Carmel Williams

Carmel Williams

Senior Lecturer

School of Public Health

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Carmel Williams is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Public Health in the Faculty of Health and Medical Science. Carmel is also Director of the Centre for HiAP Research Translation based in South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and School of Public Health, University of Adelaide. Carmel has recently transition out of the public sector to work in academia. She has a strong history of working in the field on healthy public policy and determinants of health. Carmel has overseen the establishment and sustainability of South Australia’s Health in All Policies approach, which works across government to influence public policy decision to improve health and wellbeing. She led numerous collaborative projects on the social and environmental determinants of health, drawing research, policy and practice together to deliver evidence informed public policy outcomes. Carmel has earned the honorary academic status of Associate Professor with the University of South Australian and the University of Adelaide. She works extensively with the WHO and other international organizations, and is Co- Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Advancing Health in All Policies

Carmel's research is focused on improving health and health equity of populations through increased action on the social determinants of health and to amplify the translation of research and evidence into policy and practice. Good governance and evidence informed joined up public policy play a critical role in shaping the conditions in which communities live and is therefore a key research interest of Carmel and her team. Carmel working closely with the World Health Organization have developed the Health in All Policies 4 Pillars Model; the 4 Pillars model outlines the steps and mechanisms required to deliver joined up public policy and multisectoral action with the aim of improving health and health equity. 

Carmel's research spans the disciplines and sectors. Some examples are detailed below: 

Working with WHO and Global Partners

Carmel and the Centre for Health in All Policies Research Translation work globally, partnering with the Department of Health Promotion and the Department of Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization and the Global Network for Health in All Policies. The impact of these partnerships includes:

  • In collaboration with the World Health Organization launch and disseminated the new Health in All Policies 4 Pillars Model to support countries to implement sustainable multisectoral collaboration to improve health, wellbeing and equity.
  • Adapted the 4 Pillars Model to the non-communicable disease in collaboration with WHO NCD Global Coordinating Unit.
  • Increased knowledge on how countries are applying the 4 pillars model, as they act to increase public policy responses to NCDs.
  • Undertook research and a scoping review to inform phase two of the 8 year WHO Urban Governance for Health and Wellbeing Initiative – working with 7 cities to improve health and wellbeing of their people, using multisectoral action such as Health in All Policies, community engagement, capacity and working across levels of government.
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Ageing Well 

  • Carmel and CHiAPRT team worked closely with the Office for Ageing Well to develop the Ageing Well Strategic Research Agenda and a grant program: Ageing Well Impact Grants. The purpose of the Strategic Research Agenda is to identify a range of priority research areas that can help answer questions of policy and community importance. The Impact Grant program has been designed to encourage researchers to investigate the research questions outlined in the Ageing Well Strategic Research Agenda and to engage early with critical stakeholders such as policy actors, practitioners and community members. CHiAPRT has supported the Implementation of Rounds 1, 2 and 3 of the Ageing Well Impact Grants.
  • Implemented the 5 Ageing Well Learning Labs to support the researchers, policy makers and practitioners to successfully implement the principles and research priorities of the Strategic Research Agenda for Ageing Well.
  • Developed an understanding of the capacity needs of the Impact Grant recipients in relation to Research-Policy Translation and used this knowledge to develop and produce the Ageing Well Knowledge Translation Guidebook for use those interested in the field of Ageing Well:  From Research to Impact: Delivering practical outcomes through research engagement: A guidebook for ageing well researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.

  • Generated additional interest in the determinants of ageing well within the research community, the government, and the wider community.

    The Digital Determinants of Health and Young People

  • Carmel and the CHiAPRT team were commissioned by Preventive Health SA, to investigate the impact of the Digital Determinants of Health and social media on young people providing up to date and comprehensive evidence review titled:  State-of-the-Art Review on the impact of Digital Determinants of Health and social media on the health and wellbeing of Young People
  • Facilitated the visit of Professor Ilona Kickbusch to Adelaide, where she was one of the first people to propose a ban on social media for children and young people, both the South Australian and Australian governments investigated and subsequentially implemented a national ban on social media for children and young people under 16 years of age.
  • Investigated and developed an Indicator Dashboard to track the Mental Health and Wellbeing of South Australis’ young people, to support action to promote and protect the mental health and wellbeing of young people

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Special Initiative in Human Health and Environmental Change NHMRC grant: Health Environment and Lives Network

The Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) Network is the largest environment and health research network in Australia is a 5-year (2021-2025) program supported with a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Special Initiative in Human Health and Environmental Change NHMRC grant of $10 million. The Network envisions catalysing impactful research, knowledge exchange, and policy translation to enhance health outcomes, the Australian health system, and the environment. Achieving this requires conducting policy- and practice-relevant research with readily implementable findings for real-world impact. Research translation and implementation involve dynamic, iterative processes, integrating knowledge and evidence into policy, practice, and decision-making for meaningful impact. Carmel and the Centre for Health in All Policies Research Translation leads the research translation for the Network. 

