New Committee to Align Research

The Research Committee brings together highly experienced researchers and health administrators representing the four Local Health Districts, the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network (at Westmead), the University of Sydney and the affiliated independent medical research institutes that comprise the partnership.

The new committee’s primary purpose is to ensure that SHP-funded research is of high impact and aligned with the overarching strategy of the Partnership.  The Committee will make recommendations about how the annual allocation of funding to SHP by the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) is to be disbursed.

Research Committee Chairman, University of Sydney Emeritus Professor Stephen Leeder, says the challenge for the committee is to identify research that can reach right across the Sydney Health Partnership.

“We are looking for research that offers the prospect of producing results which could inform clinical and public health practice across all of the Partnership,” he said.

“Our passion is to support research that can lead to evidence-based healthcare improvements that step over any barriers to their implementation across the health system.”

Professor Leeder, who is also the Director of the Research and Education Network at Western Sydney Local Health District, says the committee is assessing applications to SHP for a third round of grants (Round 2.2) funded by the MRFF through its Rapid Applied Research Translation (RART) scheme.

“Member organisations in Sydney Health Partners are encouraged to synchronise their research, education and clinical agendas,” he said.

“We would love to see the removal of barriers to improve access, efficiency and outcomes and encourage free movement of data, people and resources across the SHP and well beyond.”

“This is tough work and I’d be very happy if in a couple of years’ time we had notable research projects underway in several topic areas that crossed institutional boundaries and captured the attention and support of health service leaders.”

Pending Commonwealth approval, the recipients of the Round 2.2 RART grants are expected to be advised in time for their projects to commence in the third quarter of 2019.