Posted on: 8 November 2023
NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) has been awarded £100k funding by NHS England Research Engagement Network (REN) programme to support up to 10 or more voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) projects across the area.
The funding will be used to train VCSE Research Champions across West Yorkshire, who will work with communities to develop engagement with research.
At least two VCSE ‘Research Champions’ will be appointed in each of the West Yorkshire places (Bradford District and Craven, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield District).
VCSE Research Champions will help to increase understanding and engagement with research in communities, reaching out to groups of people and communities at risk of experiencing health inequalities. They will work closely with communities to understand what prevents people from taking part in research and what may encourage them to get involved.
Led by the VCSE, working with NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), and in partnership with the National Institute for Health Research and its Ethnic Minority Research Inclusion (EMRI) programme, the aim is to help join up health and care services, improve people’s health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities across the area.
Kim Shutler, Senior Responsible Officer for the ICB’s Harnessing the Power of Communities Programme, said
“In West Yorkshire, we are lucky to have fantastic grassroots voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations that understand and are grounded in our communities.
Trusted VCSE research champions are a great example of the innovative ways the sector can work with NHS to empower the voice of our communities, champion the fantastic research we already do and share learning across health and care services to reduce health inequalities.”
Dr James Thomas, Medical Director for the ICB, said
“We are delighted to have been awarded this funding to help us to develop research engagement in collaboration with our voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in Bradford District and Craven, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield District.
Research cannot happen without the engagement of people, and it is always positive to develop research engagement in partnership with our local communities.”
Notes to the editor
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