Innovation in health: New $5m research partnership

5 June 2013

Innovation in health: New $5m research partnership

A new health research partnership worth $5 million/year was recently launched to support research that will provide evidence about the cost effectiveness of new and existing health technologies.

The Health Innovation Partnership, between the National Health Committee (NHC) and the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC), seeks to gather evidence to further improve the health and quality of life of New Zealanders while supporting cost effectiveness within the health sector. Research supported by the partnership will generate evidence focusing on effective health technologies and pathways for treatment. The research will also identify how new technologies can help put knowledge into action to provide more effective health services.

“We’re really excited by the chance to work with the HRC in a new partnership that will support robust NHC recommendations. This fund will also allow us to bridge the gap between research and the practising clinician,” says Anne Kolbe, Chair of the NHC.

Two calls for research have been released under this partnership. The first seeks to support a research project that will help the NHC develop recommendations on the use of renal nerve ablation, a promising therapeutic approach for hard-to-manage hypertension. The second will support research on the use of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) testing to optimise treatment choices for patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

“High quality research-derived evidence is critical for the New Zealand health sector, as it continues to improve its effectiveness and efficiency,” says HRC Chief Executive, Dr Robin Olds.

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About the Health Innovation Partnership (HIP)

The Health Innovation Partnership (HIP), has been created between the HRC and the NHC to support a coordinated investment in translational research for health and disability related technologies. It is anticipated that research supported through this partnership will gather evidence to inform the NHC’s recommendations regarding the cost effectiveness and prioritisation of new and existing technologies. Research will also identify the conditions and/or knowledge translation strategies that would be needed to support implementation of findings and ways to restructure existing investment to optimise patient outcomes.

The HIP is co-funded by the HRC ($2 million) and the NHC ($3 million) to give a combined budget for funding of $5 million, which is overseen by a steering committee. The steering committee was formed in January 2013 and consists of six members; three from the HRC and three from the NHC. Half of the steering committees are practicing clinicians with the balance from healthcare research and management.
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