Gaining from interactions with universities: Multiple methods for nurturing absorptive capacity

This paper examines the various methods through which firms benefit from interactions with universities, arguing that such benefits are instrumental in nurturing the multiple facets of a firm's absorptive capacity. We bring together data collected from a survey of UK firms that collaborated with universities, and firm-level data on past partnerships with universities. The results show that benefits from interactions with universities are multifaceted, including enhancement of the firm's explorative and exploitative capabilities. Results also indicate that firms' R&D commitments, geographical proximity to and research quality of university partners have a distinct impact on the different types of benefits from interactions with universities. We find geographical proximity is crucial for assessing problem-solving as an important benefit, while interactions with top quality universities have a positive influence on the benefits associated with firms' downstream activities. We discuss the implications of these findings for research and policy.Absorptive capacity University-industry interactions Benefits Exploration Exploitation

Gaining from interactions with universities: Multiple methods for nurturing absorptive capacity

This paper examines the various methods through which firms benefit from interactions with universities, arguing that such benefits are instrumental in nurturing the multiple facets of a firm's absorptive capacity. We bring together data collected from a survey of UK firms that collaborated with universities, and firm-level data on past partnerships with universities. The results show that benefits from interactions with universities are multifaceted, including enhancement of the firm's explorative and exploitative capabilities. Results also indicate that firms' R&D commitments, geographical proximity to and research quality of university partners have a distinct impact on the different types of benefits from interactions with universities. We find geographical proximity is crucial for assessing problem-solving as an important benefit, while interactions with top quality universities have a positive influence on the benefits associated with firms' downstream activities. We discuss the implications of these findings for research and policy.This paper was produced as part of the Innovation and Productivity Grand Challenge, a research grant funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, grant number EP/C534239.Peer reviewe

Retrenchment and health parameters: a short report

This chapter describes the physical, psychological and social wellbeing of a cohort of Australian men in the Hunter Valley region of Australia who had been retrenched when a large steelworks closed down. The study hypothesis was that the health status of these men would deteriorate over time following the factory closure, particularly in the unemployed group, despite the different social and economic conditions in Australia. The cohort reported is part of a larger study that also examined the health of spouses and trialled an intervention for general medical practitioners in the region aimed at raising their awareness of the relaticlnship between unemployment and health

Improving the quality of healthcare: a cross-sectional study of the features of successful clinical networks

Networks of clinical experts are being established internationally to help embed evidence based care in health systems. There is emerging evidence that these clinical networks can drive quality improvement programs, but the features that distinguish successful networks are largely unknown. We examined the factors that make clinical networks effective at improving quality of care and facilitating system-wide changes.The Agency has provided funds to support this research as part of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) partnership project grant scheme. These funds have been awarded on the basis of an NHMRC deed of agreement detailing the governance and conduct of research in Australia

Additional Files for the articles: "Improving the quality of healthcare: a cross-sectional study of the features of successful clinical networks" and “The EXpert PANel Decision (EXPAND) method: a way to measure the impact of diverse quality improvement activities of clinical networks”

Additional files providing more detail about the methods and analysis for the article "Improving the quality of healthcare: a cross-sectional study of the features of successful clinical networks" accepted for publication in Public Health Research and Practice. Additional File 1: Summary of outcome variables, indicators, and data collection methods Additional file 2: Summary of explanatory variables, indicators, and data collection methods Additional File 3: Explanatory factors associated with impact on quality of care and system-wide change (unadjusted Spearman’s correlation coefficients

Monitoring and Evaluation of the Kava Pilot Program

To determine the impact of the kava pilot program, a monitoring and evaluation program was conducted between April 2021 to August 2023 by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) and Ninti One (Ninti), in collaboration with other partners and overseen by a Project Advisory Group. This document is the report for the monitoring and evaluation of the kava pilot program

Effect of general anaesthesia on functional outcome in patients with anterior circulation ischaemic stroke having endovascular thrombectomy versus standard care: a meta-analysis of individual patient data

Background: General anaesthesia (GA) during endovascular thrombectomy has been associated with worse patient outcomes in observational studies compared with patients treated without GA. We assessed functional outcome in ischaemic stroke patients with large vessel anterior circulation occlusion undergoing endovascular thrombectomy under GA, versus thrombectomy not under GA (with or without sedation) versus standard care (ie, no thrombectomy), stratified by the use of GA versus standard care. Methods: For this meta-analysis, patient-level data were pooled from all patients included in randomised trials in PuMed published between Jan 1, 2010, and May 31, 2017, that compared endovascular thrombectomy predominantly done with stent retrievers with standard care in anterior circulation ischaemic stroke patients (HERMES Collaboration). The primary outcome was functional outcome assessed by ordinal analysis of the modified Rankin scale (mRS) at 90 days in the GA and non-GA subgroups of patients treated with endovascular therapy versus those patients treated with standard care, adjusted for baseline prognostic variables. To account for between-trial variance we used mixed-effects modelling with a random effect for trials incorporated in all models. Bias was assessed using the Cochrane method. The meta-analysis was prospectively designed, but not registered. Findings: Seven trials were identified by our search; of 1764 patients included in these trials, 871 were allocated to endovascular thrombectomy and 893 were assigned standard care. After exclusion of 74 patients (72 did not undergo the procedure and two had missing data on anaesthetic strategy), 236 (30%) of 797 patients who had endovascular procedures were treated under GA. At baseline, patients receiving GA were younger and had a shorter delay between stroke onset and randomisation but they had similar pre-treatment clinical severity compared with patients who did not have GA. Endovascular thrombectomy improved functional outcome at 3 months both in patients who had GA (adjusted common odds ratio (cOR) 1·52, 95% CI 1·09–2·11, p=0·014) and in those who did not have GA (adjusted cOR 2·33, 95% CI 1·75–3·10, p<0·0001) versus standard care. However, outcomes were significantly better for patients who did not receive GA versus those who received GA (covariate-adjusted cOR 1·53, 95% CI 1·14–2·04, p=0·0044). The risk of bias and variability between studies was assessed to be low. Interpretation: Worse outcomes after endovascular thrombectomy were associated with GA, after adjustment for baseline prognostic variables. These data support avoidance of GA whenever possible. The procedure did, however, remain effective versus standard care in patients treated under GA, indicating that treatment should not be withheld in those who require anaesthesia for medical reasons