On behalf of the FHLIP 2027 planning team…
Join us for the fourth annual Future of Health Leadership, Informatics and Policy (FHLIP) Conference
The FHLIP conference grew out of the MHI program at IHPME, leveraging its focus on digital health, leadership, and policy to create a platform for advancing proactive health system transformation.
2027 Theme | From Algorithms to Advocacy: AI for a Human-Centred World
“From Algorithms to Advocacy: AI for a Human-Centred World” reflects a timely shift in how we think about artificial intelligence. AI is no longer only a technical tool; it is increasingly shaping diagnosis and clinical care, documentation and workflow, public health, research, and system planning. Recent guidance from the World Health Organization and Health Canada shows that the real challenge is not simply building powerful systems, but ensuring they are designed and used in ways that are person-centred, equitable, transparent, safe, privacy-protective, and accountable across the full lifecycle of use. In this context, a “human-centred world” is one in which AI – “Augmented Intelligence” – supports human judgment, strengthens care relationships, and improves outcomes for patients, communities, and health systems rather than treating efficiency as the only goal. This theme also places advocacy at the centre of innovation. It asks a practical and urgent question: once algorithms enter real systems, who helps shape their purpose, guardrails, and impact? Recent OECD and peer-reviewed work shows that trustworthy AI depends on human rights, democratic values, human oversight, community engagement, clear communication, AI literacy, and the meaningful involvement of patients, clinicians, researchers, and civil society.
For FHLIP, this theme builds naturally on the conference’s commitment to proactive, connected, and equitable health-system transformation, while creating space for evidence-based discussion about governance, implementation, trust, and justice. It invites submissions that move beyond technical performance alone to examine how AI can be translated into policy, practice, and public benefit in ways that are rigorous, responsible, and genuinely responsive to human needs.
If you have any questions regarding FHLIP 2027, please direct all inquiries to:
FHLIP 2027, themed “From Algorithms to Advocacy: AI for a Human-Centred World,” focuses on advancing responsible, equitable, and human-centred uses of artificial intelligence in healthcare.
Submissions are invited from researchers, practitioners, policymakers, clinicians, health leaders, designers, technologists, patient advocates, students, and other contributors working at the intersection of AI, health leadership, informatics, and policy.
Submitted papers and extended abstracts will undergo peer review. Submissions should align with the conference themes and translate research findings, implementation experience, policy analysis, technical work, or practice-based learning into clear recommendations for action.
Selected papers may have the opportunity to submit revised versions for consideration in the peer-reviewed journal Studies in Health Technology and Informatics.
Submission Instructions
| Requirement | Instruction |
|---|---|
| Submission Type | Full papers or extended abstracts. |
| Template | Prepare submissions using the IOS Press template. |
| Page Limit | Submissions must not exceed five (5) pages in total and must follow the IOS format standard. This includes all content, figures, tables, and references. |
| File Format | Save the submission as a PDF. |
| File Naming | LastName_FirstName_FHLIPConference_2027.pdf |
| Submission Portal | Submit through the official FHLIP 2027 online submission form. |
| Questions | Please email ihpme.fhlip.conference@utoronto.ca |
Please ensure that your submission aligns with at least one conference theme and clearly identifies the action, policy change, implementation decision, governance approach, or practice improvement that your work supports.
Key Dates and Peer Review
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Call for abstracts and papers opens | June 8, 2026 |
| Submission deadline | September 20, 2026 |
| Notification of acceptance | October 31, 2026 |
| Final revised submission deadline | November 30, 2026 |
NOTES:
- Each submission will undergo peer review by an expert panel. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by October 31, 2026.
- If your paper or extended abstract is selected for presentation, you must confirm your participation in the conference within one week of notification and submit the final revised version by November 30, 2026.
- Accepted submissions will only be included in the conference program and considered for publication if at least one author confirms attendance and presents the work at the conference.
- Submissions not selected for oral presentation may be offered an opportunity to present as posters.
