When we talk about “evidence for action” we are talking about a process called “evidence translation.” Evidence translation means finding ways to explain technical research so that it can be understood and used.
Our approach
Our approach to evidence for action involves 5 key steps.
- Understand - We listen to participants, their families and carers, providers and industry, NDIA staff and decision makers to understand what they need to know.
- Collaborate - We work with people with disability, their families and carers, academics, researchers and other industry experts to generate and gather the best available evidence.
- Share - We share the evidence and our findings widely and help others to understand why it matters and how to use it.
- Support - We work with participants, their families and carers, providers and industry, and decision-makers to make it easier for them to put evidence into action.
- Monitor - We monitor how the evidence is being used to guide participants and inform policy and practice and the impact it has on participant and NDIS outcomes.
Who can use evidence for action
Evidence for action is for the NDIA, NDIS participants, providers and the wider disability community. There are 4 main ways our advice is used.
- Inform policy - We support the use of evidence with co-design approaches to create policy.
- Inform strategy - We find ways for the NDIA and wider disability system to improve participant outcomes.
- Inform staff - We share high quality research with NDIA staff and partners and help them apply it to their work.
- Support participants - We provide evidence-based information through resources like the Guides for Understanding Supports.
Why it’s important
Evidence-based decisions combine research, participant preferences, provider knowledge and information from the environmental and organisational context. We bring these together to inform policy, practice and NDIS participant decisions.
The Research and Evaluation Strategy 2022–2027 shows our commitment to improve what we know through research and what we do at the NDIA. We translate, circulate and implement this research to support its uptake.
This drives evidence-based policy and planning as well as informed decision making for NDIS participants, families and carers. This creates better outcomes and contributes to the goals outlined in the NDIA Corporate Plan.