The power of partnerships
Collaboration is at the very heart of Manna Institute’s efforts to improve mental health throughout rural and regional Australia. For the past two years we have been bringing researchers, industry and community representatives together to tackle some of the nation’s most vexed issues.
By joining forces, we are fostering partnerships and innovation that will potentially have far-reaching future impact.
The research team led by Professor Sonja March from the Centre for Health Research at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) is a wonderful case in point. Also comprising Dr Govind Krishnamoorthy, Dr Arlen Rowe and Dr Kirsty Zieschank (from UniSQ), Professor Caroline Donovan from Griffith University and Professor Alison Calear from the Australian National University, this team is working to deliver much-needed digital mental health support to regional young people.
While several of the more senior researchers have worked together in the past, the team’s membership of Manna Institute has afforded all new opportunities.
“We are leveraging previous shared projects to trial a digital model of care tailored specifically to the needs of children and adolescents in rural and regional Australia,” Professor March said. “Being a part of Manna has enabled us to invite new collaborators in and, by virtue of their geographical location, to hear different perspectives. This is vital as we study interventions that are relevant to specific communities and their needs.”
Professor Calear has relished working with fellow researchers who share her interests. “It reminds you that there are other individuals and groups who are working in similar areas who could bring new perspectives to the research you are doing,” she said. “And when it comes to research participants, it provides potential access to a much larger pool of people.”
Taking into account a range of views and expertise also has the potential to improve how effectively research findings are eventually translated into on-ground actions, according to Professor March.
“For the past 22 years I have been testing models of care for child and adolescent anxiety,” she said. “Through Manna, we can consider digital support from a public health perspective but also a clinical perspective, via early career researcher and clinical psychologist Dr Govind Krishnamoorthy. Bridging the two disciplines not only benefits our project; it benefits the researchers themselves, through the expansion of their networks, new mentoring possibilities and career development.”
The consolidation of these networks – between senior and early career researchers, and among early career researchers – promises rich rewards. “It can be awkward to initially connect with someone from another institution to engage them in your research, but Manna has removed those barriers and provided us with opportunities to build new, powerful networks and bring together knowledge and expertise for the benefit of a range of research projects,” Professor Calear said.
That has personal advantages, too, whatever your situation. “Working on your own can be very isolating and sometimes you can’t have the research impact you would like,” said Professor March. “Early and mid-career researchers engaged in Manna instantly have access to more than 20 collaborators working towards similar goals, and that doesn’t happen in any other context.”