In contemporary healthcare, nurses need to be users and generators of evidence to underpin their practice. As users of evidence they need to be able to locate evidence and critically appraise it. As generators of evidence nurses need to be able to research their own practice and translate those findings into practice. The overall aim of this project is to raise the profile of research in nursing by increasing both research capacity and capability and to enhance cooperation between higher education institution and hospitals. This has the ultimate aim to provide care to patients and families consistent with the best available evidence thereby improving patient outcomes (CMFT 2009). This project addresses two complex issues: the lack of research knowledge among RNs and poor research alliance between hospitals and HEIs. The project consortium consists of hospitals and HEIs that will address these issues jointly. The profile of research in nursing will be raised by increasing both research capacity and capability. Nursing research knowledge alliance will be encouraged through 5 identified objectives:1. to build infrastructure with research leadership that will support a research active environment (analysing nursing work environment and enablers/barriers in facilitating nurses to do research, establishing nursing research groups/units; identifying research mentors within the hospitals and linked researchers at HEI); 2. to improve access to research training and support opportunities (developing online learning programme on nursing research);3. to identify research priorities in practice and link in with HEI to address them jointly4. to encourage intra-disciplinary, multi-disciplinary & inter-agency research collaborations (research group establishment; journal clubs);5. to raise the profile of research conducted by nurses to internal and external organisations (encouraging nurses to submit abstracts to conferences, journals and improve research writing skills.