NSW Health is focused on providing researchers, clinicians, managers and policy makers with the tools they need to translate research into innovative policy and practice to create healthier communities and deliver better patient care.
The Office for Health and Medical Research was established to implement the NSW Government’s strategic plan to build research capability in NSW following its NSW Health and Medical Research Strategic Review in 2012. Key priorities include facilitating engagement of stakeholders; assisting with the development of statewide strategic research priorities; providing a supportive policy framework; administering funding programs that support research infrastructure and innovation; supporting clinical trials and working with pillar organisations, local health districts, primary care providers and the non-government sector in the translation of research into clinical practice, healthy lifestyles and illness prevention.
Why medical research?
Health and medical research is an integral part of the NSW health system. It is vital for the delivery of better treatments and interventions for patients, improving health services delivery, and health outcomes at both the clinical and population level.
The integration of health and medical research within the health system supports innovation within the system, builds a strong culture of continuous improvement to ensure we deliver the best evidence-based health care for Australians, and is crucial for ensuring the health system’s efficiency and sustainability.
Investment in health and medical research also benefits the State’s economy, stimulating the biotechnology industry, building commercialisation capacity and helping to reduce the costs of health care delivery. Indirectly, the indisputable gains that come from health and medical research in improvements in length and quality of life mean that, roughly speaking, every dollar invested in health and medical research returns in excess of two dollars in health benefits.
Our strategy
Health and medical research plays a vital role in delivering better treatments and interventions, improving health services delivery and clinical and population health outcomes.
NSW Health works with health and medical research communities, the higher education sector and business to promote growth and innovation in research to achieve better health, environmental and economic outcomes for the people of NSW.
As part of a ten-year strategic plan to build research capability in NSW, current projects include:
- improving statewide capacity to deliver world class health and medical research through the provision of funding for research infrastructure
- supporting investment in the development and commercialisation of medical devices and related technologies
- fostering the generation of high quality research and evaluation by funding and administering grants programs and reforming research ethics and governance pre-approvals
- strengthening the research workforce through training programs for early-mid career researchers.
These priorities also with other key themes were highlighted in the NSW Government response to the NSW Health and Medical Research Strategic Review.
NSW Health and Medical Research Strategic Review
In 2012, a Health and Medical Research Strategic Taskforce chaired by Mr Peter Wills AC worked with the research community to develop a ten-year strategic plan for NSW.
The plan identified many strengths and advantages that NSW has that support our health and medical research effort and made recommendations on improving the way we manage our current research resources, including supporting greater collaboration between research organisations; having a priority-driven approach to research and innovation; and focussing on translation of research evidence into better patient care and health outcomes.
The Office for Health and Medical Research was established to implement this ten-year strategy through facilitating engagement of stakeholders; assisting with the development of state-wide strategic research priorities; providing a supportive policy framework; administering funding programs that support research infrastructure and innovation; supporting clinical trials and working with pillar organisations, local health districts, primary care providers and the non-government sector in the translation of research into clinical practice, healthy lifestyles and illness prevention.
NSW research hubs
Research hubs play an important role in promoting collaboration and coordinating the efforts of geographically proximate medical research institutes, local health districts, universities and community-orientated research in Medicare Locals.
NSW’s ten-year strategic plan for health and medical research recommended an enhanced role for research hubs that included key roles in fostering translation, innovation and research capacity.
Research hub collaboration has shown proven results, with Sydney Health Partners and the Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research and Enterprise (SPHERE) recognised by the National Health and Medical Research Council as Advanced Health Research Translational Centres, and NSW Regional Health Partners recognised as a Centre for Innovation in Regional Health.
NSW Health, through the Office for Health and Medical Research, will engage with the health and medical research sector through the Advanced Health Research Translation Centres and Centres for Innovation in Regional Health, and will continue to support the geographical health and medical research hubs to monitor the progress of each hub against their strategy and objectives.
Updated 2 months ago