Table 1 Key functions of the CRE-IQI as an innovation platform

Linking people from all levels of a system

Brought together people working at all levels of the health system with researchers, policy-makers and practitioners from Indigenous PHC services

Identifying shared goals and interests, common problems and solutions

Collaborated to develop the vision, research aims, priority projects for resource allocation and cross-cutting programmes of the CRE-IQI network

Leveraging research and/or expertise

Utilised members’ knowledge to leverage new resources, implement collective and coordinated action, and advocate for policy change

Enabling long-term learning and capacity-strengthening

Developed health research workforce capacity by sharing problems and experiences, developing learning opportunities and networking – adopting an ‘all teach, all learn’ approach [15]

Establishing effective governance

Set up a project coordinating centre (the CRE-IQI) and management committee to support and drive these key activities and provide high-level strategic direction and oversight

Encouraging continuous reflection, learning and adaptation

Implemented a developmental evaluation to support continuous reflection, learning and adaptation

Out-scaling and up-scaling knowledge to broaden impact

Facilitated horizontal diffusion of innovations by broadening the application (or ‘out-scaling’) of quality improvement to non-clinical areas of PHC through implementing, testing and improving its application; facilitated up-scaling innovations by embedding them at higher levels of the health system and other sectors

Generating and sharing knowledge

Established the innovation platform itself to be a vehicle for integrated research and knowledge translation, with research, translation and learning occurring in the exchanges and interactions of service providers, policy-makers and researchers