International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, 26:3 (2010), 341–347. c  Cambridge University Press 2010 doi:10.1017/S0266462310000383 Priority setting for health technology assessment at CADTH Don Husereau, Michel Boucher, Hussein Noorani Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe a current practical approach of priority setting of health technology assessment (HTA) research that involves multi-criteria decision analysis and a deliberative process. Methods: Criteria related to HTA prioritization were identified and grouped through a systematic review and consultation with a selection committee. Criteria were scored through a pair-wise comparison approach. Criteria were pruned based on the average weights obtained from consistent (consistency index < 0.2) responders and consensus. HTA proposals are ranked based on available information and a weighted criteria score. The rank, along with additional contextual information and discussion among committee members, is used to achieve consensus on HTA research priorities. Results: Six of eleven criteria represented > 75 percent of the weight behind committee member decisions to conduct an HTA. These criteria were disease burden, clinical impact, alternatives, budget impact, economic impact, and available evidence. Since May 2006, committees have considered 102 proposals at sixteen biannual in-person advisory committee meetings. These have selected twenty-nine research priorities for the HTA program. Conclusions: The approach works well and was easy to implement. Feedback from committee members has been positive. This approach may assist HTA and other research agencies in better priority setting by informing the selection of the most important and policy-relevant topics in the presence of a wide variety of research proposals. This may in turn lead to efficiently allocating resources available for HTA research. Keywords: Health priorities, Technology assessment, Biomedical, Organizational objectives, Priority setting Health technology assessment (HTA) agencies must set re- search priorities when the resources required for assessing technologies eligible for evaluation outweighs the available resources to conduct them. Both theoretical and applied methods of priority setting in HTA (7;11;14;15) and health services research (5;8;18) have been published. Guidance for priority setting in HTA is also available (4;9) and suggests the method used be transparent, explicit, systematic, pragmatic, efficient, and consistent with the mission or goals of the HTA program that is setting priorities. The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH, formerly the Canadian Coordinating Of- fice for Health Technology Assessment) is an independent organization that is funded by and serves the federal, provin- cial, and territorial ministries of health and their constituents. Rather than one single health system, Canada provides health services through thirteen provincial and territorial govern- ments (1). These healthcare systems are publicly funded with universal coverage for hospital and physician services con- tingent on provincial residency requirements. Private insur- ance companies are not able to provide coverage for services provided through the public funding. Drug costs for outpa- tients and long-term care is not included in this, although all provinces offer some public coverage (1). The priority setting process for HTA at the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health has evolved 341