Southampton's Health Determinants Research Collaboration

Vision:

Our vision is to reduce health inequalities in Southampton by working with our communities to create a research evidence-based environment and culture in our local authority. Background:

Southampton is a coastal city with a diverse population of around 250,000. We are a ‘city of opportunity’, building on our City of Culture bid and becoming UNICEF Child Friendly. However, we also experience considerable deprivation, poor health outcomes and significant health inequalities.

Southampton City Council (SCC) is increasingly recognising that a Whole Systems Approach is needed to tackle the wider determinants of health, as demonstrated by the recent adoption of ‘Health in All Policies’. Our capacity to be research active is limited at present, yet local studies show there is an appetite across SCC to use research evidence.

Coupled with our corporate commitment to being more intelligence-led, the time is right for us to become an HDRC and create a culture of evidence-informed decision making. Aim:

We aim to improve health and reduce health inequalities by developing our research capacity and embedding a culture of using evidence when making decisions on the wider determinants of health. Objectives:

1. To advance meaningful Public Involvement and Community Engagement to give everyone the opportunity to influence what research is done and to get involved in that research

2. To develop the infrastructure, governance, and processes for SCC to lead research into areas deemed most important by our communities and partners

3. To establish a culture of evidence informed decision making and evaluation, where staff and elected members feel confident in accessing and using research through learning opportunities, promotion, and academic support 4. To collaboratively secure funding to expand our local evidence-base

5. To monitor and evaluate the impact of our HDRC, sharing findings and acting on them in partnership with our communities to ensure our approaches are relevant and meaningful. Key deliverables, timelines and milestones:

In year 1 we will set up governance processes, recruit the HDRC Research & Development Team and establish a Public Involvement and Community Engagement group and a research Priority Setting Partnership. Year 2 will see the first Communities of Practice established and co-production of strategies for Community Research Engagement and Communications. In years 3, 4 and 5 we will collaborate on funding applications (including budgeting for peer researchers) and evaluate our HDRC approach. We will host events to mobilise knowledge and impact and co-produce peer reviewed papers.

Collaborations:

Collaborating with our wide range of partners, including our local community, is key for the success of Southampton’s HDRC. Our academic partners are the universities of Southampton and Solent, through which we link with the NIHR Research Support Service. Our partnership with Southampton Voluntary Services will connect us to the city’s community organisations and enable us to reach and involve representatives from Southampton’s diverse population.

Impacts:

Our HDRC will have positive impacts on SCC’s capacity for research, on its research culture, on partnerships and on wider society through upskilling of local people and, longer term, through improved health as a result of evidence-informed decision making.