Foundations of the ALIVE National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation: Impact evaluation protocol

The ALIVE National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation was established in 2021. Funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council's Special Initiative in Mental Health, the Centre aims to foster innovation in mental health care. Central to this aim is embedding the voices of those with lived experience into all Centre structures and activities including leadership and co-design of research priorities for mental health research implementation and translation. This manuscript details the Centre's impact evaluation protocol. Comprised of two Streams, the impact evaluation aims to 1) evaluate the implementation of the Centre's National Roadmap for mental health care ecosystem regeneration across the mental health sector; and 2) describe the broader social value created by the Centre. This work is intended to inform future research and funding decisions across the mental health sector and bring about a paradigm shift in mental health research translation in Australia.