Stream Four

1

• Stream Four
• Information Workshop
• Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute
• Professor Nicholas Glasgow and Dr Beverly
  Sibthorpe
• July 2005

2
Agenda

• Overview of APHCRI
• Who we are
• How we are constituted
• Mission and aims
• Stream Four
• Aim
• Seven topic areas and APHCRIs focus
• APHCRI hub staff role in Stream Four
• Information for applicants
• Application and Assessment processes
• Contract matters
• Timelines

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Overview of APHCRI
4
Four Elements of PHC RED Strategy

• Research priority setting process
• Awards, grants, scholarships and bursaries
• University departments of general practice and
  rural health capacity building
• Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute

5
Mission and Aims

• APHCRIs mission is to provide national
  leadership in improving the quality and
  effectiveness of primary health care through the
  conduct of high quality priority-driven research
  and the support and promotion of best practice 
• APHCRI has four aims
• To strengthen the knowledge base of primary
  health care by conducting and supporting
  research
• To facilitate the uptake of research evidence in
  primary health care policy and practice
• To enhance research capacity in primary health
  care through strategic partnerships with other
  relevant national and international groups
• To ensure that the Institute operates to the
  highest standards by developing and improving its
  organisational capacity to lead the national
  primary health care research network through
  appropriate staffing, resources, infrastructure,
  management practices and governance and
  accountability processes.

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APHCRI a virtual institute

• Hub and Spoke model
• Hub based at ANU
• Spokes - programs of research commissioned by
  Institutes Research Advisory Board (RAB)
• Hub and Spokes form Institute

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Hub and Spoke Model
8
Key Stakeholders
Providers of Primary Health Care services and
their organisations
Australian Government Policy and Decision Makers
APHCRI Hub and Spokes
Consumers of Primary Health Care Services and
their organisations
Research Community
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Not a grants program

• to contribute to Institutes work program
• Working together
• Communicating often
• Participating in activities as they arise
• Publications
• Policy forums and debates
• Media activities
• Capacity building activities
• Visiting fellowships

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APHCRI Declared Priorities

• Innovation in State/Commonwealth relationships
• Innovation in funding arrangements for new or
  existing services/models
• Innovation in organisation and linkages within
  Primary Health Care sector
• All relevant to Stream Four

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Stream Four

• (Refer to Information for Applicants document)

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Aim for Stream Four

• to systematically identify, review, and
  synthesise knowledge about primary health care
  organisation, funding, delivery and performance
  and then consider how this knowledge might be
  applied in the Australian context

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Seven Topic Areas

• Chronic disease management
• Integration, co-ordination and multidisciplinary
  care
• Prevention and early intervention
• Innovative models for comprehensive primary
  health care delivery
• Innovative models for the management of mental
  health in primary health care settings
• Older Australians and health promotion,
  prevention and post-acute care
• Children and young Australians, health promotion
  and prevention

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Topics overlap!

• Overlap intentional
• Different facets
• Workshops to manage the overlaps

Image from http//www.diamond-engagement-rings-gui
de.com/image-files/diamond-label.jpg
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Questions within topics

• Questions of two general types
• What do we know about.?
• What are the possible options?
• System level
• Organisation (including governance)
• Funding arrangements (existing and alternative)
• Models/approaches to service delivery
• Monitoring and performance assessment

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APHCRIs questions

• Commissioned not investigator driven
• APHCRI has set parameters
• APHCRI has developed broad questions
• Applicants propose specific questions
• Question refinement through research process
• Focus on system issues

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Intended Outcomes

• Systematic processing of knowledge will provide
• Strong basis on which national primary health
  care policy can be informed
• Clear insights into important knowledge gaps
• Foundation on which APHCRI can build subsequent
  streams of activity
• Process for Stream Four will
• Strengthen the hub and spoke model we mean it!
• Build capacity in policy and research communities

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Hub staff roles

• General leadership and oversight
• Develop overall approach
• Develop unifying and/or complementary methods
• Assist in identifying relevant grey literature
• Provide advice on synthesis and policy
  applications
• Promote linkages and synergies
• Addressing the Workforce topic
• Separate (designated) funding for Hub staff
  participation

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Eligibility to Participate (1)

• 2 - 4 CIs supported by research assistants
• CIs will have
• Relevant content knowledge
• Skills and experience in
• undertaking systematic reviews
• provision of primary health care services
• contributing to development of national health
  policy
• economic analysis
• One CI may have multiple skills/experience

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Eligibility to Participate (2)

• CIs commit to participation
• Single administering institution must be
  identified for each proposal
• (See http//www.anu.edu.au/aphcri/General/aphcri_c
  ommresearch.php for APHCRI's approach to
  Administering Institutions)
• Spoke and hub staff work collaboratively

