Health Management Research Alliance

The Health Management Research Alliance brings together health management researchers from a range of Universities and outside agencies across Australia and New Zealand. Initiated through the Griffith Business School and the Health Group, the HMRA will become a program of the Society of Health Administration Programs in Education in July, 2009. Griffith University will host the HMRA for a period of two years.

SHAPE has established a clear role in bringing together Australian and New Zealand health management academics around the pedagogy of health management and health systems. In adopting the HMRA, SHAPE is developing a research framework in a two-fold way. Firstly, the framework allows members to be part of organisation-based research groups as well as a SHAPE promoted research collective. Secondly, the research groups formed through the HMRA must add to and not detract from groups currently engaged in health services management research. This inclusive framework has been driven by the vision to engage in research that improves health management and health systems practice and pedagogy through collaborative, multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral, multi-organisational research.

Aims and Goals

The key aim of the HMRA is to enhance the reputation and influence of health management and health system researchers through a collaborative model of research engagement. This key aim will be accomplished by:  

1. Developing research projects that are informed by the needs of health sector stakeholders and end users;
2. Identifying and disseminating the research findings of members of the HMRA on health management and health systems improvements;
3. Building strong and sustainable cross-institutional partnerships;
4. Attracting diverse research funding through the HMRA; and
5. Growing a strong cohort of Research Higher Degree students researching in the areas of health management and health systems improvements.
   
   

Priority Areas

Following discussions amongst the 15 member organisations of SHAPE, the HMRA has set itself four initial research priority areas over the next two years. These areas include:

• Safety, risk and voice in health organisations
• Health leadership
• Skills retention and replacement
• Collaboratives and clinical networks
  
  

Further Information

Contact details for the Health Management Research Alliance Co-ordinator, Professor Liz Fulop.