Conclusion
A collective effort from all stakeholders, including more than 70 survey participants, over 50 workshop participants, eight P&C researchers, and four research 39 practitioners, has identified the potential for a more impactful and sustainable crosssector system for P&C research.
Based on the HDRC business plan, we have attempted to summarise and categorise these co-produced recommendations within each of the HDRC workstreams, acknowledging that some recommendations may span multiple areas:
| Workstream 1: Research Collaborative |
- Advocate collaborative working as a condition for all commissioning and funding activities.
- Advocate for the pooling of funding to make research more ambitious and impactful.
- Fund and/or promote the coordination of the commissioning and delivery of research and the coordination of support for research. These two coordination tasks could be undertaken by a single coordination body consisting of representation from all stakeholders.
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| Workstream 2: Infrastructure and Systems |
- Secure resources and funding to evaluate P&C research methodologies and understand the experience and impacts P&C research has on P&C researchers, and how its benefits can be sustained in the long term.
- Secure resources and funding to conduct P&C research on resident experience of research, focusing on identifying areas for improvement, such as the dissemination of findings and using P&C research to inform policy change.
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| Workstream 3: Culture and Practice |
- Fund a cultural development programme to establish shared values across stakeholders, challenge power dynamics, privilege, and norms, and promote collaboration in P&C research grounded in these updated values.
- Advocate greater transparency regarding the funding received and awarded for P&C research by the Council and NHS.
- Advocate for the use of participatory commissioning for P&C research within the Council.
- Advocate for mandatory reviews of pre-existing academic and P&C research. This will ensure that new research projects are built on established evidence and network of researchers from all sectors who have expertise in similar topics.
- Advocate for all P&C research providers to include a thorough explanation of methodologies in project reports and dissemination activities.
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| Workstream 4: Capacity Building |
- Fund a P&C researcher directory to ensure long term opportunities for P&C researchers.
- Advocate for improved payment policies and practices, with accessible and specialist advice for P&C researchers on the impact of research involvement payments on welfare benefits. As part of this effort, develop a good practice guide for P&C research that includes: 1) an account of the value and impact 40 of P&C research and the unique skills of P&C researchers; 2) guidelines on payment including a directory of available welfare benefits advice.
- Urge the HDRC’s funder, the NIHR, to lobby for clearer guidance from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) regarding benefit claimants who receive payments as P&C researchers.
- Coordinate training for P&C researchers, policymakers, academics and community organisations. Training for policymakers, academics and community organisations should focus on ethical and meaningful engagement with residents and the value of P&C research for local policy. Training for P&C researchers should include accredited training and mentorship delivered by a group of research-active local stakeholders
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| Workstream 5: Dissemination and Influence |
- Fund the access to/development of a database to make all existing and future P&C research publicly available.
- Fund a website or public tracking system to communicate the implementation and impact of P&C research within the Council.
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The goal of our collective effort is to achieve health equity across the borough by ensuring a rich, diverse and resident centred evidence base to guide local policymaking. By adopting an "us" mentality we can harness our collective power and expertise to transform how research informs policy, ensuring that community voices are at the heart of decision-making.