Strategic Plan

Here at Western Health, one of the few silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the extraordinary success of our researchers in pioneering world-leading innovations, exemplified by the McMonty isolation hood that has captured global media attention. This has been a source of enormous pride for us and serves to elevate our status in the eyes of our peers and the community we serve. In the same way, as we move forward, a robust culture of research and learning will be vital to our ongoing rebuilding and renewal as we recover from the disruption and trauma of the last 2 years.

Associate Professor Harin Karunajeewa, who has led the development of this Strategy, has been especially keen to ensure that the research we do aligns with our Best Care Framework and with Western Health’s overarching Strategic Directions 2021-2023. Drawing heavily on our core values of equity and inclusivity, it incorporates the aspirations of our community stakeholders and a broad range of staff, whether they come from nursing, midwifery, allied health, medical or non-clinical roles.

The strategy emphasises four key areas for us to focus on in order to develop capacity and capability to do the sort of research we aspire to. These include “Our Partners”, “Our People”, “Our Data” and “Sustainable Healthcare”. It prioritises further developing areas of research that we already do well, including health services research, novel models of care and chronic disease management and prevention. But it also looks to the future by identifying newer fields of endeavour where we feel Western Health is particularly well-placed. These include focuses on inventorship, innovation and commercialisation, data-driven and digital healthcare, community engagement (especially with culturally and linguistically diverse communities), environmental sustainability in healthcare, and staff well-being and recovery.

Bill Karanatsios

Research Program Director

Associate Professor Harin Karunajeewa

Director of Clinical Research