Professor Graham Brown, from La Trobe’s Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS), has been awarded a $982,554 National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Partnership Grant for the project, Driving stronger peer, lived and living experience programs and leadership.
The project, called PiLLARS: Peer, Lived-Living Expertise Alliance for Research Strength and Solidarity, brings together a partnership of 14 organisations and communities with lived experience of marginalisation, stigmatisation and criminalisation, including LGBTIQA+ communities, people living with mental illness, HIV and viral hepatitis, people who use drugs, and sex workers, plus four universities and 10 collaborating community organisations.
The research will investigate the community, practice and policy structures that underpin peer, lived and living experience (PLLE) programs, with the aim of enhancing leadership, workforce development and service delivery across the sector.
Meaningful involvement of people with lived experience is increasingly recognised as critical to improving the relevance, equity and effectiveness of health and social services.
While investment in PLLE programs has grown significantly in recent years, knowledge and expertise remain fragmented across different communities and sectors.
Using a participatory and systems-informed approach, the research team and partner organisations will work together to translate existing expertise into practical resources and evidence to guide policy, organisational development and leadership.
Professor Brown said the project represented a significant opportunity to bring together knowledge that had too often been developed in isolation.
“People with peer, lived and living experience play a vital role in shaping more effective and equitable health and social services,” Professor Brown said.
“This project will connect expertise from across communities and sectors to inform policy, support workforce development and improve outcomes for people facing marginalisation.”
“The project will build the capacity of emerging PLLE leaders, as well as host two PhD scholarships for research in the field.”
The findings will be translated into co-designed, publicly available resources to support PLLE programs, organisations and workforces nationwide, while helping inform future health and social policy.
La Trobe Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation Professor Chris Pakes congratulated Professor Brown and the project partners on securing the highly competitive funding.
“This project exemplifies the power of community-engaged research to deliver practical impact, bringing together expertise from across Australia to inform policy, develop capability and contribute to more equitable health and social services,” Professor Pakes said.
The NHMRC Partnership funding scheme provides funding and support to create new opportunities for researchers, communities, and policy makers to work together to define research questions, undertake research, interpret the findings and implement the findings into policy and practice.
PiLLARS is an NHMRC Partnership of 18 organisations (Alphabetical) ARCSHS, La Trobe University; Australian Alcohol and other Drugs Council; Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League; Curtin University; Deakin University; Health Equity Matters; Hepatitis Australia; Hepatitis B Voices; LGBTIQ+ Health Australia; Lived Experience Australia; Mind Australia; National Association of People Living with HIV Australia; Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association; Curtin University; Thorne Harbour Health; Transgender Victoria; University of Queensland; Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing; VMIAC
A further 10 collaborating organisations include: ACON, Harm Reduction Victoria, Northern Territory AIDS and Hepatitis Council, Peer Based Harm Reduction WA, Positive Life NSW, Queensland Injectors Voice for Advocacy and Action, Queensland Positive People, Self Help Addiction Resource Centre, Sex Worker Outreach Project NSW, and Thread- community+health (Hepatitis WA and WAAC).
Total funding including from the NHMRC, partnerships and in-kind support is $2.1 million.
Find out more about PiLLARS.
