Welcome to the Cumberland HDRC May update!
Saying goodbye to spring, the HDRC team have been out and about come rain or shine.
Communications and Engagement officer Sam joined the Community Engagement Toolkit New Resource Pack: 'Share and Learn' Event to find out more about the newly launched toolkit. The toolkit is a fantastic resource for researchers and community partners to make co-production the heart of health and care research projects. The illustrations and animations are a particular highlight and a great way to connect with the principles and resources in a creative, accessible way.
To access the toolkit co-created by VONNE (Voluntary Organisations' Network North East), NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) partners through Creating Connections, and several Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations in the North East
Research and Innovation Manager Mike headed over to the North Cumbria Social Prescribing Report launch to hear more about their collaborative work. Presentations on the day really highlighted the value of social prescribing in North Cumbria and both the scale and depth of support being provided to communities.
Head over to the Cumbria CVS website to read the full report
Project Officer Lianna spent some time with our Community Co-Researchers and councillor Emma Williamson at Darren McGarvey's Trauma Industrial Complex at Rosehill Theatre in Whitehaven. A huge thank you to Darren for taking the time to meet with with everyone before the show. The conversations sparked are really appreciated by everyone involved.
Lianna shares "One of my favourite things about the CCR programme is being able to bring people into spaces, conversations, and experiences that sit slightly outside traditional research environments, while still connecting so closely to questions around community, health, inequality, and lived experience."
Research Officers Dan and Ted and Research and Innovation Manager Mike spent the day at Ascent Cumbria Research in Health Conference. The event showcased some inspiring, leading work from across the system, with fantastic speakers and genuinely thought‑provoking conversations throughout.
Thank you to North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust for hosting such a great day. It was especially good to see a huge number of our partners and colleagues in attendance including Cumberland Council, University of Cumbria and The Pears Cumbria School of Medicine and to catch up with so many familiar faces from across the research community.
Research Officer Dan Gibbons also attended the AI and the Future of Social Work Summit in Birmingham, hosted by Social Work England and Skills for Care. Dan co-presented with Cumberland Council Adult Social Care's Co-Production lead Chantahl Rodwell, on learning from practice before implementing AI tools in social work and adult social care. Sharing our learning so far on co-producing knowledge and evaluating practice in Adult Social Care in Cumberland, this will be used inform the development of new tools to support practitioners.
It was fantastic to see everyone who joined us for our first meeting! The HDRC team and community co-researchers got together with our Council colleagues, academic and community organisations partners to spend some time talking about research across Cumberland. Experiences shared, ideas sparked and connections made, the groups will be working together to ensure our approach remains meaningful and grounded in lived experience and real-world insight.
Established to develop research questions, plans, and apply for funding to tackle the determinants of health, focus will be on our research priorities set out in our plan, including:
- Education and Employment
- Mental Health, Neurodiversity and Substance Use
- Poverty, Housing, Obesity and Food Insecurity
- Social Care
Made to measure research skills training
Did you know we offer bespoke training sessions based on our research skills programme?
Our Training Office Jae-Llane Ditchburn will spend some time with you discussing your team priorities, processes and requirements, and design and deliver training based on your day to day work. From the completely new to the experienced in your team, our training is designed to be relevant, practical, and impactful.
Contact Jae-Llane via jae-llane.ditchburn@cumberland.gov.uk for more details
In addition to our newsletter, we also share news on our LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. You can also find us on Cumbria Observatory.
You can always find us at the end of an email so don’t hesitate to contact us at hdrc@cumberland.gov.uk with any questions, comments or if you’d like to invite us round for a cup of tea and a catch up. We love being invited to any events that might be a good fit or let us know if we can use your space and always eager to chat with the people who use your services!
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