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Research partnerships and data requests

Maximising research: how we can help you develop your work.

As an essential element of its obligation to enable equitable access to health care across its catchment and beyond, North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network (NWMPHN) is continuously developing its evidence base.

We do this through several avenues:

  • We collate and synthesise data from external sources such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) census, Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset (VAED), Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset (VEMD), community health data, general practice activity data, and surveillance of notifiable conditions data, creating different types of health needs assessments.
  • We receive, collate and analyse de-identified practice-level data arising from the programs we commission.
  • We augment quantitative data by gathering qualitative inputs from the health sector, service users and the general community through our People Bank, Clinical and Community Councils, expert advisory groups, surveys, focus groups and one-on-one interviews.
  • We collaborate with researchers and clinicians from the university and hospital sectors to review and analyse health services, submitting the results to peer-reviewed publications, including BMJ Open and the Medical Journal of Australia.

NWMPHN welcomes requests to join established academics, clinicians and organisations in new research ventures. We are also always happy to consider ethical requests to share our work and the data that underpins it.

Use the forms below to get started, or if you want to have a more general discussion about a research idea, feel free to email us on research@nwmphn.org.au

  • PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING A REQUEST

    All requests will receive a response within 4 weeks.

    If your request is straightforward, you may receive a response more quickly.

    However, some requests need to be reviewed by the NWMPHN Research and Data Governance Committee. This committee meets on the third Wednesday of each month. To guarantee that your proposal is reviewed at a committee meeting, it must be submitted no later than 5pm on the Tuesday in the week prior (8 days before the meeting).

    We understand that some requests may need a swift response. When you submit your request, please indicate the date by which you require a response so the committee can consider an out-of-session review.

    Please note, we cannot consider your proposal if you require a response within 7 days.

    Provision of data is subject to availability and data sharing requirements.

    NWMPHN does not guarantee all data requests can or will be met.

    Before logging a data request, please explore our health needs assessments and other publicly available datasets such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

  • Ethical considerations in primary health care research

    NWMPHN supports relevant, high quality primary care research projects. In regard to external or partnered research, ethics approval must be completed by the lead researching organisation or individual through relevant Ethics Committees registered with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). NWMPHN requires appropriate ethics approvals to be completed, and is committed to ensuring ethical principles and practices are upheld in collaborative research projects.

    For externally led publications where partners have used NWMPHN information or input, the PHN or relevant lead staff member should be listed as a co-author.

Research partnership request form

If you want to put a collaborative research proposal, we’re all ears. Use this form to give us an outline of your proposal.

Request research partnership

Data request form

If you would like to access from our data repositories, use this form to let us know your requirements.

Request data

Need participants? We can spread the word about your work

From peak bodies to PhD candidates, many researchers in the primary health field depend on participant input.

Perhaps you want to promote a survey to a particular cohort in the health sector, or maybe you want to let people know about upcoming webinars or conferences.

If your work aligns with NWMPHN’s values – in particular, our commitment to access and equity – we will be happy to amplify it through our events calendar, newsletters, e-bulletins and social media channels.

Use our news submission form to submit requests to promote your research, and our events submission form for webinars, conferences and other events.