The Care Economy CRC will bring together a wide range of stakeholders, including private and public companies, partner universities, councils of social service, regulators, government agencies, SMEs and NFPs, community groups, consumer peak bodies and other relevant organisations.
The overriding emphasis will be on implementing innovation to transition to a future-ready care service industry through collaboration between care sectors and care participants. The CRC consortium and associated network will share best practice, undertake proof-of-concept studies and apply critical enabling technologies to transform care service delivery to be more effective, efficient, sustainable and improve care quality and outcomes.
The CRC’s Research Programs integrate to deliver an excellent, person-centred, empowered experience for care participants. Three complementary Research Programs will encompass the CRC objectives:
RESEARCH Program 1: Technology Solutions
This research program focuses on realising the transformative potential of next-generation medical and assistive technologies to address care provider challenges and deliver safe, effective and quality care. '
Products include scalable hardware and software such as environmental and wearable sensors, monitoring devices, virtual care, social-care robotics, telehealth, connected care systems, care use and management software systems, medical devices and assistive technologies including those enabling digital care.
Solutions will be co-designed in collaboration with care participants, technology providers and care service providers. Technology proof-of-concept and service delivery improvement will be established across multiple care sectors through our extensive collaborative network of care providers. Products and services will be scaled and commercialised for wider industry uptake.
Co-production of effective, affordable, and trusted technology solutions for innovative cross-sector care services.
Transforming Australian technology into trusted commercial products and services, contributing to new export opportunities.
Affordable and accessible technology enabled care services, including for diverse groups, those at risk and for the vulnerable and disadvantaged.
Co-designed, care services that are fit-for-purpose and use technology and evidence-based health and social care interventions.
Research Program Lead: Dr Aniruddha Desai
Research Program Deputy Lead: Professor Wendy Moyle
RESEARCH Program 2: Data Solutions
This research program will build data-driven methods, tools and infrastructure to improve care quality and outcomes. The research will drive analytical insights from care data to produce decision support tools for care providers and participants.
Activities are focussed on safe and effective use of data including making data accessible, connected, and interoperable across multiple care sectors to optimise care services. Research will harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) advances and will apply data linkage across care sectors for use in analytics. Application of data solutions will create new service provision and decision support tools enabling care providers to deliver reasonable, cost-effective, responsive, and equitable care.
Products and services include software tools and apps used to support care, process automation in care delivery, real-time analytics to improve cost-effectiveness, improve safety, or prevent fraud and payment inefficiencies, and workforce modelling to improve service efficiencies and sustainability.
Establish best-practice data sharing and governance approaches for application across diverse care-sectors and settings to streamline delivery of care.
Develop interoperable collection and integration platforms, trusted by care participants and care providers, and compliant with regulations.
Create secure and continuous care data streams along with optimised dashboards and decision-support interfaces to enable effective, person-centred care delivery across the lifecourse.
Integrated, efficient, quality, safe, culturally appropriate and coordinated care provided by the right provider at the right time.
Research Program Lead: Professor Adam Dunn
Research Program Deputy Lead: Professor James Boyd
RESEARCH Program 3: Workforce Innovation
This research program will build capacity and capability of the workforce to be adaptable and deliver evidence-based quality care services by focusing on the formal and informal care workforce and the systems underpinned care.
The research will examine new ways to address workforce shortages and skills gaps, increase the attractiveness of care work, improve workforce participation, expand capacity and capability, promote quality and improve career pathways.
The research program will promote workforce capability to innovate care systems by adopting latest care technologies into practice and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and undo career silos in training.
Tackle digital literacy skill gaps including addressing barriers to effective digital readiness of the workforce.
New approaches to address workforce shortages, particularly in rural and remote communities.
Embedding technological based innovation to enhance care systems and care work.
New engagement models that facilitate workforce recruitment, safety, retention and achieve a more empowered workforce.
Research Program Lead: Professor Sarah Larkins
Research Program Deputy Lead: Professor Sheila Degotardi
