework to streamline research activities, enable joint clinical trials, and harmonize research approvals by simplifying legal and operational activities. The goal is to reduce duplication of institutional authorization processes and harmonize operational processes.
The implementation of the initial MCA between CAMH and UHN resulted in a steep reduction in research study start up times. Between Dec. 2024 and Sept. 2025, CAMH and UHN reported a decrease in research study implementation timelines from an average of 6-9 months to 2-3 months.
This six-month pilot will end with a symposium in June, where hospitals participating in the pilot will share lessons learned and benefits from operationalizing this multilateral MCA. Discussions on the how the MCA can be expanded and operationalized across TAHSN will take place.
