Help us make a difference
The Rio Tinto Children’s Diabetes Centre; a Breakthrough T1D Global Centre of Excellence, acknowledges the importance of those living with type 1 diabetes (T1D), those that care for them and the type 1 diabetes community (T1D community) in sharing your lived-experience. We encourage you to have a voice on issues important to you and your child’s health.
Our unique Community Involvement Framework provides the expectation that researchers will involve those living with T1D and the T1D community in their research. The Framework’s Principles and Standards cement our promise to make sure your voice is heard, considered and valued in the work we do.
The Community Involvement Guidelines is the pathway that shows our researchers, research partners and stakeholders how and when to involve the T1D community in our research that is fair, equitable and meaningful.
Our Stakeholder and Community Involvement Plan is the path we will take to ensure everyone has the opportunity to be involved. We want our research to be translated into new models of clinical care faster, benefiting those that need it the most sooner.
We need your help to do it!
How you can be involved
Being involved in research is different to being a participant.
We are proud to have a strong governance structure of committees, subcommittees, steering groups and working groups. They provide research guidance, support and direction in several research areas and Consumer Representatives are members. In fact, they must be!
To find out more, click on the links below:
Become a Consumer Representative
A Consumer Representative is an individual person who voices consumer perspectives and takes part in the decision-making process on behalf of other consumers.
Consumer Representatives can join a committee, subcommittee, steering group or working group. They can also be a Research Buddy working on a specific project alongside our researchers that aligns with your interests.
Read more about becoming a Consumer Representative here.
Join a Governance Committee
We have a strong governance structure that oversees and directs how the Centre operates, from a Management Steering Group to other committees, subcommittees, steering committees and working groups that have different goals to achieve.
Joining one of our governance committees a Consumer Representative gives you the opportunity to be a part of the decision-making process that happens, ensuring lived experience is considered in everything we do.
The following is a list of the different committees, subcommittees, steering groups and working groups that Consumer Representatives can be a member of
- Management Steering Group
- The Management Steering Group is the management body of the Rio Tinto Children’s Diabetes Centre. They provide oversight, advice and direction to all research activities undertaken by researchers within the Centre. This includes financial status, communication and collaboration of Centre activities, translation and policy development, and capacity building and training.
- Type 1 Diabetes Community Advisory Group (T1DCAG)
- The T1DCAG provides advice and direction to researchers by sharing their lived-experiences in relation to specific studies. Members are involved in the planning, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of the Centre’s research, ensuring lived experience remains front and centre throughout all stages of our studies.
- Youth Advisory Committee (14-25 years)
- The Youth Advisory Committee provides a path for youth aged 14-25 years living with T1D to share their lived-experience with researchers. They give a unique perspective on their own health care challenges in relation to specific projects.
- Scientific Program Subcommittee
- The Scientific Program Subcommittee is responsible for directing, monitoring, guiding and contributing to the scientific direction and research outputs of the Centre. Members of other working groups report to this subcommittee.
- Talent and Capacity Building Subcommittee
- The Talent and Capacity Building Subcommittee is responsible for building leadership capacity and cross-disciplinary expertise that facilitates the future of our early-mid career researchers and extends to our professional services staff. They are responsible for reviewing scholarship and grant submissions. Part of this process is selecting a Grant Review Panel where Consumer Representatives are also included in the panel selection. They have the opportunity to ensure applications consider community involvement in their proposed projects.
- Data Systems and Sharing Subcommittee
- The Data Systems and Sharing Subcommittee is responsible for the management and analysis of data collected by the Centre, addressing challenges related to data quality, integrity and sharing.
- Models of Care, Translation and Implementation Science and Health Economics Working Groups
- These Working Groups represent a mechanism for formal collaboration between studies conducted across research teams and national/international sites.
Whether you want to be a member of our T1DCAG, join one of our specialised governance committees, subcommittees, steering committees or working groups, the choice is yours.