Northern Sydney Local Health District
Research Strategy to 2030
Acknowledgement of Country We would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Northern Sydney Local Health District region, the Dharug and Guringai peoples. Their spirit can be found across the land and we honour the memory of their ancestors and Elders, past and present. As we endeavour to serve the health needs within the community, we recognise the importance of the land and the waterways, as an integral part of people’s health and wellbeing.
Contents
Foreword
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Call to action
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Introduction
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NORTH Sydney Trials And Research ( NORTH STAR ) – a unified district brand
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Strategy development methodology
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Strategy at a glance
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Guiding principles
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Priority Area 1: EMBED – Create a learning healthcare system
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Priority Area 2: TRANSLATE – Grow our research through a pipeline approach
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Priority Area 3: ENABLE – Strengthen the enablers of our research
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Priority Area 4: PARTNER – Expand collaborative partnerships creating a thriving research ecosystem
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Governance and monitoring of implementation
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2025 Research Activity
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The Northern Sydney Local Health District
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3
Foreword
Adjunct Professor Anthony M. Schembri Chief Executive Northern Sydney Local Health District
Nadia Levin Board Member for Research
We are proud to present the Northern Sydney Local Health District Research Strategy to 2030, a roadmap for advancing research that transforms care and improves health outcomes for our community. This strategy reflects our shared vision for NSLHD: Leading research today for healthier lives tomorrow, underpinned by collaboration, bold ideas, and a commitment to equity for all consumers, patients and staff.
Research is central to delivering world-class healthcare. By embedding research into clinical practice, translating discoveries into real world, impactful solutions, and strengthening the foundations that enable innovation, we will create a learning health system that continuously improves. Our guiding principles of equity, inclusivity, diversity, and consumer involvement ensure that research rigorous, relevant and responsive to community needs. This strategy focuses on four priority areas: » Embed research as a core part of care. » Translate knowledge through a pipeline approach. » Enable research through strong governance, infrastructure, and workforce support. » Partner to expand collaboration and co-design impactful research. A number of initiatives underpinning these priority areas will ensure we are well placed to continue to build capability, influence policy and practice, and deliver tangible benefits for healthcare.
Together with our researchers, clinicians, consumers, and partners, we will foster a culture of innovation that positions NSLHD as a leader in research excellence. We invite you to join us in this journey to shape the future of healthcare through research. Our Research Strategy to 2030 was developed through consultations with our clinical, executive and research staff, consumer and community representatives, and partner organisations. We thank all who participated for their contributions to this strategy and ongoing support of research across NSLHD.
Nadia Levin Board Member for Research
Adjunct Professor Anthony M. Schembri Chief Executive Northern Sydney Local Health District
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NSLHD Research Strategy to 2030
Call to action
Associate Professor Naomi Hammond Executive Director, NORTH Sydney Trials and Research Northern Sydney Local Health District
Research is not the responsibility of a few; it is an opportunity for all of us. This NSLHD Research Strategy sets out a bold vision: to embed research into the culture and everyday practice of our entire workforce.
Whether you are a nurse, allied health professional, medical practitioner, or part of our non-clinical teams in health management, leadership or administration, your role in shaping the future of healthcare through research is vital to NSLHD. We are committed to inclusive design, ensuring that our research reflects and responds to the needs of underserved and priority populations. Our approach must be digitally enabled and innovative, leveraging technology and data to accelerate discovery and improve care. Through the Single Digital Patient Record (SDPR), we will build a learning healthcare system—one that continuously adapts and improves based on evidence. Inspired by the generous philanthropic donation of $20 million from Greg Poche and Kay Van Norton that supported the establishment of the NORTH Sydney Trials and Research (STAR) Van Norton Poche Clinical Trials Centre, we are rebranding the NSLHD Research Directorate to be known as NORTH Sydney Trials and Research (NORTH STAR). In this way, the NSLHD Research Directorate will also be known for guidance and stability as we progress forward to driving excellence in research.
This strategy has been developed over the course of a year through extensive consultation with more than 300 stakeholders across NSLHD and beyond. Their insights and contributions have shaped a strategy that is inclusive, practical, and ambitious, reflecting the collective vision of our workforce and partners. This strategy is a call to action: to think differently, to collaborate widely, and to make research part of how we work every day. Together, we can transform care and deliver better health outcomes for all.
