Partnering with Consumers

There are several ways to find consumers to involve in your healthcare improvement project. Aim to engage individuals whose lived experience closely aligns with your project focus, ensuring their contributions are relevant and meaningful.

To support this process, prepare a brief Expression of Interest (EOI) that outlines the project, the role of consumers, and clear steps for learning more or applying. You can use the provided EOI template to get started.

Once you have your EOI, here are some suggestions on where to share it:

• For those working within a health service, the Patient Experience or Consumer Partnerships Manager may be a helpful point of contact to support engagement efforts.
• Clinicians may also seek to engage patients and family members as consumer representatives; however, any therapeutic relationship must be fully concluded before doing so.
• Remember to look beyond the most easily accessible consumers, and consider engaging with those whose voices are less often heard but equally important.
• Many state and national health consumer organisations, whether focused on specific health conditions (e.g. the Heart Foundation, Diabetes Australia) or broader representation (e.g. Consumers Health Forum of Australia, Health Consumers NSW, Health Consumers Council WA), offer avenues to communicate with their members about healthcare improvement initiatives. We recommend reaching out to these organisations to explore opportunities for collaboration. Establishing long-term relationships with them is an important foundational step in effectively engaging with consumers and the wider community.
• Consider engaging with local councils with established consumer and community networks.
• Consider reaching out to local or online community groups as a way to engage consumers. Before doing so, it is important to first check with the group’s administrator or moderator to understand the group’s purpose and confirm whether placing an EOI or discussing improvement projects is appropriate.
• Share your expression of interest on our Health Research Hub Discussion Forum on LinkedIn.

Engaging with priority populations, groups disproportionately affected by poor health outcomes, is a strategic and ethical imperative in reducing healthcare disparities. These populations often include individuals defined by sociodemographic factors such as race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic or disability status, and geographic location and people living with health conditions such as mental illness.

Despite being among the most impacted, these groups are frequently underrepresented in healthcare improvement initiatives due to systemic barriers such as mistrust, limited access, and exclusionary design approaches. Addressing these challenges requires intentional, inclusive strategies that build trust, enhance accessibility, and ensure relevance in both research and service design. Meaningful engagement with priority populations is essential to creating equitable, person-centred healthcare systems.

Strategies to support inclusive involvement include:

• Connecting with community organisations or existing consumer groups to discuss the most effective ways to engage and collaborate.
• Meeting consumers and communities in their own space and take the time to build relationships and trust before talking about the project.
• Offering something of value to the community in exchange for their time and input.
• Providing interpreter services to ensure language is not a barrier to involvement.
• Scheduling meetings at convenient times, such as evenings or weekends, to accommodate different schedules.
• Arranging or reimbursing transportation to make participation accessible.
• Viewing relationship-building as a long-term investment. Progress may be gradual, so keep track of your efforts to engage with community groups, even if initial attempts are not successful.

For more information, please refer to our Resources for Working with Priority Populations and case study on Conducting Research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities.

Reciprocity is a foundational principle in consumer and community involvement, ensuring that all individuals feel valued and their contributions are acknowledged. Recognising and valuing the contributions of consumers to healthcare improvement projects – through appropriate payment, reimbursement, and acknowledgment – is widely regarded as best practice. Providing payment and reimbursement not only removes barriers to participation but also promotes equity and respect across the team.

All projects should include a dedicated budget to:

• Pay consumers or community representatives for their involvement.
• Reimburse any out-of-pocket costs (e.g. travel, childcare, internet access).
• Cover training, support, and resources that enhance accessibility and enable genuine, equitable participation.

What do payment, reimbursement and recognition mean?

• Payment: A financial amount provided to consumers or community members in recognition of their time, expertise, and contribution to the project, acknowledging them as collaborators rather than volunteers.
• Reimbursement: Covers reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred to support participation in the project, such as travel, childcare, or internet costs.
• Recognition: Non-financial acknowledgment of contributions, including thank-you letters, certificates, authorship, or references. Best practice is to ask individuals how they prefer to be recognised.

Key considerations:

• Discuss Compensation Early: Have early conversations with consumers about how they would like to be compensated. Payment may affect their taxable income, pension, or government benefits, so it is important to provide clear information and options.
• Simplify the Claims Process: Ensure the reimbursement process is simple, transparent, and timely from the consumer’s perspective. Work closely with your finance department to explore flexible payment options and establish a streamlined process.

Now that your project is underway and consumers are on board, the hard work begins to build and maintain that relationship. Most of this comes back down to building a safe space for contribution and regular, two-way communication. Some key tips to ensure these include:

• Establishing an onboarding process for consumers when they join the project to help them understand the organisation and project they are contributing towards.
• Having strong facilitation skills to ensure voices around the table have equal opportunity to contribute to the conversation without feeling intimidated.
• Providing additional support by offering opportunities for consumers to be briefed or debriefed before or after a meeting. This is also a good opportunity to have an overall check-in with them and get feedback on the process and their involvement to date.
• Regularly update consumers on what is happening across the project, even if it may seem nothing is happening. Periods of prolonged silence often lead to disengagement from the project.

When embedding consumer and community involvement in your project, it is important to assess its effectiveness and receive feedback on what changes you can make in future. Here are some considerations to keep in mind:

• Feedback from various stakeholder perspectives.
• Definition of successful consumer involvement and how you will measure it.