West of England funding opportunity for community organisations

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The NIHR Clinical Research Network West of England is offering funding for projects led by community organisations in the region that aim to increase access to research within their communities.

Background

Health and care research informs the health advice and treatments we get from our doctors and the NHS. Whether it’s how we can look after our own health through our daily routine, or the medicines offered to us when we are ill.

Health and care research helps us find the best options available for improving and protecting our health. We learn how to better diagnose, treat and prevent illness.

It is important that we include all groups and communities in health and care research, so that the evidence informing health and care services represents different parts of the population, and we know what works best for different people’s needs.

We know that health and care research isn’t as inclusive and accessible as it could be. At the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN) West of England, we are dedicated to improving access to research opportunities that people can take part in, for more groups and communities. To achieve this, we want to partner with community organisations to coordinate and facilitate outreach work with groups who are under-served by research.

About the funding opportunity

We’re inviting community organisations to put forward their ideas for a project that they would lead to facilitate access to research within their communities.

How the project looks is likely to differ across organisations but it may involve helping local communities find out more about what health and care research is, how it can benefit them, how they can take part in research and get more involved in other research opportunities that are taking place locally.

We have £10,000 available to fund the resources needed to carry out the project, which should be delivered between January and March 2023. This may be split across multiple organisations.

If you’re based in the West of England and this sounds like something your organisation would be interested in, please email Holly Ayres by Friday 25 November so we can discuss your ideas further.

Potential project ideas

To give some ideas, similar projects that have been run previously include:

• Mapping current access to information about health and care research within the community and creating an action plan for how this could be improved.
• Identifying people within the community who can raise awareness of research by running workshops and attending events.
• Hosting awareness events/festivals
• Holding focus groups to identify current views of research and identifying ways to overcome any identified barriers.