• Roshan Perera and Helen J Moriarty.
• Medical Education Unit, Department of the Dean, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago, Wellington, P,O, Box 7343, Wellington South 6242, New Zealand. roshan.perera@otago.ac.nz
• Bmc Health Serv Res. 2011 Sep 20; 11: 226.

BackgroundIn a manner similar to the television action hero MacGyver, health services researchers need to respond to the pressure of unpredictable demands and constrained time frames. The results are often both innovative and functional, with the creation of outputs that could not have been anticipated in the initial planning and design of the research.DiscussionIn the conduct of health services research many challenges to robust research processes are generated as a result of the interface between academic research, health policy and implementation agendas. Within a complex and rapidly evolving environment the task of the health services researcher is, therefore, to juggle sometimes contradictory pressures to produce valid results.SummaryThis paper identifies the MacGyver-type dilemmas which arise in health services research, wherein innovation may be called for, to maintain the intended scientific method and rigour. These 'MacGyver drivers' are framed as opposing issues from the perspective of both academic and public policy communities. The ideas expressed in this paper are illustrated by four examples from research projects positioned at the interface between public policy strategy and academia.

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