Public Health Intervention Responsive Studies Team

Our team brings many years of experience in applied translational research in public health across three nations of the UK: Fuse Centre for Translational Research in Public Health in North East England; the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at Sheffield; the Centre of Excellence for Public Health in Northern Ireland; the Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy and the MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit. Hosted by Fuse, we build on its existing expertise from the innovative rapid response and evaluation service AskFuse service and UK wide links to other NIHR infrastructures and draw on experience with the national Public Health Practice Evaluation Scheme (PHPES), a response mode funded evaluation programme operated by SPHR. We are complementing both schemes by building capacity in responsive research with researchers and knowledge brokers across jurisdictions that enables a rapid response to the research and evidence needs of local government (LG). Our team combines expertise in local and national policy making from across the UK and, while members are located in the north of the UK, our networks cover the whole UK and we will draw on capacity within these networks. We understand the challenges LG faces in mobilising research evidence in a climate of austerity and within a political organisation that requires a range of different types of evidence and research designs to provide local policy makers and practitioners with knowledge that is timely, relevant and useful to ensure interventions work in their local context. The challenges facing LG will be made more acute by the current COVID-19 pandemic, the implications for which will be profound to LG and the communities they serve, particularly in terms of health inequalities. We value co-production as a core mechanism for creating meaningful relationships and knowledge to mobilise and implement evidence to address the most important research questions facing partner organisations. We have extensive experience of working with public health partners to co-produce research and translate high quality research findings into relevant, timely and useful outputs to inform decision-making in LG, build capacity and upskill staff. We will also draw on our experience and that of the LG partners to ensure meaningful public and community involvement in all aspects of our work, following the NIHR SPHR Public Involvement and Engagement strategy. Our model of approach follows a 5-step process: brokerage, work allocation, research, reporting & knowledge mobilisation (KM), and continuous improvement, which includes Evaluability Assessment methodology and embedded research with LG practitioners. With a track record in translational research, wide-ranging methodological expertise and with extensive networks with LG across the UK, we will be able to respond quickly and tailor research to local needs in collaboration with policy makers and stakeholders. Effective dissemination and KM is critical in ensuring impact. We will draw on our experience, applying the NIHR SPHR six knowledge sharing principles, in innovative ways to disseminate and mobilise our research findings into policy and practice, working with LG and the public, and tailoring outputs to relevant audiences, including Government, policy, practice and the public. We will maximise impact by collaborating with the other response teams to align projects and facilitate programme evaluation.