Member's story 2024: Adelaide Health Foundation

I first reached out to HRCI for advice in 2020, and I haven’t stopped since!
The mission of the Adelaide Health Foundation [AHF] is to advance healthcare, and research is one of the three pillars under which we do this. When our research strategy changed to increase the focus on directly commissioning
projects and with a commitment to action the recommendations that emerge, we had a huge responsibility to educate ourselves on best practice to ensure that we maximise the outputs of our investments.

With little in-house expertise, we needed support, and plenty of it. Over the past five years, we have been expertly guided and educated by HRCI in this area. HRCI truly encompasses the best of what a membership organisation should be, as they focus on enhancing skills, building capacity, and fostering collaboration.

When we scoped out our first funded research project and turned to HRCI for guidance, it was gently suggested that Patient and Public Involvement [PPI] was an important element to include. PPI is now so embedded in our thinking that we have adapted some of what we do under our Education and Community pillars to include the voice of the student, patient or user who will ultimately benefit from our programmes.

HRCI meetings are open and inclusive and everyone has a voice. During my earlier meetings I felt that I did not have much to contribute as the research world was relatively new to me. However, it soon became apparent that those I was engaging with through the HRCI network were dealing with similar challenges and issues; that we all benefit from the open,
collaborative forum and that everyone has something to contribute.

HRCI take their commitment to their membership very seriously. They strive to be best in class providing fresh and insightful information, training and workshops and their Irish Health Research Forums are expertly planned, delivered and on point. Most importantly, they advocate for their membership who have a stronger voice together.

I was extremely proud to be invited to join HRCI board in 2024, and not just because I became comfortable in the environment. The AHF have benefited hugely from membership and from the network that membership has given us access to. We are taking bigger and braver steps because we can sense check along the way to see if we are doing things right.

I say openly and often that we have emulated much of what HRCI do as they do it so well, and it is an organisation I look forward to continuing to work with.

Niamh Gavin

CEO, Adelaide Health Foundation