Associate Professor Naomi Hammond Executive Director, NORTH Sydney Trials and Research Northern Sydney Local Health District
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Introduction
Research and clinical trials are fundamental to delivering world‑class healthcare and improving outcomes for our community. They drive innovation, underpin evidence‑based practice, and ensure that care is grounded in the latest scientific knowledge. By embedding research into everyday clinical practice, as set out in this Strategy, NSLHD will continue to strengthen a learning health system that evolves in response to the needs of our patients. The NSLHD Research Directorate plays a central role in enabling this approach. It provides the strategic leadership, governance and partnerships required to move research efficiently from concept to delivery, and from discovery to impact—supporting clinicians, researchers and partners to translate evidence into improved care. This role has been significantly strengthened by the transformational $20 million philanthropic investment from Greg Poche and Kay Van Norton, which supported the establishment of the NORTH STAR Van Norton Poche Cancer Trials Centre. This investment marked a shift beyond a traditional governance function, expanding NSLHD’s research capability to include scaled trials delivery, deeper partnerships and a stronger focus on translation. Reflecting this, the Research Directorate is rebranded as NORTH Sydney Trials and Research (NORTH STAR) .
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NSLHD Research Strategy to 2030
NORTH Sydney Trials And Research ( NORTH STAR ) – a unified district brand
NORTH Sydney Trials And Research (NORTH STAR) Directorate
NORTH STAR VNP Cancer Trials Centre
NORTH STAR Clinical Trials Centre
NORTH Star VNP launch event, August 2024
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Strategy development methodology
This Research Strategy was developed by NSLHD with the support of MH Consulting Group (MHC) through three stages, as outlined in the figure below. The consultation process involved extensive input from around over 350 stakeholders, including NSLHD senior executives, clinicians, researchers, consumers, and university partners.
February 2025 80 people STAGE 1 Initial Design
March 2025 100 people Needs analysis survey distributed to NSLHD stakeholders
Strategic planning workshop with key NSLHD stakeholders
April – May 2025 Strategic blueprint drafted
July – August 2025 45 people Four co-design workshops held STAGE 2 Co-design workshops and consultation sessions
September – October 2025 80 people Consultation sessions with key NSLHD governance groups e.g. Consumer Committee, Youth Advisory Committee
November 2025 69 people Second stakeholder survey distributed
STAGE 3 Approval by Chief Executive, RIT and NSLHD Board
December 2025 – February 2026
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NSLHD Research Strategy to 2030
Strategy at a glance
VISION Leading research and clinical trials today for healthier lives tomorrow Transforming care through collaborative research and clinical trials, bold ideas, and a commitment to equity
Our vision is...
DRIVERS
We are driven by...
The NSLHD health system
Our consumers and community
Our priority populations
Our partners
Our workforce
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
...and will be guided by our principles of...
Equity, Inclusivity and diversity
Consumer, community and patient involvement
Culture of research and innovation
PRIORITY AREAS
1
2
3
4
We will achieve our vision through...
EMBED Create a learning healthcare system
TRANSLATE Grow our research through a pipeline approach
ENABLE Strengthen the enablers of our research
PARTNER Expand collaborative partnerships creating a thriving research ecosystem Strengthen and expand partnerships to co-design impactful research that reflects community needs.
Embed clinical trials and research as core to clinical practice by fostering a learning healthcare system, advancing value-based
Translate research through a bidirectional pipeline from ideas to implementation and back, ensuring continuous learning.
Enable our clinical trials and research foundations
through streamlined governance, improved digital infrastructure, and workforce support, with a focus on inclusive and equitable access to research opportunities.
...which in practice means we will..
care, and building research literacy.
ACTIONS
SUCCESS INDICATORS LINKED TO STATE-WIDE RESEARCH IMPACT DOMAINS
Strategic impact will be measured by...
Policy and practice impact
Health and community impact
Knowledge advancement
Capability building
Economic benefit
Sustainability
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Leading research and clinical trials today for healthier lives tomorrow. Transforming care through collaborative research and clinical trials, bold ideas, and a commitment to equity.
