Emerging leaders share bright ideas at Prevention Centre and CERI symposium

Details

DATE

TYPE Prevention Centre News

This was the message from the Plenary session of the Emerging Leaders Symposium, the first national event to bring together emerging researchers, policy makers and practitioners to enhance impact and advocacy in prevention of chronic disease.

The Symposium aimed to boost leadership and collaboration among the next generation of prevention leaders. The plenary conversation featured a discussion on perspectives on systems impact on chronic disease prevention by Dr Janine Mohamed, CEO of the Lowitja Institute, Professor Katina D’Onise, Executive Director, Prevention and Population Health, Wellbeing SA, Jane Martin, Director of the Obesity Policy Coalition, and Professor Steven Allender, founding Director of the Global Obesity Centre (GLOBE) at Deakin University.

Plenary speakers gave fascinating insights into their successes (and failures) in creating change, and pointed to practical and meaningful actions for attendees to continue their own journeys to enhancing population health. 

Step into the complexity, know where you want it to end and allow yourself the opportunity to shift and respond to ways in front of you.

Professor Katina D’Onise

More than 100 attendees joined their peers from research centres nationally as well as health services, health departments and NGOs. The event was organised by early career researchers, with communications and event management support from the Prevention Centre.

“We organised this Symposium to consolidate networking and help build new research-policy-practice relationships at the early- and mid-career level across Australia,” said organiser Dr Tara Boelsen-Robinson.

The contacts and connections we have made today could last throughout our careers, and will be essential in helping us drive coordinated research and action in chronic disease prevention going forward.

Dr Tara Boelsen-Robinson

The Symposium was a key output of the Collaboration for Enhanced Research Impact (CERI), a collaboration between the Prevention Centre and 10 NHMRC Centres of Research Excellence.

CERI undertakes a range of activities including advocacy for prevention in Australia, knowledge synthesis to align advice for policy, coordination of implementation science and translation activities, and will be developing new joint research funding proposals on shared priority topics.

One of CERI’s aims is to align capacity and capability building activities across its member organisations, in order to support the future preventive health workforce for Australia.

“CERI now represents more than 200 of Australia’s leading prevention investigators plus a growing network of early and mid-career researchers and emerging leaders in prevention” said Prevention Centre Co-Director, Professor Lucie Rychetnik.

By fostering systems leadership, we are helping to build expertise and relationships that will support a stronger, more cohesive and powerful prevention system for the future.

Professor Lucie Rychetnik

A key part of the day was a facilitated networking session that allowed attendees to wander virtually between different tables to meet someone new or discuss topics of interest, such as advocacy, career disruption or women in leadership.

Attendees then had the choice of four expert-led workshops on networking, co-production, the meaning of evidence, and science communication.

Workshop lead Helen Gray, Communications and Engagement Officer with Women’s Health Australia, who ran a workshop on essential communication tips for research, policy and practice, said the workshops focused on areas that are traditionally under-supported in research, yet critical to achieve real impact.

“Attendees loved the tangible and practical activities within each interactive workshop,” she said.

The event was organised by the following EMC researchers: