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Effective links: working together

A winning relationship for university and divisions

Effective links are the result of successful partnerships between Divisions and researchers. As interest in these partnerships grows, we at PHC RIS thought it would be fitting to highlight these partnerships to exemplify the different stages of effective links. This is the second instalment in a series of interviews that aim to capture the real life stories and examples of these collaborative partnerships. In this issue we interviewed Desley Hegney from Centre of Rural and Remote Area Health (CRRAH), and asked her about the vendor relationship that has developed between the university and the two local Divisions .

As well as a limited pool of funding, a rural town like Toowoomba also has a limited pool of people with research expertise. It is almost a motherhood statement to say it makes sense to work together to make the most of these limited resources. In Toowoomba since 2003 the Divisions and university have done more than just talk about it, they have done it. Professor Desley Hegney, Director of the Centre of Rural and Remote Area Health which is auspiced by the University of Queensland and University of Southern Queensland, told PHC RIS that combining the practical expertise of the two local Divisions of General Practice with the university's grant writing expertise has been a very successful strategy, "All the projects [that we have worked on together] have been funded that we know about".

The partnership began when Desley and a leader from GP Connections got to know each other as fellow members of a project reference group. GP Connections requested Desley's assistance to write a project application, which extended to her unit providing external evaluation to the resulting project. Since then the two groups have joined forces for several projects in palliative care and bereavement, and are now writing another joint application. CRRAH has done a lot of work with Southern Queensland Rural Division of General Practice, also based in Toowoomba. Examples of the type of work the university is contracted to do include developing access databases for specific projects and training Division staff in using the databases to enter project data, which the researchers then analyse and return to the Division.

On occasion the university has been unable to assist one of the Divisions with writing a grant, being already engaged on the same grant opportunity with the other Division. Desley reported that this had not affected their relationships; they both just laughed and moved on. Another potential challenge to the relationship arose when Desley had to hand the Division work to other staff members. However, the other very well qualified researchers have gained credibility in their own right, proving their ability to the Division staff members.

Strong business partnerships have developed, which have satisfied the different needs of Divisions and universities. The two Divisions have been able to purchase both the expertise necessary to write successful applications and credible independent external evaluation. Rather than recruiting their own research staff, they can rely on the availability of skilled interested researchers who understand the Division context.

The university now receives sufficient income to sustain a research fellow, and occasionally employ a project officer for larger evaluations. Researchers are meeting university expectations to be research active, and are publishing their work with the Divisions. An unexpected outcome is the value of the strong partnerships which have developed over the last few years. Desley felt the opportunity to work with Divisions has allowed her and the other researchers to keep in touch with the clinical world and events in general practice, making them better equipped to write their own grant applications, and having good partners with whom they can discuss other projects. The partnerships have provided opportunities to build researchers' capacity in database management, and to further understand and appreciate health care in remote areas such as Cunnamulla and Charleville.

Practicalities: Each Division pays CRRAH for grant writing, evaluation and other assistance, at a base rate which is negotiated. This covers CRRAH costs for a research fellow, and meets university requirements that researchers bring in money. The university requires a contract for each piece of work that brings in money - no contract, no cost centre. The contract protects both parties, and addresses issues such as intellectual property and the ability to publish - another essential component for researchers to meet university expectations.

Do you have an effective links story you would like to share?

Please contact Sarah Eckermann to provide comments and suggestions:
E: phcris@flinders.edu.au