My work

This page includes links to some of my previous reports and writing, and feedback from clients.

I have worked as an internal evaluator with Beyond Blue, the RACGP and Justice Connect.

Some of my consulting clients have included:

  • Beyond Blue
  • State and Commonwealth governments
  • Orygen
  • Mental Health Coordinating Council
  • National Mental Health Commission
  • Neami National
  • Queensland Mental Health Commission
  • SafeWork NSW
  • SuperFriend
  • Victorian PHNs

 

Testimonials

Hear from some of my past clients below. Further recommendations are available on my LinkedIn page.

“Neami National commissioned Jo to conduct a program evaluation on one of our services recently.

Jo’s lived experience credentials were central to our selection and her approach brought the humanity, warmth and critical focus to the evaluation we had hoped for.

Her work was highly professional, efficient and the final report was of an excellent standard. Everyone involved – people using the service, carers, referrers, service providers and managers – endorsed her approach and work strongly.”

Priscilla Ennals
Senior Manager – Research and Evaluations, Neami National

“I approached Jo to provide impartial evaluation of survey feedback for a project related to university student mental health.

With Jo’s expertise in quantitative and qualitative research along with her knowledge of mental health she seemed to be a good fit for the work.

Jo provided helpful guidance and advice on the survey design, valuable insights on survey responses and informed recommendations to support action. I found Jo really easy to work with. She was flexible, maintained regular communication, and she offered clear and concise guidance that was easy to understand.

I would recommend Jo Farmer Consulting to anyone needing support with evaluation design and delivery, particularly in relation to mental health subject matter.”

Penny
Senior Program Manager, Orygen

“We engaged Jo to evaluate a critical phase of Wellbeing on Call, a program of co-designed interventions designed to improve contact centre workers’ mental health outcomes. I had seen Jo in action in her previous work with Beyond Blue, and was impressed by her intelligence, clear and effective communication, and insightful ways of approaching evaluation.

Jo quickly grasped the complexities of our project, which involved multiple stakeholders, data sets and deliverables. Wellbeing on Call was funded by a WorkSafe Victoria WorkWell grant, so providing clear and timely updates and insights was critical for the project’s ongoing success and outcomes.

Jo was very responsive and easy to work with, delivering quality analysis and evaluation for us, including a well-crafted report which helped us successfully meet the required milestones.

I would thoroughly recommend Jo’s consulting services to anyone seeking high quality program evaluation and knowledge translation. She is an absolute pleasure to deal with and a trusted provider.”

Danielle Clarke
GM Communications & Insights, SuperFriend

The Wellbeing On Call reports are available here.

Reports

Summary of the evaluation of the Embracing Change Project to build
the capacity of NDIS psychosocial disability service providers to meet the requirements of the NDIS Practice Standards (Mental Health Coordinating Council, 2021)

NSW Mentally Healthy Workplaces Strategy – Midpoint Evaluation (NSW Government, 2021, with Urbis)

Wellbeing on Call Post-intervention and Final Reports (SuperFriend, 2020)

Much of my other work has been undertaken in confidence for clients and is unpublished. Examples of my reporting are available on request.

Graphic recording completed for the Australian Public Health Consultants Network. 

Advocacy

As a mental health consumer, I have provided submissions to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, focused on my own experiences of accessing treatment in the Victorian system, and to the Productivity Commission into Mental Health, focused on workplace mental health.

Both submissions were quoted in their respective final reports. My story, based on my submission, was also featured in the Interim Report of the Royal Commission (right).

In addition to my writing, I currently sit on:

  • the Guidelines Working Group for the National Eating Disorder Collaboration’s development of Guidelines for the treatment of eating disorders for people living in larger bodies
  • the Advisory Group for Clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of work-related mental health conditions in general practice.

I am also on the Faculty of the Zero Suicide Institute of Australasia, and have used my lived experience to develop and deliver training on evaluating approaches to zero suicide in care.