> Resources and Publications > PHC RIS infonet > February 2008 > The Sax Institute

The Sax Institute: a unique Australian organisation linking research to policy and practice

A common refrain among researchers is “How can I make policy makers more aware of my new findings?” and equally among policy makers is “What does the evidence tell me about the best way to organise health services?” Like PHC RIS, both parties understand high quality evidence is essential to the development of effective policy and health services.

Chief Executive Officer, Professor Sally Redman describes The Sax Institute as “a bridge or broker helping policy makers and practitioners to find and use the best evidence to support their decisions”.

The Sax Institute is independent and unique within the Australian context. It is modeled on international experience focusing on how to best bridge the ‘know-do' gap such as the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation <http://www.chsrf.ca>. Core funding comes from the NSW Government, with additional project support from other government, non-government and corporate sources.

The Sax Institute builds capacity in public health and health services research and increases the impact of research on policy by developing programs to address policy priorities such as:

• The 45 and Up study is a large, general population cohort study designed to investigate healthy ageing. It aims to recruit 250,000 men and women aged 45 and over from NSW and will link data collected prospectively and longitudinally from participants with population health databases on health and health service use. The 45 and Up Study has involved more than 100 of NSW's leading health and medical researchers . Researchers can apply to use the 45 and Up data for research. For more information, visit <http://www.45andup.org.au>
• Hospital Alliance for Research Collaboration (HARC) established by the Sax Institute and Clinical Excellence Commission, is a state-wide collaborative network of hospital managers, area health services, policy makers, clinicians and researchers committed to improving hospital services through research. Register through the website to be part of the HARC network and receive the quarterly eBulletin focused on current health services research <http://www.saxinstitute.org.au/researchassetsprograms/BetterHealthServicesThroughResearch.cfm?objid=387>
• Coalition for Research to Improve Aboriginal Health (CRIAH) is a partnership between The Sax Institute and the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW (AHMRC) <http://www.ahmrc.org.au> that brings Aboriginal communities and researchers together to improve Aboriginal health in NSW.

The Sax Institute provides a bridge between researchers, policy makers and health services to maximise the use of health research in policy development and evaluation.

Dr Mary Haines
Health Service Research Director
The Sax Institute
E: mary.haines@saxinstitute.org.au
Web: http://www.saxinstitute.org.au