Quality for Outcomes began with a shared frustration and a shared belief. For many years, through our academic and research roles, we worked with governments, health services, funders, and not-for-profit organisations committed to improving people’s lives. 

We saw great teams doing thoughtful, complex work in prevention, health promotion and community services. But we also saw how hard it was for them. Programs are under growing pressure to show “impact”, often in environments where change is long-term, shaped by many actors, and rarely within the control of any single program. When you are working on issues like healthy eating or prevention of gender-based violence, progress is slow. It is essential work but it’s also complex and rarely linear. 

At the same time, funders are under pressure too. They need confidence that their investments are making meaningful progress. They need clarity about what is changing and what is realistic. They need to show their boards and the public that they are making a difference.  

In this environment, teams are being asked to clearly explain: 

• What difference are you making? 

• How does this connect to strategy? 

• Why should this continue to be funded? 

We have seen that often practitioners and leaders are left to answer these questions without clear guidance, practical tools, or systems to support them. Funders are left trying to interpret impact narratives that don’t always reflect the complexity of the work. 

Quality for Outcomes was created to help address that gap. 

We believe practitioners and managers should have tools that help them clearly explain their contribution without oversimplifying complex change. We also believe funders deserve credible, structured information to support sound decisions and demonstrate the difference their funding is making. 

Our vision is simple. Embed quality in, so impact stands up. 

Where it started...

Our story began at a university. Bo arrived in Australia from Croatia as a new PhD researcher. Melinda was a professor leading research projects in partnership with government and the not-for-profit sector. What began as a mentor–mentee relationship grew into a long-term collaboration built on mutual respect, shared values, and a deep commitment to applying the best available evidence to real-world challenges. 

Over time, that collaboration became both a professional partnership and a friendship. We realised how closely aligned we were in our thinking: 

• A commitment to equity 

• A belief in rigorous, evidence-informed practice 

• Deep respect for practitioners, leaders and funders working in complex systems 

• A conviction that quality processes are not bureaucracy, they are impact infrastructure 

Together, we bring:

• A wealth of expertise:

40 years of combined experience in public health, systems change, public policy, research, evaluation, and knowledge translation. Across our team, we’ve developed more than 110 academic publications and over 100 practice- and policy-focused resources — including evaluation frameworks, policy briefs, and practical tools and digital solutions that help organisations design impactful programs, evaluate them and show their impact.  

• Leadership in cross-sector collaboration: 

Proven experience leading partnerships with the Department of Health, Department of Social Services, cohealth, headspace, and the European Commission, bridging evidence, policy, and practice.

• National and international recognition:

Our team members are nationally and globally recognised for their contributions to health outcomes and knowledge translation, including representation on the WHO Global Research Agenda on Knowledge Translation.

• Transforming evidence into impact: 

We translate evidence into policy and practice, shaping position papers, clinical guidelines, service innovations, and policies across Australia and internationally (Belgium, Ireland, Germany, Norway, the UK, and the USA).