The NSLHD health system
Our consumers and community
Our priority populations
Our partners
Our workforce
10 NSLHD Research Strategy to 2030
Guiding principles Aligned with the NSW Health Research and Innovation Strategy 2025–2030 cross cutting themes, NSLHD has adopted three overarching principles to guide the development of our Research Strategy. These principles reflect our values and ways of working, shaping how individuals, teams, and partners collaborate to advance research that transforms care and improves health outcomes.
Equity, Inclusivity and Diversity
We ensure that our research benefits everyone by embracing inclusive design, diverse perspectives and addressing barriers to participation and access.
Culture of Research and Innovation We foster an environment where curiosity, collaboration, and bold ideas are encouraged and supported to drive continual improvement in healthcare.
Consumer, Community and Patient Involvement We partner with consumers, communities, and patients to shape research that reflects lived experience and delivers meaningful outcomes.
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PRIORITY AREA 1
EMBED – Create a learning healthcare system
Embed clinical trials and research as core to clinical practice by fostering a learning healthcare system, advancing value-based care, and building research literacy.
Case Study: Advancing Critical Care Research Through the NOICE Learning Health System
The Neurological Outcomes in Intensive Care (NOICE) registry demonstrates how a learning health system can drive meaningful improvement in critical care. Developed at Royal North Shore Hospital, the registry uses automated extraction of neurological, physiological and clinical data from the electronic health record, eliminating manual data entry while ensuring high‑quality, timely data with minimal clinician burden. The platform provides near real‑time insight into practice patterns and patient outcomes, creating a continuous feedback loop that supports monitoring,
benchmarking and rapid, data‑driven quality improvement. Automated patient identification, trial‑specific data capture and bedside clinical decision‑support prompts enable research activity to occur alongside routine care. This digitally enabled model transforms traditional registries into active learning health systems by aligning care delivery, research infrastructure and continuous improvement, accelerating evidence generation and improving outcomes for critically ill patients across NSLHD.
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NSLHD Research Strategy to 2030
Priority area action and activity timeline
Short-term (<2yrs)
Medium-term (2-4yrs)
Long-term (>5yrs)
Activity
Priority Area 1: EMBED – Create a learning healthcare system
1.1 Embed clinical trials and research processes into practice across NSLHD.
Ensure links exist between research, quality improvement and clinical redesign, enabling continuous learning.
Establish departmental and divisional KPIs relating to research and quality improvement activities.
Implement universal consent as standard practice across NSLHD to facilitate research using routinely collected data.
Establish research expectations within position descriptions, performance reviews, and recruitment processes.
Pilot the embedding of clinical trial processes (eg. screening, decision support tools) into Single Digital Patient Record (SDPR) data capture 1.2 Increase the visibility, communication and transparency of research across our facilities and services. Develop research dashboards tailored to multiple audiences capturing key research metrics such as active research and clinical trials, publications, presentations, and awards. Develop a district-wide research communications plan that showcases research impact and opportunities, has clarity around research priorities, and transparency around decision-making, ensuring equitable access. Create a centralised, visible portal/map of the district’s research infrastructure and capability, including physical assets (e.g. freezers), workforce, resources, and active projects.
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The logos linked to each guiding principle are reflected through the associated actions.
PRIORITY AREA 2
TRANSLATE – Grow our research through a pipeline approach Translate research through a bidirectional pipeline from ideas to implementation and back, ensuring continuous learning.
Case Study: Translating Research into Improved Outcomes for People with Chronic Lung Disease
Dr Sally Wootton exemplifies a translational research pipeline that moves from clinical need to scalable system impact. As Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist at NSLHD, she leads pulmonary rehabilitation services across five sites while converting service gaps in chronic lung disease care into a sustained program of competitive, grant‑funded research. In response to limited access to pulmonary rehabilitation for people with COPD, Dr Wootton has translated established evidence into Australia’s first app‑based mobile pulmonary rehabilitation (m‑PR) model. This innovation is now being evaluated through a multisite randomised trial across four
NSW Local Health Districts, testing effectiveness, cost‑efficiency and real‑world implementation against centre‑based care. This work aligns strongly with the Research Strategy’s translation priorities by embedding research in routine care, generating scalable evidence, and supporting system‑level adoption. Fellowship‑supported protected research time enables progression from innovation to implementation, strengthening NSLHD’s capacity to grow research that delivers measurable access, efficiency and outcome gains.
