Rhondda Cynon Taf Health Determinants Research Collaboration (RCT HDRC)

Reducing health inequalities is central to the priorities of Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) local authority (LA). Poverty and its impacts are long-standing challenges in RCT that have been exacerbated by the pandemic and ongoing cost of living crisis. COVID-19 laid bare the relationship between poverty, the wider determinants of health and the inequalities in health outcomes for the most disadvantaged.

RCT Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) will create a vibrant research culture in the LA, driving evidence-based decision-making which breaks the cycle of poverty, by improving the life chances of the most disadvantaged and addressing the wider determinants of health.

Over the next five years RCT LA will face difficult decisions about how to improve the life chances of its residents in the context of growing demand and constrained resources. RCT HDRC will ensure that these decisions are rooted in the best available evidence, and that by the time the next Corporate Plan is produced, in 2028, the LA has a culture of co-production with citizens, a robust evidence base to identify what works and what matters, and an evidence informed approach to policy making.

To achieve this, RCT HDRC will deliver a coordinated set of interventions that will, over time, change the culture of RCT LA. The investment from NIHR will create a new multi-disciplinary Research and Development Team in the LA that draws on the expertise and experience of the partner organisations. This team will:

- Target key decisions on the wider determinants of health (e.g. housing, employment services, and school attendance and attainment) with projects that bring together the best available evidence and expertise to provide recommendations for action; - Provide training and development to staff to improve core skills and research literacy across the LA;

- Identify opportunities for new research and create multi-disciplinary groups to develop these into fundable research proposals; and

- Work to adapt the LA’s internal processes to ensure that the way that individuals, services and the organisation are managed supports the generation and use of research evidence.

Woven through these interventions will be a package of work that will support citizens to be collaborating partners in the work of RCT HDRC. Using the relationships and networks of the local Community Voluntary Council (Interlink), RCT HDRC will recruit ‘citizen researchers’ who will work alongside the Research and Development Team, receiving training and support to enable them to do so.

Underpinning governance arrangements will establish the cross-organisational working practices and develop a monitoring framework for RCT HDRC. This will use internal processes of reflection and data capture to monitor impact and generate learning, which will be shared with staff, councillors, the public and wider networks across Wales and the rest of the UK.

With strong support from leaders in RCT LA, these activities will drive a change across the organisation, leading to positive impacts on the lives of the local population.