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4 July 2025
Over 140 delegates attended the second annual NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) event. The one-day event took place on Thursday 26 July in Leeds and was hosted by 4 Yorkshire and Humber based HDRCs; Bradford, Doncaster, North Yorkshire and Wakefield with support from SCPH.
The event offered delegates from all 30 HDRCs, and 21 partner organisations, the opportunity to network, hear from keynote speakers and attend workshops on:
what research looks like in your local authority, and what is possible;
community research;
what we mean by research in a local authority context;
and supporting local authority colleagues in developing their research skills.
The event placed accessibility at the forefront, with a livestream for colleagues who could not attend, captions on all presentations and a fully accessible venue.
Delegates heard from 2 renowned keynote speakers, Professor Brian Ferguson, former Director of the NIHR Public Health Research Programme and Greg Fell, Chair of the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH), whom both shared the importance of local authorities delivering and using research to make evidence-based decisions. The day was chaired by Louise Wallace, Director of Public Health for North Yorkshire Council and regional lead of the ADPH Yorkshire and Humber. Delegates also heard from Professor Jane West, Director or the Yorkshire and Humber Satellite who gave an overview of our offering and an update on our work over the last 12 months, focusing on the support we provide to local authorities through our 4 pillars. Professor Adam Briggs was also introduced as the new Director of NIHR Public Health Research Programme, he shared his enthusiasm for local government research with delegates.
The highlight of the day for SCPH was delivering 2 workshops, the first ‘What do we mean by ‘research’ in a local authority context? Is “I’ll know it when I see it” good enough?’
This workshop offered delegates an audience-friendly way to navigate the ambiguous landscape of research with some pointers for them to take back to their workplace. SCPH shared the consensus Definition of Research and supporting documents. This workshop was jointly led by Professor Andrew Booth from Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research, and Laura Brown and Dr Louise Hayes from SCPH.
The second, ‘Supporting local authority colleagues in developing their research skills’, was of interest to those who have a role in upskilling Council colleagues in research skills and experience. The session provided information about the various programmes available through NIHR Academy, and the SCPH local authority offer, to support delegates in advising colleagues about the right route for them.
We shared our Public Health Grassroots Awards and Public Health Engagement Lead funding opportunities alongside our training and development offer. This was led by Kieran Lee from NIHR Academy, Joanne Smithson and Rachel Murphy from NIHR HDRC North Yorkshire, and Nicola Sheen from SCPH.
Our Local Authority Research Practitioner (LARP) Network was kindly offered 5 places for LARPs to attend, to enhance their relationships and networking with HDRCs. Thank you to Saeed Ahmad, Kirsty Austin, Andrew Malcolm, Lula Mecinska, and Clare Smith, for attending and representing the LARP Network.
Dr Lula Mecinska, LARP from Lancashire County Council said: “We all felt it was a great opportunity for us to attend, generate awareness of our work, and network to promote HDRC and LARP collaboration opportunities. We attended different workshops, interacted with poster presenters, and will be bringing ideas back to the LARP network for our December event.”
Professor Jane West, Director of the Yorkshire and Humber Satellite, NIHR RSS Specialist Centre for Public Health said: “To see the progress HDRCs are making across the UK is fantastic, the poster display was inspiring and really showed the breadth of work being delivered. Public health research in local authorities is something we must ensure continues to progress.”
Professor Adam Briggs, Director of the NIHR Public Health Research Programme added: “It was an honour to be invited to speak at the annual HDRC event in Leeds, marking the start of my new role as Director of the NIHR Public Health Research Programme.
“To see so much enthusiasm in the room was inspiring, and I look forward to working with colleagues from across local government to continue to strengthen public health research.”
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