Transforming workforce development to meet community based needs
Monash University and community health and social care provider Each have launched ASPIRE, a new Strategic Partnership for Innovation, Research and Education that signals a shift in how Australia trains its health workforce and delivers community-based care.
ASPIRE has been designed to test and evaluate new approaches to service delivery while simultaneously equipping current and future clinicians with the skills needed to work in community settings. By embedding students into real-world environments and supporting clinicians to take on teaching and research roles, the model aims to close the gap between theory and practice.
The initiative, developed through a five-year partnership established in 2024, brings together Monash’s academic and research expertise with Each’s frontline service delivery to create a model that integrates research, workforce development and service innovation to strengthen communities and address increasing complex health needs.
A key focus of ASPIRE has been transforming workforce development, bringing together nursing and midwifery alongside allied health disciplines within community services. Students undertake placements directly within Each, gaining practical experience, while staff are supported to supervise, teach and contribute to academic programs.
This approach is already delivering results. Student placements have doubled from nine in 2024 to eighteen students across six disciplines in 2025, while Each staff have gained access to a wide range of educational opportunities through Monash, including training in student supervision and courses in nutrition and mental health, aged care health essentials and quality and safety in wound care. Staff also now have access to peer-reviewed literature and academic appointments, strengthening a culture of learning and capability building across the organisation.
Research has been another cornerstone of the partnership’s early success. A joint senior research fellow role was established, with Dr Deb Mitchell appointed to lead the development and implementation of the shared research strategy. Five Each-led research projects have already received ethics approval through Monash, alongside two joint grant submissions and the partnership’s first co-authored research paper now under review.
Dr Mitchell said ASPIRE represents a new way of working that places community services at the centre of research and innovation.
“ASPIRE is about embedding research where it matters most, within the services that people rely on every day,” Dr Mitchell said.
“By working side by side with clinicians and communities, we can build evidence that not only improves care, but ensures it is practical, relevant and scalable.”
The emphasis on co-design is central to ASPIRE’s approach, ensuring that clinicians, researchers and community stakeholders work together to develop solutions that respond directly to service needs.
To support long-term impact, the partnership has also undertaken a research readiness survey across Each to establish baseline capability, along with benchmarking research outputs such as publications and conference presentations. This work has informed a co-designed research plan that identifies priority areas including mental health services, chronic disease management, care for older adults and service partnerships.
As ASPIRE continues to grow, the focus will be on scaling successful models, deepening research impact and expanding opportunities to both students and clinicians. For Monash and Each, ASPIRE represents more than a partnership; it is a blueprint for a more integrated, evidence driven approach to healthcare, one that connects education, research and practice to deliver meaningful improvements for community outcomes.