In March 2013, the RNAO was officially recognized for its contribution to the international nursing community when it was accredited as an International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP) Research and Development Centre. This distinction, awarded by the International Council of Nurses (ICN), makes RNAO the tenth ICNP Research and Development Centre in the world.

This award comes as a result of RNAO's ongoing contribution to ICN’s eHealth Program through the development of ICNP codes to complement the evidenced-based nursing order sets and outcome measures derived from Best Practice Guidelines.

By collaborating with ICN to describe RNAO’s BPG recommendations using this standardized language, and disseminating these recommendations as ICNP-encoded nursing order sets, researchers will be able to more effectively study nurses' impact on patient outcomes regardless of the setting or geographical location.

RNAO's designation as an ICNP Research and Development Centre highlights Canada's contribution to global health along with organizations in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Iran, Korea, Poland, Portugal and the United States.