27 April 2023
This month, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) announced the re-accreditation of nine Research Translation Centres, including Health Translation Queensland (HTQ), and the accreditation of one new centre – Top End Academic Health Partners.
HTQ Executive Director Professor John Prins explained securing NHMRC's re-accreditation for another five years was recognition of HTQ’s vital role and expertise in supporting the translation of Queensland health and medical research into improved health care.
“HTQ's role is to bring together Queensland’s health care organisations, research institutes, universities, training organisations and industry partners to accelerate the translation of research into practice,” said Professor Prins.
“To be accredited as a Research Translation Centre (RTC) means that your organisation meets NHMRC’s stringent assessment criteria, including evidence of what you have achieved beyond the accomplishments of your individual partners. In short, HTQ has demonstrated that we drive better outcomes than the sum of our parts.”
In 2023, Professor Prins returned to HTQ as Executive Director, but he also was involved in the application process for NHMRC’s original accreditation for Brisbane Diamantina Health Partners, HTQ’s predecessor.
“I have advocated for health collaboration for many years because I have seen the benefits across research, commercialisation and academia. Collaboration may require additional work, but ultimately it brings better results and a better return on investment for funders.
“There are several drivers for high-quality collaboration, including increased pressure to remove waste and duplication, improve sustainability and demonstrate a greater return on investment for health research funders and the community,” he said.
Professor Prins explained that the HTQ team focuses on where they can have the most impact across the HTQ partnership.
“We are investing in a range of activities including training and career development for Queensland researchers, streamlining research governance, and supporting consumer and community involvement in research. That’s in addition to our continued role in nurturing research collaborations and their translation into health care,” Professor Prins said.
“Over the past few years, we have also collaborated with our AHRA colleagues on national system-level initiatives, which have had positive outcomes. One recent example is the new high-value care toolkit available to professional health care teams across Australia.
“With our re-accreditation confirmed, we look forward to more opportunities for high-quality collaboration,” Professor Prins said.
For more information about NHMRC accreditation, please see their website.
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Health Translation Queensland acknowledges the Traditional Owners and their custodianship of the lands on which we live, work, and play. We pay our respects to their Ancestors and their Descendants, who continue cultural and spiritual connections to Country. We recognise their valuable contributions to Australian and global society.
