Strengthening research translation in healthcare: a review of the establishment phase of Sydney Health Partners’ Clinical Academic Groups

Background : Partnerships between academic research institutions and health care organisations, and the individuals within them, can help to better integrate research into health care to improve care delivery and patient outcomes. Descriptions of different collaborative models have emerged, but evaluative evidence is limited. Sydney Health Partners (SHP) is one of Australia’s accredited research translation centres. It supports a Clinical Academic Group (CAG) Program which comprises 12 networks of researchers, health professionals, and consumers focused on translating research evidence in specific health areas. We undertook a review of the CAG Program to identify factors contributing to the early establishment and progress of the CAGs, and opportunities for Program improvement. Methods : This qualitative review gathered data from two sources between May 2025 and June 2026: a detailed document review of Program records (guidance materials, funding applications, reports, governance documents); and semi-structured interviews with CAG leadership team members. A coding framework was developed for the document review, and details systematically extracted for each CAG. CAG members were interviewed individually or in small groups, with interviews audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were coded using reflexive thematic analysis to identify broad themes relevant to the study aims. Results : Approximately 65 documents were reviewed and 41 participants interviewed. Factors critical to the establishment of the CAGs included: committed chairs or co-chairs who led each CAG, a culture of collective leadership, support from the CAG Program secretariat (guidance, funding, shared infrastructure), and direct operational support within each CAG (fractional staff). CAGs showed variable progress towards the Program’s five goals (collaboration, capacity and capability building in research translation, consumer involvement, and competitiveness of grant applications), with more attention given to building translational research capacity and establishing collaborations. Suggested program improvements included more support for consumer engagement, more funding, and greater clarity around measures of success. Conclusions : Collaborative networks between researchers, health professionals and consumers can help build research capacity, better align it with local health needs, and support research translation. However, securing research translation at scale requires an integrated system across research and health organisations that incorporates system-wide structures and resources as well.