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Synergy Grant. Stronger Together As Unified Nations For Community-led Health (STAUNCH). 

STAUNCH aims to produce new evidence on Indigenous Nation building processes, focusing on holistic health and wellbeing solutions which collaboratively address complex problems. STAUNCH will seed processes for stronger local self-governance and self-determination which evidence shows enables healthy futures and for the first-time adapt and test HiAP approaches based on local First Nation-led agendas. Carmel as one of the Staunch CIs is leading the development of the new Indigenous Health in All Policies Model: IHiAP. Throughout the five years of the grant the new IHiAP model will be tested and applied working closely with the five Indigenous Nation Building communities and policy makers from across Australia.

HEAL Indigenous Health in All Policies Model 

Carmel and the CHiAPRT team are the CIs on the Indigenous Health in All Policies (IHiAP) project is a seed project nested within a NHMRC Synergy Grant – Stronger Together As Unified Nations For Community-led Health (STAUNCH). Within this larger project, the current research will investigate the utility of a Health in All Policies Model to address Indigenous health and wellbeing. This one-year seed project, funded by a Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) Network Grant, includes a rapid state-of-play review, an Australian policy analysis, and a roundtable discussion of Indigenous leaders and experts. These activities investigate the opportunity to develop a framework which guides policy makers in creating comprehensive multisectoral approaches that effectively address Indigenous health and wellbeing. 

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Partnership Grant: SPARK. The Loneliness Project.

Spark aims to address the epidemic of loneliness using a prevention strategy, focusing on strengthening existing infrastructure (enhancing connections and partnerships), delivering innovations to improve social wellbeing and associated health benefits, establishing ongoing evaluation, and ultimately advancing a sustainable model to address the local and structural causes of loneliness. Spark builds upon the successful pilot, funded by Women’s Health, Research, Translation, and Impact Network (WHRTN) and the Office for Ageing Well SA Health. Carmel and the CHiAPRT team are leading the partnership and policy aspects on the grant.

University of Adelaide Fame Sustainability Grant: From Cost to Value: Novel Decision-Making Tools for Harnessing Sustainable Economic Benefits of Trees and Greenspaces in Urban Planning

The FAME Project, a collaboration between local government representatives, researchers, and academics, seeks to support local governments in translating evidence into action by integrating the full economic value of trees and greenspaces into urban planning and development decision-making processes. The findings offer compelling evidence that urban greenery is not merely an aesthetic or environmental asset – it is a strategic economic and social investment. For local governments, these findings provide an opportunity to strengthen long-term planning and offer a pathway to more sustainable, equitable, and liveable cities. The University of Adelaide’s Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Resources, FAME Sustainability Grant funded the project.  Financial support was then provided by the University of Adelaide’s Environmental Institute, used to engage councils that reflected strong cross-sector commitment. Carmel and the CHiAPRT team lead the project. Key insights include:

  • Urban greenery is a high-value investment, offering returns across economic, environmental, health, and social domains
  • Many critical benefits (e.g., improved health and social cohesion) can be overlooked and overshadowed by community concerns and grievances over perceived high maintenance costs or other developmental trade-offs
  • Fit-for-purpose, practical solutions are essential to overcome existing policy and funding barriers of urban planning and development
  • Achieving sustainability in urban planning depends on integrating these insights into mainstream infrastructure, housing, service provision, and health planning processes

 

 

Carmel has had  a long career in government working as a policy entrepreneur, to address complex policy issues, navigating across sectors and systems to deliver good public policy outcomes that contribute to improved heath, wellbeing and health equity.  Currently Carmel is Director of the Centre for Health in All Polices Research Translation (The Centre), jointly based at the School of Public Health, University of Adelaide and Health Translation SA, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute. The Centre has been established to bridge the gap between the generation of research and its application to policy and practice. The Centre works across disciplinary and sectoral boundaries to foster collaborative action between researchers and policy actors strengthening relationships, building capacity, and contributing to improved public policy and community outcomes. Carmel is the founding Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Advancing Health in All Policies Implementation and works closely with WHO to support countries to adopt evidence based multisectoral action. In this role she authored in partnership with WHO colleague the Health in All Policies 4 Pillars Model and guidance document Working together for equity and healthier populations Sustainable multisectoral collaboration based on Health in All Policies approach. Launched in September 2023

  • The development of a new online self-paced course on the social determinants of health: The Social Determinants of Health: Concepts and Evidence. The Online Course, included on the prestigious WHO Academy Platform and has seen 4,000 people register to undertake the course, increasing their knowledge, understanding and capacity to act on the Social Determinants of Health.
  • In partnership with WHO Headquarter and AFRO regional Office built capacity for 3 African countries to apply the HiAP 4 Pillars model:  Tanzania; Kenya and Botswana
  • Built capacity for Preventive Health SA workforce to act on the social determinants of health, health equity and to apply Health in All Policies approach.
  • Position: Senior Lecturer
  • Phone: 83133591
  • Email: carmel.williams@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Rundle Mall Plaza, floor 4
  • Org Unit: Public Health
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