Consultancy

Research and evaluation capability statement

The mission of The University of Melbourne School of Rural Health, incorporating the University Department of Rural Health and Rural Clinical School , is to improve the health and well-being of rural and indigenous communities by providing leadership and excellence in collaborative, multi-disciplinary and culturally sensitive research and education . We are committed to rural health and the health needs of communities in the Goulburn Murray region.

This document outlines the work, resources and support we can provide in working with local communities to ensure that our working relationships are understood.

We can work with local communities in the following ways:

* Health and health determinants research: we can undertake research with communities to document rates of illness, health issues, health determinants and advocate for relevant local issues.
* Health services research: we can work with communities to develop and evaluate health services and other health programs for the benefit of communities.
* Clinical research: we can work with health services to design, implement and monitor clinical studies and trials
* Workforce: we can work with local communities to assist in recruiting, promoting, supporting and developing the local health workforce.
* Meeting Rooms: the School has rooms for hire for meetings, workshops and conferences if they are not otherwise booked.
* Awards: we can award fellowships or provide other support to local health workers for their contributions to relevant research and education activities in their local communities.
* Consultancies: we provide a consultancy service especially in the area of health services research and program evaluation. We have expertise in epidemiological, informatics, sociological, and behavioural research.

Because we are a university, we have some constraints:

* University guidelines require universities to remain independent of commercial entities; we therefore are not able to offer sponsorship, donations or funding of any kind.
* Our role is primarily research and education; as such we are unable to be the organisers or hosts of local and/or community events. However, we are happy for our facilities to be hired for such events.
* Because we have limited staff and resources we only work on projects that are undertaken as a partnership.

Because of our strong commitment in promoting Koori health and supporting Koori communities, we offer Koori communities the following if our resources allow:

* Submissions: we can assist in developing and/or writing submissions for funding projects and programs which are undertaken as a partnership between the School of Rural Health and any Koori community and/or organization.
* Meeting Rooms: the School of Rural Health can hire out rooms for meetings and educational purposes at a reduced rate if the rooms are not otherwise booked.

We are available to conduct health program evaluation as a consultancy:

We can undertake evaluations of most health education and health services programs, on a consultancy basis. We also have strengths in health informatics research and evaluation.

The following skills inventory of our research active staff provide a guide as to what we can provide. For more information, ring 5823 4500.

School of Rural Health Staff