Partners, coordinators and high-level leaders’ perspectives on a consumer and community involvement program in Australia: a qualitative evaluation using template analysis

TL;DR

This study explores how a program in Australia involves consumers and communities in health research through partnerships and structured processes.

Contribution

The study introduces a qualitative evaluation of a consumer and community involvement program using template analysis to understand its structures and processes.

Findings

The program structures include inner and outer settings like expertise, funding policies, and network approaches.

Communication channels and bridging processes connect consumers/community members with researchers effectively.

Opportunities exist to strengthen internal consumer connections and diversify representation.

Abstract

A Consumer and Community Involvement program located in Australia supports consumers, community members and researchers to work in partnership with health research priorities, policy and practice. The program is positioned to enhance Consumer and Community Involvement (CCI) at individual, organisational, and system levels. Partners are key to the program’s development, growth and sustainment. This study explored various partner perspectives on their involvement within the CCI program, including individuals (consumers, researchers) organisations (universities, medical research institutes) and the system level (funding organisations) alongside CCI program coordinators (delivering the program) and high-level leaders (decision-makers/executive leaders/directors). Data were collected via two focus groups (10 consumer and community involvement members), 12 interviews (researchers, universities, funding organisations, and medical research institutes), nine qualitative proformas - open-text box surveys (CCI program coordinators (current and previous) and high-level leaders) between March-June 2024. Data were de-identified and Template Analysis was conducted and informed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Two themes were produced: (1) ‘Consumer and Community Involvement program structures’ describes the structures of the inner setting (e.g., expertise and support offered, tailored partnerships), and the outer setting (e.g., funding policies, outer consumer and community networks, hub and spoke approach). (2) ‘Processes for connecting consumer/community and researchers’ describe the process (e.g., the communication channels and a bridge between consumer/community members and researchers). This study improves understanding of the planned and tailored structures and processes that embed CCI across individuals, organisations and system levels while highlighting opportunities to strengthen internal consumer connections and diversify consumer representation.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-025-13685-7.