The Centre for Healthcare Knowledge & Innovation (CHKI) exists to help people working inside health systems do the hardest thing of all: turn reform ambition into real-world change.

Established in 2016 on the North Coast of NSW as a program of Healthy North Coast, CHKI was created as a practical space for people across policy, commissioning, service delivery, academia and community leadership to step out of day-to-day pressure and think differently about how health systems work – and how they could work better.

From the outset, CHKI has focused on applied reform: learning grounded in real systems, real constraints and real leadership challenges.

Over the past decade, CHKI has built a reputation as a trusted convenor — bringing together diverse voices to explore complex problems, test ideas and learn from reform experience in Australia and internationally.

Our work is shaped by a long-standing partnership with the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC), a global network dedicated to improving health outcomes and system performance through integrated care.

Through this collaboration, CHKI connects Australian reform leaders with international evidence, frameworks and lived reform experience – translating global lessons into learning that makes sense in local contexts.

Today, CHKI operates as a national and international platform for cross-jurisdictional learning, applied reform education and system-level capability building.

CHKI programs are designed for people who are already trying to change systems – not just study them.

Rather than offering abstract theory or one-off events, we create spaces where participants can:

• Step inside real reform journeys from comparable health systems
• Stress-test ideas with global experts and Australian peers who understand system constraints
• Translate insight into practical strategies, quick wins and longer-term reform pathways
• Build trusted networks that continue well beyond any single program

Our flagship experiences — including Pathways to Reform: A Cross-Country Exchange for Primary Healthcare Leaders – are intentionally immersive, relational and practical, supporting participants to move from insight to action.

While CHKI has strong roots in regional NSW, our perspective is firmly global. We work across jurisdictions, disciplines and sectors, recognising that today’s health challenges – workforce pressure, fragmentation, inequity and sustainability – are shared challenges.

By connecting Australian leaders with reform experience from countries such as Denmark, South Korea, the UK and Aotearoa New Zealand, we help make the unfamiliar familiar – and the complex navigable.

CHKI’s work is not about quick fixes. It is about building reform capability — strengthening the confidence, skill and collective intelligence required to lead change over time.

Through events, exchanges, accelerated learning programs and emerging academic credit pathways, we support individuals and organisations to:

• Develop a deeper understanding of system dynamics
• Build shared language and trust across sectors
• Strengthen leadership for integrated, person-centred care
• Translate learning into sustained system improvement

As CHKI enters its tenth year, our focus remains clear: supporting people to do reform well — thoughtfully, collaboratively and with a deep understanding of context.

Whether you are shaping policy, commissioning services, delivering care, conducting research or leading change in your community, CHKI exists to help you connect insight with action — and to walk alongside others doing the same.