Elements of successful evidence centres: Foundations for a disability employment Centre of Excellence

In May 2024, the Australian federal government announced a budget commitment of $23.3 million over four years to establish the Centre of Excellence from 2024-25.

Prior to this, and in response to public consultation regarding the purpose and organisational model of a proposed Disability Employment Centre of Excellence in Australia, a private philanthropic foundation commissioned a team of researchers from CSI Swinburne to answer the question:

What are the key elements of successful evidence centre models (both national and international) or other practice-focused centres?

From the research, five core and overlapping elements of centre design are evident. It provides the evidence base that can inform future decision-making about the model best suited to the proposed aspirations of the Disability Employment Centre of Excellence in the Australian context.

Approach

This research had five stages:

1. Review of submissions to the Disability Employment Centre of Excellence Options Paper from Disability Representative Organisations
2. Review of the academic literature on effectiveness of evidence centres
3. Review of 23 existing, successful evidence centres in Australia, US, UK, Canada and New Zealand
4. In-depth investigation of nine successful evidence centre models through interviews with key personnel and document review
5. Creation of evidence-based insights through analysis of data

Elements of Effective Evidence Centre Design

The design of evidence centres should by driven by a logic of the change they aim to achieve within their ecosystem, noting that this may shift and evolve over time.

The research uncovers five core and overlapping elements of effective centre design: structure; funding and timelines; staffing; implementation; and evaluation. The report below delves into each element and their sub elements.

Findings and recommendations

Successful evidence centres can demonstrate the following:

1. A clear logic of change that identifies activities likely to have maximum effect for target audiences/actors and seeks to build an enabling ecosystem environment in which change can occur
2. Strong connections to the actors they seek to influence built through multiple mechanisms including governance roles, collaboration in design and/or delivery of activities, and fostering learning communities
3. An entrepreneurial approach that plans for and manages diverse income streams, while also maintaining clarity of focus across diverse projects
4. Programs that offer different intensities of support ranging from universally accessible guidance to intensive ‘alongside’ support
5. Multiple strategies of knowledge translation