The IDEAL Collaboration is an initiative to improve the quality of research in surgery. It is:
- A model that describes the stages of innovation in surgery: Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment, Long-term study
- A set of recommendations at each stage of the model that have been developed by experts in evidence-based surgery, for example on improving methodology and how to address the challenges of randomized controlled trials in surgery
- An international group of surgeons, researchers, journal editors, methodologists, statisticians, and other people who are committed to producing, disseminating, and evaluating quality research in surgery.
Framework
The IDEAL Framework describes the stages through which interventional therapy innovation normally passes, the characteristics of each stage and the study design types which we have recommended for each.