Draft NONIE guidance March 2009

1. Draft NONIE guidanceMarch 2009 Discussant comments Patricia Rogers

2. STRENGTHS Guidance in terms of • Locating IE within a robust system of monitoring and evaluation (p. 51) • Strategic investment in IE (p. 51) • Incorporating an intervention theory (p. 20) • Attention to values in terms of impacts, processes and distribution of costs and benefits (p. 17) • Diverse examples of IE RMIT University

3. NEXT STEPS • Consolidate and expand guidance on measurement • Add guidance on evaluating distribution of costs and benefits, not just average effect • Incorporate participatory approaches as an option for each task • Address implications of simple, complicated, complex aspects • Add guidance on supporting knowledge uptake – transfer and translation RMIT University

4. Nature June 2008 Special issue on translational research [Nobel laureate Sydney] Brenner is one of many scientists challenging the idea that translational research is just about carrying results from bench to bedside, arguing that the importance of reversing that polarity has been overlooked. “I’m advocating it go the other way,” Brenner said. Bedside to bench means that clinical trials and patients’ unexpected responses are valuable human experiments, and failed trials can stimulate new hypotheses that may help refine the experiment in its next iteration. RMIT University

5. NEXT STEPS • Consolidate and expand guidance on measurement • Add guidance on evaluating distribution of costs and benefits, not just average effect • Incorporate participatory approaches as an option for each task • Address implications of simple, complicated, complex aspects • Add guidance on supporting knowledge uptake – transfer and translation • Address the attribution problem adequately RMIT University

6. ATTRIBUTION • Address acknowledged limited applicability of experimental and quasi-experimental designs by including details of other approaches – eg contribution analysis, Multiple Lines of Evidence, General Elimination Methodology, Qualitative Comparative Method • Correct erroneneous statements about certainty provided by RCTs RMIT University

7. NEXT STEPS • Consolidate and expand guidance on measurement • Add guidance on evaluating distribution of costs and benefits, not just average effect • Incorporate participatory approaches as an option for each task • Address implications of simple, complicated, complex aspects • Add guidance on supporting knowledge uptake – transfer and translation • Address the attribution problem adequately • Edit for accessibility by intended users RMIT University

8. NEXT STEPS • Consolidate and expand guidance on measurement • Add guidance on evaluating distribution of costs and benefits, not just average effect • Incorporate participatory approaches as an option for each task • Address implications of simple, complicated, complex aspects • Add guidance on supporting knowledge uptake – transfer and translation • Address the attribution problem adequately • Edit for accessibility by intended users RMIT University