What we did

We conducted a formative implementation evaluation to identify what was working well, and what gaps and challenges could be addressed to improve the effectiveness of the initiative – to support the uptake of academic research to enhance health service delivery.

How we did it

To inform the evaluation we conducted:

• a desktop review of program documents and analysis of these against the key evaluation questions
• an environmental scan of best practice literature and international examples of translational research funding and governance models, and analysis of this against key themes in the evaluation report
• interviews with key stakeholders and qualitative analysis of emerging themes
• a project profiling survey that collected data on the attributes of the projects being funded
• an online questionnaire of research translation centre partners.

Benefits for the client

Our work supported the Department by documenting and comparing the Centres’ implementation models to assess the impact of the different implementation models on achievement of RART Initiative objectives. The comparison also considered international models and the intentions of The Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research – Better Health through Research, commonly known as the McKeon Review.

The report is published here.