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Over the last five months we have had conversations with 26 local authorities, 15 of those with Health Determinants Research Collaboration Status (HDRC).
We’ve also started to identify some emerging themes from these meetings.
Informal conversations with local authority research staff
Informal conversations with local authority research staff
26 local authorities
15 with Health Determinant Research Collaboration (HDRC) funding and 11 without HDRC funding
Discussed current research governance & ethics processes and future plans
Also discussed issues and gaps
Relevant documentation shared
Top 10 Emerging Themes
Top 10 Emerging Themes
Processes for research governance should be LA wide and 'cross cutting' (not just restricted to public health or social care teams).
Autonomy is important - LAs are unique organisations and need to be the ultimate decision makers on whether a piece of research is appropriate in their settings.
No single way in- requests to involve LA in research activity come in a variety of ways to a variety of people. This can make it difficult to set-up research in a timely manner.
Relying on university ethics processes for LA based research may not be sustainable, some university ethics processes may not be completely appropriate for LA research.
Finance and research costings are an issue. Calculating the full costs of research including staff time, resources and overheads can be difficult and time consuming. LA finance systems are not always well suited to research finance processes.
Data and information governance issues relating to research can be challenging and time-consuming.
Guidance on governance and ethics topics, especially on issues such as data governance, templates (e.g. for data sharing) and training on a range of research topics would be helpful. These need to be in language that is relevant/accessible for a LA setting and be available to a range of LA staff roles (including elected members).
Capacity within LAs for research governance process support is often limited.
There is an appetite for LA directed areas of research interest (especially in the case of LAs that do not have HDRC status. The ability for LAs to form links with other LAs/researchers with similar areas of research interest would be incredibly useful.
Decisions on how to approach new research systems and processes can be challenging for LAs working closely with university academic partners, each with their own unique priorities and ways of working. Finding ways to strike a balance and achieve a robust system that is pragmatic, proportionate and acceptable to all partners is the ultimate goal.
Actions taken... ‘you said, we are doing’
Actions taken... ‘you said, we are doing’
Definition of Research
Definition of Research
We are undertaking a consensus exercise to define what ‘research’ means in a local authority setting. The results from this work may help us develop decision tools and guidance for when research governance processes and ethical review are required. This exercise is currently underway, we hope to have outputs to share in February 2025.
Research finance and costing challenges
Research finance and costing challenges
We are actively exploring options to support LAs in this area. This includes developing costing templates for direct costs, producing guidance on costing considerations and linking with finance experts from the Higher Education Institution (HEI) and NHS sector to see which costing approaches or methodologies (e.g. for calculating overheads) may be appropriate for LAs.
Guidance and templates (in LA-relevant vocabulary)
Guidance and templates (in LA-relevant vocabulary)
We are currently collating existing resources and developing some explainer documents which we hope to make widely available via the SCPH intranet site. We are looking to develop a ‘peer-review’ process for the resources we share. If you are using resources including templates or guidance which you are happy to share, please let us know!
Training
Training
We are delighted to announce that Nicola Sheen has now joined the SCPH team as Research Training Programme Manager. Nicola will be doing some scoping work around training needs and will be developing and signposting to relevant training opportunities.
Connecting LAs with similar research interests or themes
Connecting LAs with similar research interests or themes
We are looking into developing a ‘research areas of interest’ linking service, which could link LAs to other LAs or researchers with similar research priorities or areas of interest. If you would be interested in this type of service please get in touch.
Next steps
Next steps
We are continuing to have conversations and are keen to hear from as many local authorities as possible. Please get in touch to share your experiences and insights and to suggest areas we should look at.
Contact laura.brown8@newcastle.ac.uk or nihr.rss.publichealth@newcastle.ac.uk
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