The release of the new Statement on Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research is an important milestone for Australia’s health and medical research sector and reinforces what we at Monash Partners have long championed – that research is stronger when consumers, communities and people with lived experience are involved from the outset.
At Monash Partners, we know meaningful consumer and community involvement is essential to ensuring research is relevant, responsive and capable of delivering real-world impact. When people with lived experience help shape research priorities, design, implementation and translation, we are better positioned to address the issues that matter most to patients, families and communities.
The new Statement reinforces that consumer involvement should not be an add-on, but embedded across the entire research lifecycle – from priority setting through to translation into practice. This aligns closely with the work we are already supporting across our network and through the national efforts of the Australian Health Research Alliance.
Importantly, implementation will be key. At Monash Partners, we are committed to supporting researchers, clinicians and consumers to put meaningful involvement into practice. Through our Consumer and Community Involvement resources, we provide practical guidance, consultation and education to help build capability and confidence across the sector. This includes a suite of six self-paced online learning modules covering topics such as planning, ethics, connecting with consumers and co-design to support meaningful involvement in research and healthcare improvement.
We encourage our partners and the broader research community to engage with the new Statement and explore the practical resources available through Monash Partners and the national Health Research Hub. By working together, we can ensure consumer and community involvement is not only expected, but embedded in ways that strengthen research quality and improve health outcomes for the communities we serve.
To further support implementation of the Statement, Monash Partners recently hosted a webinar unpacking key updates and practical approaches to embedding meaningful consumer and community involvement across the research lifecycle. If you missed it, you can watch the recording HERE.
