EVIDENCE MADE USEFUL
Rigorous health research, in plain language.
Population health research, evaluation, facilitation and advisory — helping government, health services, universities and community organisations turn evidence into action.
Research · Evaluation · Engagement · Advisory
About Plain Insight
Evidence should do more than sit in a report.
Plain Insight is a specialist population health research and advisory practice helping organisations understand complex health challenges and turn evidence into practical action.
We work across research, evaluation, engagement, facilitation and strategy, with particular expertise in multicultural health, sexual health, HIV, LGBTQIA+ health and health equity.
Our approach brings together research evidence, sector expertise and community knowledge. We look at what the evidence says, understand what is happening in practice, listen to the people affected, and translate those perspectives into clear findings and practical recommendations.
Plain Insight was founded by public health researcher, consultant and educator Bernard Saliba. Depending on the project, we bring together trusted researchers, evaluators, facilitators and subject-matter specialists with the expertise required for the work.
What makes us different?
Rigorous without being inaccessible. We use robust research methods and communicate the findings so people can actually understand and use them.
Community-informed, not community-added. When people are affected by an issue, their knowledge should help shape how that issue is understood and addressed.
Useful by design. We start with the decision the work needs to inform — not simply the report that needs to be produced.
What we do
Research & evidence
Understand the problem before deciding the solution.
We undertake research and evidence synthesis to help organisations understand populations, services and complex health challenges.
Qualitative research · Literature and rapid reviews · Evidence synthesis · Needs assessment · Survey and interview design · Community consultation · Thematic analysis · Research translation
Evaluation
Know what's working — and what needs to change.
We design and undertake evaluations that examine how programs are being delivered, who they are reaching, what difference they are making and where they can improve.
Program and process evaluation · Evaluation frameworks · Monitoring and evaluation planning · Outcome measurement · Program review · Qualitative evaluation · Evaluation reporting
Engagement & facilitation
Better decisions start with better conversations.
We design and facilitate meaningful engagement with communities, practitioners and stakeholders, particularly around complex, sensitive or contested issues.
Workshop facilitation · Co-design · Stakeholder engagement · Community consultation · Focus groups · Roundtables · Rapporteur services · Conference and forum synthesis
Our areas of expertise
Our work spans population health, with particular experience in areas where health outcomes are shaped by culture, identity, migration, stigma and access to services.
Culturally responsive research, engagement, health promotion and service design.
Research and engagement examining how migration, culture, language, settlement and health systems shape access, experiences and outcomes for migrant, refugee and newly arrived communities.
Research, prevention, healthcare access, stigma, community engagement and evidence translation.
Research and programs responsive to sexuality, gender, community, culture and intersecting identities.
Research, evaluation and engagement focused on mental wellbeing, service access, stigma, prevention and the social and structural factors shaping mental health.
Understanding who services reach, who they miss, and the structural and practical barriers that sit between people and care.
Who is behind Plain Insight?
Bernard Saliba is a public health researcher, consultant, facilitator and educator with more than 15 years' experience across universities, health services and community organisations, working at the intersection of research, community and practice.
Originally trained as a medical scientist, Bernard holds postgraduate qualifications in public health, health services management and research, and is completing doctoral research through the Kirby Institute at UNSW examining identity, stigma, community connectedness and healthcare access among Arab Australian gay, bisexual and queer men.
His work spans population health, with particular expertise in multicultural health, LGBTQIA+ health, HIV and sexual health, health promotion, community engagement and health equity.
Bernard has led and contributed to research, evidence reviews, evaluations, consultations and health-promotion projects; facilitated community and stakeholder processes; and translated complex evidence for health-sector, academic and community audiences.
His work is particularly interested in the space between what the evidence says and what people actually experience — who is being reached, who is being missed, why, and what organisations can practically do about it.
Bernard Saliba
Founder & Principal
How we work
Rigorous. Collaborative. Practical.
Start with the question
Before choosing a method, we clarify what you need to understand, what decision the work needs to inform and what success looks like.
Use the right evidence
Peer-reviewed research matters. So do service data, practitioner expertise and community knowledge. We use the evidence appropriate to the question.
Bring people in meaningfully
Where communities and stakeholders are affected by the work, engagement should shape the process — not simply validate decisions already made.
Make it useful
We translate complexity into clear findings, implications and recommendations that can inform real decisions.
How to engage
Three steps, no mystery
Start with a short, no-cost conversation.
Tell us what you're trying to achieve, what you need and when you need it. We'll work out whether Plain Insight is the right fit. If we're not, we'll say so, and where possible point you in the right direction.
Know what you're commissioning before the work begins.
You'll receive a written proposal outlining the approach, deliverables, timeframe and fees. For straightforward projects, we aim to provide this within 3–4 working days.
Clear milestones. Clear communication. Senior involvement throughout.
Your project has an agreed workplan, named lead and regular communication from commencement through to final delivery.
Selected work
Selected projects
Evidence synthesis & stakeholder consultation
Community consultation & synthesis
Multicultural health promotion
Plain Insight acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live and work, and pays respect to Elders past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded.