National support and evaluation

A National Support and Evaluation Service has been established as part of CanNET to ensure consistency, reduce duplication and facilitate a national approach to network development and evaluation that will build the evidence for cancer service networks in Australia. 

A national evaluation framework has been adopted, which aims to measure the performance of CanNET under three principal domains:

• Impact on and outcomes for consumers (patients, families, care givers, friends, communities);
• Impact on and outcomes for providers (professionals, volunteers, organisations);
• Impact on and outcomes for the system (structures and processes, networks, relationships).  

The National Support and Evaluation Service is utilising a number of approaches for the CanNET Evaluation, including, program logic and outcome matrices, systems theory, contribution analysis and action research. A range of tools will be used to inform the CanNET evaluation.

The National Support and Evaluation Service will also promote sharing of knowledge and resources between CanNET and the 21 mentoring projects that were funded as part of the first phase of the Mentoring for Regional Hospitals and Cancer Professionals program. Over the past two years, each of the mentoring projects has developed activities that aim to increase the capacity of rural health care providers to deliver cancer care.