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NSLHD Research Strategy to 2030
Priority area action and activity timeline
Short-term (<2yrs)
Medium-term (2-4yrs)
Long-term (>5yrs)
Activity
Priority Area 2: TRANSLATE – Grow our research through a pipeline approach
2.1 Enable ideas from across the organisation and beyond to shape and inform our research.
Facilitate periodic ‘ideas workshops’ or innovation pitch sessions to encourage clinicians, consumers, and researchers of all career stages to share early or blue-sky ideas. Develop an accessible, transparent ideas register (or similar platform) to systematically capture research ideas and innovations across NSLHD. Engage transdisciplinary teams (including consumers and external experts) to evaluate and prioritise submitted research ideas. Ensure local grant programs exist that prioritise staged development of research projects, moving from ideas to pilot to implementation.
2.2 Promote clear pathways for implementation, translation and impact.
Enable the transition from early-stage partnerships to high- impact, competitive research programs.
Establish clear guidelines and processes to support the protection of NSLHD intellectual property (IP) from project design (where appropriate) through the project lifecycle.
Provide targeted training and educational programs to increase awareness and understanding of IP and commercialisation.
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The logos linked to each guiding principle are reflected through the associated actions.
PRIORITY AREA 3
ENABLE – Strengthen the enablers of our research Enable our clinical trials and research foundations through streamlined governance, improved digital infrastructure, and workforce support, with a focus on inclusive and equitable access to research opportunities.
Strengthening the foundations that enable clinical trials across NSLHD requires investment in workforce capability, streamlined governance, and improved supporting infrastructure. A key focus is ensuring our clinical trials workforce are skilled and supported to ensure sustainable growth in clinical trials, alongside high quality delivery, and equitable access to opportunities. This commitment is reflected in initiatives such as the Clinical Trials Operations scholarships, delivered through a partnership between NSLHD, the NORTH Foundation and Macquarie University. Twenty NSLHD clinical trials staff were supported to undertake Australia’s first Graduate Certificate in Clinical Trials
Operations, addressing a recognised education gap and building capability across the district. Participants highlighted the value of formal training in areas such as regulation, trial management, and data processes, strengthening both individual expertise and organisational capacity. By supporting multidisciplinary staff - from clinical trial coordinators to allied health investigators - the program enhances end-to-end trial capability. Through targeted workforce investment, strengthened partnerships, and improved systems, NSLHD is well positioned to deliver high quality, inclusive research and clinical trials now and into the future.
16 NSLHD Research Strategy to 2030
Priority area action and activity timeline
Short-term (<2yrs)
Medium-term (2-4yrs)
Long-term (>5yrs)
Activity
Priority Area 3: ENABLE – Strengthen the enablers of our research
3.1 Enable workforce research capacity.
Establish protected time for clinician researchers, and develop career pathways for clinical research operations staff.
Provide targeted training, workshops, and mentoring programs for new and early-career researchers.
Enable access to pooled support roles (e.g. clinical trial coordinators, biostatisticians) for teams with limited capacity.
3.2 Streamline ethics and governance processes to enable timely clinical trial and research activity.
Foster stronger linkages between the research governance and clinical governance teams to ensure clear pathways exist for QA, QI and research.
Establish a pre- submission support service to ensure faster approval timelines for both ethics and governance submissions.
Ensure training and resources on ethics and governance processes are available to all staff.
3.3 Enhance access to high-quality health data for clinical trials, research and quality improvement.
Pilot SDPR-enabled systems to enhance data use for research and quality improvement.
Develop and support data sandboxes and safe platforms for researchers to analyse data.
Embed bioinformatics expertise across the district to support research and clinical trials.
Improve data governance clarity and navigation (e.g. processes, custodianship, access pathways).
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The logos linked to each guiding principle are reflected through the associated actions.
PRIORITY AREA 4
PARTNER – Expand collaborative partnerships creating a thriving research ecosystem Strengthen and expand partnerships to co-design impactful research that reflects community needs.