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Funding for Stream Four

• Each spoke will receive a fixed amount of lt
  155,000 over one year to cover costs associated
  with
• personnel (e.g. RA, CI time)
• accessing key informants and grey literature
• participation in research workshops (including
  travel)
• production of the final reports
• University overheads not paid
• Number of spokes will depend on quality, will not
  exceed 12
• If none of sufficient quality, none will be funded

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Rural/remote Participation Costs

• Additional costs because of rural locations or
  locations remote from Canberra
• Additional funds not to exceed 20,000 per spoke
• Request plus justification included in proposal
• State capitals in eastern mainland States and
  South Australia not remote from Canberra

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Australian Competitive Grants Register

• APHCRI research activities listed on the
  Australian Competitive Grants Register (ACGR) in
  the section titled Non-Commonwealth Schemes
• http//www.dest.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/0508FE6D-DDEB-
  4C94-8701-AE5685BF602C/1209/acgr2004.pdf

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Application and Assessment Processes

• Refer to Information for Applicants document
  Proposal application form and ERC Assessment Form
• http//www.anu.edu.au/aphcri/Spokes_Research_Progr
  am/Stream_Four.php

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Application and Assessment

• Complete application form
• Submit according to instructions
• Must meet all six criteria
• Criteria 2 6 dichotomous
• Criteria 1,3, 4, 5 assigned score 1-10
• Criteria 1 half the weighting of 3, 4, and 5
• ERC recommendations to RAB for decisions
• See Information for Applicants page 11 of 12

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Proposal

• Identify Chief Investigators (C1)
• Identify the topic area (C2)
• Succinct statement of specific research questions
  relevant to your topic (C3)
• Briefly summarise relevant databases and grey
  literature sources (C4)
• Identify key informants (C4)
• Demonstrate capacity to undertake the task (C5)
• Signed statement of intention to participate (C6)

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Assessment Criteria

• The proposal identifies a chief investigating
  team with relevant content knowledge in the topic
  area, and includes individuals with skills and
  experience in systematic reviews, provision of
  primary health care services, national health
  policy formulation and economic analysis
• The proposal clearly identifies one topic area
• The proposal succinctly states key research
  questions relevant to the chosen topic area
• The proposal identifies relevant databases that
  will be examined and key informant organisations
  / individuals that will be part of the
  information synthesis processes

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Assessment Criteria (cont)

• Demonstrated capacity to undertake the work by
  showing that in addition to relevant content
  knowledge the team has
• skills and experience in systematic reviews
• Skills and experience in the organisation and
  provision of primary health care services
• Skills and experience in contributing to national
  health policy formulation And
• skills and experience in economic analysis.
• Signed statement from each chief investigator
  confirming that they have the time available to
  give to the task, and that at least one of the
  named chief investigators will participate in all
  the research workshops

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Decision making

• Clear aims
• Transparent assessment processes
• Careful management of conflicts of interest
• Separate assessment and decision making
• Expert Review Committee recommendations
• Research Advisory Board decisions
• Feedback

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Stream Four Activities

• Further refine the research questions
• Participate in research workshops in Canberra
• Participate in meetings with DoHA (policy
  analysts and advisors)
• Participate, as part of APHCRI, in responding to
  issues of the day
• Deliver outcomes in a timely fashion

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Proposal Application Form

• Eligibility checklist (Page 2)
• Lodgment (Page 2)
• Section 1
• Identify ONE topic (separate application for
  second topic)
• Identify CIA
• Identify Administering Institution
• Section 2
• Briefly, clearly and coherently address criteria
  3 5
• No more than four pages
• Section 3
• Name all Chief investigators each needs to sign
• Identify Associate Investigators (could be RA)

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Proposal Application Form (cont)

• Section 4 (Page 12)
• Budget will total 155K (or less!)
• Rural/Remote applicants can claim lt 20K more on
  line by line basis
• No University overheads (e.g. 20 levy)
• No capital items (e.g. laptops, desks etc)
• Section 5 (Page 14)
• Clearances Ethics committee involvement
• Statement about requirements/rulings
• Appropriate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
  clearances (if relevant)
• Section 6 (Page 15)
• Signatures of appropriate authority in
  Administering Institution CIA
• Checklist

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Contracts

• http//www.anu.edu.au/aphcri/Spokes_Research_Progr
  am/Handbook.php

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Contract Issues

• Typical contract on website
• Timeframe extremely tight
• Mirrors ANU contract with Australian Government
• Limited capacity to revise
• University Project Provider for IGS

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Timeline
Closing date for proposals 27 July
RAB announces Spoke funding
Research Workshop 1
Research Workshop 2
4
Contracts executed
ERC assesses proposals
RAB Meeting
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
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• Any Questions?