This year, nearly 500 people came together to have their say about how consumers and the community should be involved in health and medical research.
From July to September 2025, 25 Roundtables were held across the country to bring consumers, community representatives, researchers, clinicians, policy makers, funders, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders together to share their feedback on the National Health & Medical Research Council and Consumer Health Forum’s draft Statement on Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research.
Your voice matters
The best thing about the Roundtable discussion was hearing different perspectives and real experiences, and seeing how everyone's ideas could help shape the future of health and medical research.
The core purpose of 'The Statement' is to guide research funders, research institutions, researchers, consumers, and community members in the active involvement of consumers and community members across all aspects of health and medical research.
Feedback on The Statement was collected from the 497 Roundtable attendees and has been given to NHMRC and CHF to use in shaping the final Statement to be released in 2026.
Those who weren’t able to participate in the Roundtables were invited to fill out a survey on NHMRC’s consultation hub, which closed mid-September. This feedback is also being incorporated into the final Statement.
What happens now?
To read The Kids’ report on the Roundtables, including a summary of the feedback received, please click here.
To find out about the latest updates on the Statement and be notified when it is released, you can subscribe here.
To learn about new involvement opportunities with The Kids, we invite you to join our CONNECT program here.
