RFQ’s partnership with the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Wellbeing Science is helping us strengthen how wellbeing is understood and supported across our workforce and services.
For more than 50 years, RFQ has supported people experiencing mental health challenges and social disadvantage. Today, more than 400 RFQ staff work alongside thousands of people across rural, regional and metropolitan communities.
Supporting others through complex and challenging periods requires knowledge, compassion and resilience. It also means placing genuine importance on the wellbeing of the people delivering this support.
Building wellbeing literacy
RFQ and the Centre for Wellbeing Science collaborated to create a Wellbeing Literacy Program for RFQ staff.
The program was designed to give staff the knowledge, language and practical tools needed to support wellbeing in their own lives and in their work with clients. It has also been culturally adapted to better respond to the needs of RFQ’s First Nations clients.
This work reflects our commitment to translating research into practical approaches that can make a meaningful difference for our staff, clients and communities.
Learning from experience
The partnership has continued beyond the development and delivery of the program.
Researchers from the Centre for Wellbeing Science, including Professor Liz Jones and Dr Jacqui Francis, worked alongside RFQ colleagues, including Dr Peter Davison, RFQ’s Head of Research Innovation, to evaluate how participants experienced the program in practice.
The evaluation explored what staff valued, what helped them apply their learning and how the program could be strengthened in the future.
Findings indicated that staff considered the program relevant and valuable, with participants reporting that they applied their learning both professionally and personally.
The research also highlighted the importance of the conditions surrounding workplace learning. Leadership support, practical and relevant content, opportunities to learn alongside colleagues, and continued support following formal training were identified as important factors in helping staff put their learning into practice.
Staff helping to shape the research
RFQ staff were active contributors throughout the research process.
Seven staff members from five RFQ offices joined the research team as the WELL Collective, representing Wellbeing, Empathy, Learning and Life. Through the collective, staff helped shape the evaluation, contributed their perspectives and informed recommendations for the program’s future development.
This collaborative approach ensured the research was grounded in the experiences of the people engaging with and applying the program in their everyday work.
Centre for Wellbeing Science Director Professor Dianne Vella-Brodrick reflected on the value of this two-way learning:
“The learning works both ways, and that is where some of the most valuable research translation can happen.”
Turning evidence into action
For RFQ, this partnership brings together academic research and the practical knowledge of staff working within community-based mental health services.
The findings provide valuable evidence to guide the continued development of the Wellbeing Literacy Program and strengthen how we support wellbeing across our organisation.
By combining different forms of expertise, listening to staff experiences and applying what we learn, RFQ can continue developing informed and practical approaches that support our workforce and enhance the services we provide.
We thank the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Wellbeing Science, its researchers and the members of RFQ’s WELL Collective for their contribution to this important work.
