Population Health Research Network

Australia is an international leader in the scope and extent of health-related data collected at the population level. With new technologies, the potential exists to integrate and link data sets, providing a valuable new resource for monitoring the health of the population and the effectiveness of health services, and for research.

The NCRIS Population health research network capability aims

to enhance the linkage and integration of health-related data collected in Australia;
to provide improved accessibility to these data for the research sector; and
to support the development of improved data collection systems.

The facilitator for this capability was Professor Michael Frommer, Director of the Sydney Health Projects Group (SHPG) and Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Health at The University of Sydney.

In accordance with the NCRIS Investment Framework, Professor Frommer has consulted stakeholders to identify infrastructure requirements in detail and to develop a plan for addressing those needs, covering issues such as:

the setting of strategic priorities for the components identified in the Roadmap;
the role of existing facilities and infrastructure;
financing of the proposal (in the context of whole-of-program-life costs) from both NCRIS program funds and co-investments from the interested parties;
access issues and charging regimens;
management and governance structure; and
coordination of investment planning across proposals to ensure the best use of available funds.

Current Status

Professor Frommer's investment plan was approved by the NCRIS Committee at its March 2008 meeting. A funding agreement based on the investment plan was signed on 12 March 2009 with the University of Western Australia as the lead agency for the project.

The NCRIS Secretariat can be contacted by email or by phone on (02) 6213 6062.