Leadership: the critical success factor in the rise or fall of useful research activity AMANDA HENDERSON RN, RM, PhD 1 , SARAH WINCH RN, PhD 2 and KERRI HOLZHAUSER RN, BN 1 1 Nursing Practice Development Unit, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, Australia and 2 Senior Lecturer, School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia Introduction Well-developed nursing knowledge has the power to improve the quality of care that patients receive. These improvements depend on the generation of findings that inform practice, the targeted dissemination of these findings and integration into practice. While these req- uisites for quality care are well known, the systems for research-based knowledge generation and processes through which research findings are successfully inte- grated into work practices are complex and not always readily utilized in clinical contexts or acknowledged in the literature (Henderson et al. 2005). While there has been a flurry of activity around embedding evidence into practice, there has been somewhat less attention paid to clinical environments generating the evidence in the first place. What would seem to be self-evident is that practice environments should generate the knowledge that they require. This notion is often lost in the socio-political context of practice and primary field of knowledge production. Quite often research happens away from and is Correspondence Amanda Henderson Nursing Practice Development Unit Princess Alexandra Hospital Woolloongabba 4102 Brisbane Australia E-mail: amanda_henderson@health. qld.gov.au HENDERSON A., WINCH S., & HOLZHAUSER K. (2009) Journal of Nursing Management 17, 942–946 Leadership: the critical success factor in the rise or fall of useful research activity Aim To describe how momentum towards building research capacity has developed through aligning research activity with executive responsibility via strategic planning processes that direct operational structures and processes for research activity. Background Reflecting on the development of research capacity over many years at complex tertiary referral hospitals reveals that building nursing knowledge is too important to be left to chance or whim but needs a strategic focus, appropriate resourcing and long-term sustainability through infrastructure. Key issues A number of key approaches we uncovered as successful include: (i) articulation of questions consistent with the strategic direction of the health context that can be addressed through research evidence; (ii) engagement and dissemination through making research meaningful; and (iii) feedback that informs the executive about the contribution of research activity to guide policy and practice decisions. Conclusions Leadership teams need to ensure that the development of research knowledge is a strategic priority. The focus also needs to be more broadly on creating research capacity than focussing on small operational issues. Implications for nursing management Research capacity is developed when it is initiated, supported and monitored by leadership. Keywords: health service research, leadership, research capacity Accepted for publication: 9 February 2009 Journal of Nursing Management, 2009, 17, 942–946 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2009.01006.x 942 ª 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation ª 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd