National network meeting: Shaping the future of WHRTN
On 15 November, WHRTN members from around Australia met together on the land of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. This meeting was instigated in Sydney last year when the membership expressed an initial commitment to developing WHRTN following the completion of the current funding.
The purpose of the Melbourne meeting was to: 1) reflect on the WHRTN evaluation 2) formulate early ideas for the next iteration of WHRTN 3) provide networking and mentoring for members and our Emerging Leaders Fellows (ELFs) who were also in Melbourne completing the last day of the ELF's Women in Leadership Program.
About 17 consumer and academic members, and 31 ELFS attended from throughout Australia, including those from the original team and new members. Representation across the AHRA Centres and the WHRTN portfolio areas was excellent with WHRTN staff members also attending.
About 17 consumer and academic members attended, including those from the original team and new members. Representation across the AHRA Centres and the WHRTN portfolio areas was excellent with WHRTN staff members also attending.
Activities for the ELFs included mentoring facilitated by Helena Teede, a networking lunch, and a ‘speed dating’ session with WHRTN Committee members and ELFs. The consumer advisor advocates networked via a session facilitated by Deb Langridge (West Australian Health Translation Network).
The evaluation was presented to WHRTN members in scorecard format of outcomes between 2021 and 2024. Highlights included the implementation of two cohorts of ELFs, including 10 early and mid-career fellows in 2023 and 30 mid-career fellows this year; the production of resources such as consumer recruitment guidelines; the successful rollout of seed funding and co-productions grants; and the inclusion of Indigenous engagement resources in the WHRTN resources hub.
Prof Helena Teede presented the WHRTN evaluation.
The presentation about the evaluation focussed on feedback from 12 research and 8 consumer leads about seed and coproduction grant recipients’ experiences and learnings of co-production methods. The evaluation followed the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research and resulted in key learnings and recommendations which will be disseminated in the future in a range of formats.
Another outcome of the session was the initial identification of strategies by WHRTN members for the next iteration of WHRTN. Members clearly see the benefit of a sustainable model to operationalise the work of the AHRA Centres in the context of the National Women’s Health Strategy 2020-2030. The next steps will be to share ideas with the broader membership ahead of a workplan for 2025.
Find out more about WHRTN’s Research, Consumer and Community Involvement (CCI), Indigenous and Workforce Development Programs here.
