Our approach

The behaviours and other risk factors that cause chronic disease are complex and embedded into everyday life. Achieving and sustaining meaningful change requires a systems perspective – recognising the role of social, economic and environmental factors and how each of these interacts.

We bring together more than 900 academic researchers, policy partners and prevention practitioners to prioritise and co-design policy-relevant research to support evidence based action for prevention in Australia.

Participants at an event.

Our objectives

  • Focus

    on research-informed change in practice, management or policy as the driving force behind activities
  • Recognise

    that clinicians, practitioners and policy makers are equally qualified as researchers to be investigators
  • Promote

    the broad objectives beyond research to support links with policy and practice

Building evidence and capacity

  • We recognise the need for systems approaches

    If we are to achieve sustained prevention of complex chronic health problems, we need a systems perspective which recognises the role of social, economic and environmental factors and how each of these interacts.
  • We equally value evidence from research and practice

    A fundamental pillar of our approach is that public health practice and practitioners should inform prevention research as much as research should inform policy and practice. We will develop and apply new ways to systematically capture practice knowledge and combine it with research evidence.
  • We support collaboration

    Our funding model and structure ensures that researchers and the end users of the research – policy makers and practitioners – work together to develop research questions, conduct the research, and interpret and apply the findings.
  • We are building skills and knowledge

    We are offering training and other skills development opportunities to increase the understanding and use of systems approaches among researchers and policy, program and service delivery decision makers.