Case Study: Research that Improves Safety and Support for People Experiencing Violence led by the Prevention and Response to Violence, Abuse and Neglect (PARVAN) Service – Northern Sydney Local Health District
The PARVAN Service supports people affected by violence, abuse and neglect through safe, trauma‑informed and culturally appropriate care, while working closely with health staff across the district to improve recognition and response. Its research approach is grounded in strong partnerships with consumers and service providers to ensure care models reflect lived experience and community need. A recent collaborative evaluation examined how domestic and family violence services delivered by PARVAN and partner agencies are working,
identifying what victims and survivors find most helpful and where barriers to early identification and access remain. The findings are informing changes to the PARVAN Model of Care, strengthening service effectiveness and sustainability. This work demonstrates how partnerships between consumers, clinicians and agencies create a connected research ecosystem that generates shared evidence, supports service improvement and delivers meaningful impact for vulnerable communities.
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Priority area action and activity timeline
Activity Long-term (>5yrs) Priority Area 4: PARTNER – Expand collaborative partnerships creating a thriving research ecosystem Short-term (<2yrs) Medium-term (2-4yrs)
4.1 Embed co-design with consumers, clinicians, and priority populations across the full research lifecycle.
Support co-designed research and clinical trials as standard practice at NSLHD.
Facilitate consumer groups that are inclusive of underserved and priority populations to enable consumers and researchers to partner early.
Embed consumer engagement expectations within all formal partnership agreements.
4.2 Formalise key partnerships through shared research agendas and joint governance arrangements.
Develop shared research agendas with each key partner.
Establish shared governance structures with our key partners, including guiding principles and agreements (where appropriate).
Map / track partnerships via collaborative grant submissions.
4.3 Position NSLHD as a partner of choice for health and clinical research.
Showcase NSLHD’s research strengths, flagship innovations, and priority partnership opportunities.
Proactively seek partnerships across industry, philanthropy, government, and other funding sources.
Develop embedded partnership models, such as priority engagement processes, conjoint appointments and co-location for clinical and non-clinical researchers.
Align partnership opportunities with commercialisation pathways where appropriate.
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The logos linked to each guiding principle are reflected through the associated actions.
State-wide research impact domains
Indicative success indicators
Knowledge advancement
1. Increased clinical trials across NSLHD
2. Percentage of staff engaging in/involved in research 3. Improved access and usage of shared research infrastructure, AI, data and digital systems 4. Increase in research projects with cross-organisational or interdisciplinary teams 5. Year on year increase in the number of research active staff with protected time for research
Capability building
Policy and practice impact
6. Evidence of research outputs leading to service, policy or care improvements
7. Proportion of research projects aligned to priority questions identified through clinician, consumer or priority population engagement 8. Consumer and partner feedback on involvement and experience in clinical trials and research
Health and community impact
Economic benefits
9. Joint funding secured for partner, precinct-based or collaborative initiatives
10. Improved turnaround times for ethics and governance review processes 11. Proportion of patients offered universal consent for participation in research and data use
Sustainability
Governance and monitoring of implementation
Strategic oversight and accountability
Monitoring, reporting and continuous improvement Progress against the Strategy will be monitored and reported regularly to executive leadership, the Committee and the Board. Reporting will track delivery against agreed priorities and actions, inform ongoing refinement, and support sustained improvement in research performance and impact. Indicative success measures aligned to NSW research impact domains will guide evaluation and be refined during implementation.
Oversight of the Research Strategy is provided by the NSLHD Board, which is committed to ensuring clinical care is supported by high impact research, innovation and technology that delivers benefit to patients, families and the community. The Research, Innovation and Technology (RIT) Committee provides assurance to the Board that research is appropriately governed and integrated with clinical care.
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2025 Research Activity
1317 Publications in 2025
982 Active studies 3.62 NSLHD 2024-2025
37 NSLHD researchers in Stanford’s Global Top 2% (career impact)
Field Weighted Citation Index
46 Clinical departments with research active staff
107 Industry partners
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The Northern Sydney Local Health District region
NSLHD
Greater Sydney
Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital Guringai/Darug land
Mona Vale Hospital Garigal land
Neringah Hospital Guringai land
Northern Beaches Hospital Cammeraygal land
Adolescent and Young Adult Hospice Gayamaygal land
Macquarie Hospital Wallumedegal land
Royal North Shore Hospital Cammeraygal land
Ryde Hospital Wallumedegal land
Royal Rehab Wallumedegal land
Northern Sydney Local Health District
Greenwich Hospital Cammeraygal land
NSLHD Hospitals and Hospice
Affiliated Health Organisations
Public-private Partnership
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