Building research inclusion - the voluntary and community sector grant scheme

The grants process 

£100K was identified for the fund and the application drew on previous community grants schemes run by the council. Applicants were asked to provide information on: 

• project idea and timescales 

• who they wished to work with and how they would recruit community members to get involved 

• existing capacity to deliver research (including the knowledge and skills of the project delivery team and organisational policies and processes) 

• how they would capture learning 

To meet the local authority's due diligence requirements, organisations needed to have a legal structure such as a limited company with charitable status, community interest company or charitable incorporated organisation.  

The fund was launched in July 2025, and applications were open for 6 weeks. The fund was promoted through local VCS infrastructure organisations, the HDRC newsletter, academic partner networks and council colleague networks. Potential applications could ask for support and advice on their application from the HDRC team. 

35 applications were received and a panel of 5 representatives from the voluntary sector forum, integrated care board, academic partners and the HDRC scored each application independently and then met to discuss the applications. 11 were approved for funding, with an investment of £55K to the VCS. All unsuccessful applications were offered feedback and the opportunity to speak with a Research Officer to offer guidance regarding strengthening their application for future funding applications. This included providing signposting for other potential funding opportunities.   

The successful organisations were asked to sign a partnership agreement and their work commenced in October 2025. They have 6 months to deliver their projects and will be asked to report on their progress in March 2026 with minimal project reporting required. A showcase event is planned for the Spring and the HDRC hope to establish a learning network with the successful applicants.  Each successful applicant has been allocated a HDRC Research Officer to support them with their project, including a regular peer support session.  All organisations have been asked to provide a case study at the end of their project, as a minimum, but are encouraged to use alternative ways for this to be delivered outside of a traditional written report.  This is to allow for creativity and different styles that are more appropriate to the individual projects.   

Successful projects 

The funded projects cover a wide range of local priority areas:  

• Babygro Beginning Well offer free sessions for new parents around sleep, feeding, brain development, parent confidence and early relational health. They will use the funding to evaluate the impact of their services on early parenting and mental health

• Bodmin Way Connected for Health will undertake research into the role of human connection in health outcomes and the factors which support successful connection

• Citizen Checkers will host a peer led research project to explore how employment affects the wellbeing of people with learning disabilities and autistic people, and sustainable employment solutions.   

• Cornwall Refuge Trust will explore the experiences and emotional responses of children and young people on arrival at a refuge, and the support needed to better adjust to their new environment

• Cornwall Rural Community Charity will work with young people to understand their lived experiences and perceptions of the opportunities and barriers they face in accessing alternative educational provision, cultural and wellbeing spaces, and employability support services

• The Inspiring Women Network will co-lead a participatory research project to explore how housing, education access, healthcare and navigating local services affect the physical and mental health of culturally diverse women in Cornwall

• intoBodmin will undertake a pilot research project to investigate how cultural participation in Bodmin affects social connection and wellbeing, and to identify the barriers that prevent underrepresented groups from accessing cultural and creative activities.   

• Lighthouse Community Centre CIC Barriers to healthy living in Liskeard will co-produce a research project with people in Liskeard to explore lived experiences of challenges around housing conditions, transport access and the affordability of healthy food impact the health and wellbeing of people in Liskeard’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods

• RJ Working, in partnership with a local primary school, will use the funding to undertake an impact evaluation of an intensive “Green Ripple Effect” programme which aims to improve emotional wellbeing, foster environmental responsibility, and reduce risks to exclusion

• Rooted Woodland will undertake a community-led research project to explore how volunteering in woodlands and learning traditional woodland skills (including coppicing and green woodworking) can positively impact mental health

• She’s Worth It CIC will facilitate a women’s peer-led research on poverty and health inequality in Newquay and St Austell

Impact and learning 

HDRC Cornwall have evaluated the first round of the fund and are seeking to build on the learning in future rounds, with the remaining funding due to be awarded to a second round of applications opening in late 2025/early 2026.  

The fund has been effective in quickly making links and relationships with local VCS organisations. A diverse range of organisations applied, and in addition to the successful awards, the fund has enabled the HDRC to identify other opportunities to work together (for example on a NIHR funding call around green spaces). The fund has also helped identify skills gaps and the training that VCS organisations would find most helpful – for example, one organisation is being supported with qualitative research training for their peer researchers. Impact evaluation has been identified as a further training priority.  

The fund has also identified several areas of useful learning: 

1. It is important to map out the whole grants process from start to finish, the local authority processes that need to be met, and capacity required across council teams. Some delays were encountered because of administrative processes. The team recommend ensuring a good understanding of council processes and how long they take to ensure realistic timelines for grant funding. This includes ensuring adequate time is allowed for panel members to review the applications – maybe even building in a process to screen out some applications in order to reduce the volume being presented to the scoring panel. 

2. This was a new type of funding for VCS organisations, it was important to be clear about the purpose of the fund, and to give examples of what research questions can look like.  

3. It is important to recognise that although local VCS organisations work across the wider determinants or building blocks of health, this language isn’t always familiar and must be explained. 

4. Finally, some changes to the application process will be made in the next round to streamline the process, this includes offering different ways for organisations to put together their application (potentially including through an interview with an HDRC member), holding an information session online, and refining the scoring process to ensure it is not too onerous for panel members.  

For more information please contact: Jody.Wilson@cornwall.gov.uk 

HDRC Cornwall is a collaboration between Cornwall Council, University of Exeter, Falmouth University, University of Plymouth, Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum and local community and voluntary sector organisations. The collaboration was awarded funding from NIHR in January 2024 and aims to reduce health inequalities and improve the health of Cornish people. 

This learning story was prepared with support from NIHR RSS Specialist Centre for Public Health delivered by Newcastle University and Partners. With thanks to HDRC Cornwall for providing the content.