Call Overview
Artificial intelligence is rapidly entering healthcare. It can summarize, predict, triage, personalize, automate, and guide. But technical capability is not enough.
AI must be connected to the real pressures facing healthcare: limited attention, scarce resources, workforce strain, rising costs, uneven access, fragmented data, and growing public expectations. Administrative burden is consuming clinician time that should be spent with patients. Primary care systems must meet new expectations for accessibility, continuity, team-based care, and formal patient attachment while operating under financial and workforce constraints.
As AI moves from pilots into operational environments, a critical gap remains: translating algorithms, evidence, and insights into practice, policy, and advocacy that meaningfully improve health outcomes.
The central question is: How do we turn algorithms into advocacy for better health systems?
The FHLIP 2027 Conference invites researchers, practitioners, policymakers, clinicians, health leaders, designers, technologists, patient advocates, community leaders, students, and trainees to submit work that explores the journey from algorithms to advocacy – how knowledge about AI is generated, interpreted, communicated, and applied to shape decisions, services, and systems that are fair, effective, and people-centred.
Purpose of the Conference
FHLIP 2027 aims to:
- Advance knowledge translation between AI research, clinical practice, health system operations, and policy.
- Share practical insights that inform real-world decision-making and care delivery.
- Bridge disciplinary, professional, and sectoral boundaries in healthcare.
- Support responsible adoption of AI through shared learning, dialogue, and evidence-based advocacy.
Papers and extended abstracts should go beyond describing AI systems to demonstrate how insights are operationalized, communicated, or scaled to influence outcomes for patients, providers, organizations, and populations.
Conference Themes and Guiding Questions
Submissions are invited across, but are not limited to, the following themes:
Types of Submissions Welcome
All submissions should include an advocacy angle. They should argue for action, change, adoption, adaptation, disinvestment, or a different path forward. We want work that translates findings into clear recommendations: here is what we should do, or here is what we should stop doing.
We welcome:
Submissions should clearly articulate what was learned, how it was translated, and what action you are advocating for.
Methodological Expectations
We value practical learning over academic novelty, but all submissions must meet basic standards of methodological credibility:
Explain how you gathered evidence, analyzed data, or reached conclusions. If it is a case study, describe the setting and approach. If it is a policy analysis, explain your analytic framework. If it is a reflective practice piece, be explicit about your positionality and experience base.
Acknowledge what you can and cannot claim. Single-site implementations have limits on generalizability. Small samples have limits on statistical power. Policy analyses reflect particular perspectives. Transparency strengthens credibility.
Show your reasoning. If you are advocating for action, explain what evidence – empirical, experiential, or theoretical – supports that position and what assumptions you are making.
Consider what else might explain your findings or why your recommendation might not work in different contexts.
We will not publish work that makes unsupported claims, ignores contradictory evidence, or conflates correlation with causation without acknowledgment. We welcome honest accounts of what happened, why it matters, and what should happen next, even when the methods are observational, the sample is small, or the evidence is experiential.
Evaluation Criteria
Submissions will be evaluated on the following:
Audience Relevance
FHLIP 2027 is a multidisciplinary forum for those working at the intersection of AI, health leadership, informatics, and policy. Submissions should be accessible and relevant to a diverse audience, including policymakers, public servants, health system leaders, clinicians, informaticians, researchers, patient advocates, community leaders, students, trainees, and emerging scholars.
Closing Invitation
Thank you for considering the FHLIP Conference 2027 as a platform to showcase the policy, leadership, implementation, and advocacy implications of your research in health informatics, digital health, and AI. FHLIP 2027 invites you to help turn algorithms into advocacy—and advocacy into healthcare that is more accessible, sustainable, equitable, and human-centred.
Questions may be directed to: ihpme.fhlip.conference@utoronto.ca
We appreciate your valuable contributions and look forward to reviewing your submission.
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Communications
Marielle Boutin
Email Address: ihpme.communications@utoronto.ca