Collaborations in Environment, Climate Change, and Health Research: Experiences from the Australian HEAL Network

Background Collaboration between researchers and policy actors is essential for effective research translation and evidence-based policymaking. These partnerships are particularly crucial in addressing complex societal challenges such as environmental health, climate change, and public health. Understanding the perspectives and experiences of researchers, policy actors, practitioners and community members in research-policy collaborations can help strengthen partnerships and enhance research translation into policy and practice. Methods A national survey was conducted to explore the experiences and perspectives of members of the HEAL Network, Australia’s largest environment, climate change, and health research coalition involving researchers, policy actors, practitioners and community members. The survey aimed to assess collaboration experiences, barriers, and enablers of successful research-policy partnerships. Results A total of 70 responses were received, predominantly from researchers (71%), with only two policy actors participating. Most respondents (83%) had collaboration experience involving researchers, community members, policy actors, and practitioners, with many describing their experiences as successful. However, 44% reported poor experiences or failed attempts. Researchers cited limited engagement from policy actors as a key challenge, while non-researchers identified issues such as delays, poor timing, and inadequate understanding of policy, practice, and community contexts. Both groups agreed on the importance of initiating collaborations with a shared vision and co-defined goals. Trust was identified as the primary enabler of collaboration particularly for non-researcher participants, while the primary enabler for researchers was knowing who to engage with. There was a statistically significant relationship between being a non-researcher and choosing Trust as a primary enabler (χ² (1) = 10.61, p = .001). Common barriers included limited capacity (time and resources), lack of funding, and structural constraints such as institutional silos. Conclusion The findings highlight the need for early and sustained engagement built on trust and co-design between researchers and policy actors, built on trust and co-design processes. Establishing strong relationships, understanding policy and practice contexts, and involving communities in research development are key to improving research translation and impact.