The Spinal Research Institute

Why this is important
Last year, the SRI published a report – The Landscape of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Research
in Australia (2018-2023) – which identified the funded and published SCI research in
Australia over a 5.5 year period. Of the 196 research publications identified, only 9 projects
(4.6%) acknowledged engaging people with lived experience of spinal cord injury to co-
design or co-deliver the research. The SRI wants to change this and increase community
involvement in research.

How the SRI is addressing the issue
One of the SRI’s key programs is our Consumer Engagement Program, which aims to place
people with lived experience of SCI at the forefront of research by supporting them to co-
design and co-deliver research in partnership with researchers.

Including lived experience perspectives throughout the research process – such as shaping research questions, co- designing data collection methods or trial protocols, helping analyse data, and informing
dissemination methods – benefits the quality and direction of research and ultimately helps
improve health and quality of life outcomes for people with SCI. Evidence of community
(“consumer”) involvement in the research process is now also a key expectation for federal
government grants, which fund 61% of Australian SCI research.

We are approaching this challenge in two ways – by educating researchers about the
importance of consumer engagement and different ways in which they can involve consumer
partners in their research; and by raising awareness within the SCI community about how
lived experience perspectives can help improve research and research outcomes. This is
where we need your assistance.

How you can help
Whether you’re curious about research and the research process, interested in joining
research studies or clinical trials, or want to share your lived experience with researchers to
improve research outcomes, your voice matters.

Find out how you can get involved and make a real impact on spinal cord injury research – join the Consumer Engagement Program!

For more information contact the SRI’s Community & Consumer Engagement Manager,
Antonio Vecchio, at [email protected]

The Spinal Research Institute is a not-for-profit organisation building research collaboration
and consumer engagement to improve the lives of people with spinal cord injury.