Our assessment identified five classifications of research translation models. sharing Research facilitation Research research Social innovation enterprise This model is structured around brokering relationships between industry and researchers for the purpose of undertaking mutually beneficial research (or identifying existing research). The brokering entity can be government or non-government, and may also be involved in identifying areas for further research, commissioning research and publishing research findings. Other models may incorporate a research broker role. Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) This is commonly used for undertaking research. It is typically a one-off arrangement established to address a specific issue/objective. The research activity could be initiated by government, industry, research organisations or a combination of these entities. Funding is typically short-term and related to the delivery of the specific research task. Funding sources can include government (via grants or direct funding), industry, university or philanthropists. Research translation processes may be included in the design of the research task. Common model for undertaking research, including ARC Linkage projects This model typically brings together universities, governments, and industry participants, in a range of different collaborative arrangements. Features of these models include: an ongoing partnership, which covers a number of years; and formalised agreements underpin the collaboration. Funding sources can include government (via grants or direct funding), industry, university or philanthropists. In addition to the formalised collaboration, there may be additional informal partnerships for the performance of certain research activities. Knowledge Translation Unit (University of Cape Town) Centre of Excellence for Clinical Innovation and Behaviour Support (DCCSDS) Australian Centre for Community Services Research Social innovation enterprises are relatively new arrangements, established as a private sector entity to develop innovative solutions for a range of social issues. Social innovation enterprise activities could support the application of research, but this may not be the primary objective of the entity. These organisations can be either for profit or non-profit, but are typically driven by a social mission. Some social enterprises have been established with seed funding from government. Ongoing funding may be sourced from government and philanthropists, but be subject to the nature of the project. The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI) The Auckland Co-Design Lab (New Zealand)
Funding arrangements for research models Consultation provided limited insight into the various funding models applied across the industry for research. The general theme was that most research was reliant on government funding in one form or another. Insights from the community services industry Insights from research organisations Large NGOs typically have their own research team within their organisation. These entities may therefore conduct research in-house or commission research externally (through universities or other independent researchers). Subject to the nature of the entity, research activities may be self funded or they will apply for grants. Some NGOs indicated that while funding sources such as ARC linkage grants have been used in the past, they did not always derive the best outcomes. Although these grants often require researchers to partner with industry, NGOs generally have a limited ongoing role. As such, they have limited influence over outputs, which means these outputs may not be relevant in practice. Long timeframes for research were also seen as a particular issue, as the industry is grappling with current issues and waiting a number of years for research outcomes may not be seen as practical. Current government funding for NGOs rarely includes funding for research, as these contracts are specifically linked to service provision. This means that smaller NGOs or community services providers typically will only undertake research where they receive grants or have access to private funding (such as donations). NGOs indicated that sometimes they will partner with philanthropic organisations for the purpose of undertaking research. While this funding can help to support research activities, philanthropic agencies typically set the research question themselves and the ultimate research outputs may not always achieve real impact for the industry. Therefore caution should be exercised to ensure this research generates outputs that will directly support the industry. A significant number of research organisations consulted through this process were funded by government. Funding agreements will typically specify the activities to be performed by the research entity. research centres may be funded through ARC linkage grants, and are required to report against key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs for research projects are typically activity orientated, rather than outcomes- orientated and can include the number of students trained, papers published, workshops, program briefs, and programs developed and piloted. Researchers indicated that they may receive funding from philanthropic organisations. While these organisations tend to set their own research priorities, researchers indicated that they are generally progressive in their thinking and can be guided by researchers.