Better collaboration, increased dialogue and changing the incentive mix for researchers are all essential ingredients in addressing the challenges that face evidence-informed policy making today, Sax Institute Senior Adviser Professor Don Nutbeam argues in this opinion piece for public sector online publication, The Mandarin. 

The Sax Institute has welcomed Chief Scientist Professor Alan Finkel's appointment of leading academics and researchers to new expert capability teams to support the development of the 2016 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap. Sax Institute CEO Professor Sally Redman will join the team examining health and medical science – one of six teams that will assess what research infrastructure capability we have, and what we might need in the future.

There is still time to submit an abstract for this year's 45 and Up Study Collaborators’ Meeting, to be held in Sydney on 6 September. The meeting is themed ‘Evidence, data and decision making for a better future’. It will focus on the importance of research with the potential to impact health decision making, as well as new ways that data and analysis are being used by those who design and deliver policies, programs and healthcare services. Submissions close on 30 June.

We are seeking expressions of interest from researchers to conduct rapid reviews of evidence on several topics for our Evidence Check program. Current projects include reviews of the evidence on healthy lifestyle choices in children, the effectiveness of libraries for accessing health information and the determinants of self-management among people with chronic disease.

Our quarterly, peer-reviewed online journal, Public Health Research & Practice, is now calling for papers from policy makers, practitioners and researchers for themed issues planned for 2017. Proposed themes include emerging infectious diseases, mental health, cancer screening, refugee health and childhood obesity.

In the latest in our series of articles showcasing the innovative work of the Sax Institute's member organisations, we profile a project led by Dr Haitham Tuffaha (pictured), of Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University. Dr Tuffaha is using a new approach to assessing the value of research to answer the question: At what point should the research stop, and new healthcare interventions be adopted?