About

Who we are

The Curiosity Partnership has members from across Yorkshire and Humber (and beyond!) including social workers, public health colleagues and other roles involved in the delivery of social care to older people from local authorities, academics from Hull, Sheffield, York and Newcastle, voluntary/ community groups, residents and research support organisations.

By joining Curious Minds, you will become a member of the wider partnership - welcome aboard!

The main project team is based at the University of York and the people who will be closely involved with the Curious Minds group are Laura Haviland, Eppie Leishman and Mark Wilberforce. Laura is the first point of contact with any queries.

Laura Haviland

Curiosity Partnership Network Coordinator

curiosity-partnership@york.ac.uk

Mark Wilberforce

Curiosity Partnership Manager

mark.wilberforce@york.ac.uk

Eppie Leishman

Curiosity Partnership Researcher

eppie.leishman@york.ac.uk

A brief history of the Curiosity Partnership

Back in early 2020 when masks were for Halloween and a Zoom was an ice lolly, discussions started about applying to the National Institute of Health and Care Research for research funding. The bid was to be ambitious, proposing the development of a four-year research partnership between four local authorities and four universities in Yorkshire and Humber.

We all know what happened next in 2020 and it's fair to say that put the brakes on things ever so slightly.

However, as the year progressed, the decision-making wheels kept turning and we found out in late 2020 the bid had been successful. The project started in June 2021. Initial progress was slow due to the pressures of the pandemic but, as the months have gone by, the Curiosity Partnership has started to take shape.

Relationships are being built and we are celebrating our successes which we hope are the seeds of more good news to come.

We have run a series of priority setting workshops to learn more about what barriers prevent local authorities becoming more involved with research and how these challenges might be overcome. Residents and community groups have been involved in these discussions too, providing valuable insights into their experiences of social care and where research could be used to improve care for older people.

The Curiosity Partnership was formally launched in June 2022 and the project will run until at least May 2025. We have a lot to do in the coming years!

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