Prioritising research funding for cardiovascular disease and diabetes in Australia.

The Targeted Translation Research Accelerator program was created to address cardiovascular disease and diabetes in Australia. To maximise the impact of the considerable investment in this program, a structured prioritisation project was undertaken to determine the highest priority health and medical unmet needs in cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The project was led by Monash University's Behaviour Works Australia in collaboration with Australian National University, Research Australia, and MTPConnect. We conducted an online survey with 318 experts and community representatives to generate a 'long list' of unmet needs for (1) cardiovascular disease; (2) diabetes; and (3) interactions in the pathogenesis of Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. We then convened roundtables of clinical, research, and community leaders to discuss survey results. They prioritised unmet needs against six predefined criteria then discussed results. We present the final priority areas for funding. We demonstrate how a feasible, reproducible, and collaborative prioritisation methodology can be used when designing research funding programs. Such approaches can ensure that funding is directed towards projects that are valuable to the community and reflective of expert opinion.

What Happens Next? Traumatic Brain Injury in the Community.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) continues to substantially impact the lives of millions of people around the world annually. Community-based prevention and support of TBI are particularly challenging and underresearched aspects of TBI management. Ongoing cognitive, emotional, and other effects of TBI are not immediately obvious in community settings such as schools, workplaces, sporting clubs, aged care facilities, and support agencies providing homelessness or domestic violence support. This is compounded by a lack of guidance and support materials designed for nonmedical settings. Connectivity Australia, a not-for-profit organization promoting TBI awareness, research, and support, responded to this need by conducting a national survey and series of roundtables to deepen understanding of TBI awareness, challenges, and support needs across the community. The 48 survey respondents and 22 roundtable participants represented Australian departments of health; correctional services; homelessness and housing; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health; community, school, and professional sports; allied healthcare and rehabilitation providers; insurance; and work health and safety. Three key themes were identified: Accessible, nationally consistent plain-language guidelines ; Building research literacy ; and Knowing your role in TBI identification and management . This commentary briefly describes these themes and their implications based on a publicly available full report detailing the study findings ( www.connectivity.org.au/resources-for-researchers/connectivity-research ).