Professor Ben Smith

Professor Ben Smith is based at the Prevention Research Collaboration at the University of Sydney, and holds an adjunct position in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University. With a background in community development and health program management, he has over 20 years’ experience in the design and evaluation of prevention strategies in health care and community contexts. Throughout his career he has worked closely with government and non-government agencies to strengthen capacity and develop the evidence base for effective policies and programs.

Currently, Professor Smith is researching the policies, programs and monitoring arrangements that are required for comprehensive action to address physical inactivity. He is also leading a national study that that has engaged more than 100 prevention agencies to explore evaluation practices, and to identify the elements of systemic, organisational and practitioner capacity that are required for useable, high quality evaluation. At the state level, he is a member of the leadership team for the Victorian Active Ageing Partnership, a collaborative initiative to improve the quality and accessibility of physical activity programs for older people.