Our vision and mission
Coventry Health Determinants Research Collaboration has a vision to use research to help address unfair differences in the building blocks of health in Coventry. We do this by creating an environment where data, insight, and evidence help decide the best way to reduce the causes of unfair differences in health in our city.
Coventry City Council is one of 30 local authorities across the UK awarded funding to establish a Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC). The HDRC builds on Coventry’s track record of cross-sector engagement and collaborates with the University of Warwick, Coventry University, University College London, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, the voluntary sector, and local communities.
Our objectives are:
- Build a research infrastructure to help the Coventry City Council make evidence-based decisions
- Develop a training offer for all members of staff, the voluntary sector, and residents that provides knowledge and skills in using research
- Involve our residents. They can influence where research happens based on their lived experience
- Evaluate our work so that we can make consistent improvements
Our pillars
The work of the HDRC is formed across five pillars:
Pillar 1: Data and Governance will design new and robust approaches to research that make it easier for people to conduct their own high-quality research.
Pillar 2: Training and Skills will take an inclusive approach to delivering training for staff and Councillors at Coventry City Council, partner organisations, the local community, and the voluntary sector to encourage skills and confidence in finding, using, and, in some cases, doing research.
Pillar 3: Public Involvement will develop a strategy to enable the diverse communities of Coventry to be involved in all HDRC activities. We aim to ensure that their voices are heard through discussion and contribute to decisions on topics and how research is undertaken.
Pillar 4: Evaluation will help us understand how the Coventry HDRC is working in practice and how we can improve to achieve our goals.
Pillar 5: Impact & Implementation enables us to link university expertise and researchers with teams and services across the council to identify and use good evidence-based practice from research, give advice on evaluation and research, develop new research projects, and access funding.
Research Priority Areas
The Coventry HDRC will conduct research into the building blocks of heath. The initial research priority areas are aligned with the One Coventry Priorities and the related Marmot Principles. These include:
- Early Years
- Employment and Skills
- Economic Development
- Digital Inclusion
- Housing and Homelessness
The HDRC will also facilitate and develop research into new emerging priorities. The HDRC research priority areas will continue to evolve and develop over time informed by local communities, priorities and research needs.
The timeline for the project
Year 1
- Funding received 1 October 2022
- Team established
- Establishing a work platform
Year 2
- Infrastructure being built:
- Ethics review processes
- Governance processes
- Evaluation framework
- Developing training
- Research ambassadors
- Communication and engagement
Year 3
- Dissemination of existing research and funding opportunities
- Identification of possible research questions and areas of interest
Year 4
- Establishing an impact platform
- Establishment of wider communities of practice in key areas
- Utilising research fellows and research evidence to improve practice
Year 5
- Culture change within Local Authority
- External funding research applications
Long term
- Evidence-driven approach to tackling wider determinants
- Use of research evidence to improve services and address inequalities of health
- Further development of HDRC concept/infrastructure
Meet the team
Sue Frossell - Director of Coventry Health Determinants Research Collaboration / Consultant in Public Health
John Wilcox - Head of Coventry Health Determinants Research Collaboration
Harmony Lully- Programme Officer Coventry Health Determinants Research Collaboration
Lauren Bell - Research Fellow - Qualitative & Mixed Methods
Karen Thomas – Programme Manager Health Protection
Jessica Weeks – Public Involvement Officer
Seeman Tsang – Research Governance Officer
Michael Ogunyemi - HDRC Project Assistant
Cameron Ley - Research Fellow - Evidence Synthesis
Chloe Ryder - Research Fellow - Quantitative & Mixed Method
Eve Wang - Research Assistant
HDRC Research Ambassadors
Research Ambassadors showcase the benefits of using data, evidence, and research in their day-to-day work and decision-making processes within their service area. They use and share this knowledge with their colleagues and other teams and increase links with our collaborating partners and local communities.
David Hope - Business Development Manager (Economic Strategy & Funding Regeneration & Economy Directorate)
Catherine Partridge - Digital Inclusion Coordinator
Hannah Graeber - Digital Inclusion Coordinator
Giuliana Famiglietti-Pipola - Senior Manager (Regeneration & Economy Directorate & Business Support Programmes)
Pillar 1 Team – Data and Governance
Dr Tim Robbins - NIHR Consultant Physician & CRIO – University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and Warwick Medical School
Tracy Gazeley - Clinical Research Facility Delivery - University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
Ceri Jones - Head of R&D - University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
Pillar 2 Team - Training and Skills
Grace Haynes - Head of People & Culture – Coventry City Council
Dr Maxine Whelan - Assistant Professor - Coventry University
Pillar 3 Team - Public Involvement
Valerie de Souza - Consultant in Public Health – Coventry City Council
Professor Sophie Staniszewska - Patient and Public Involvement and Experiences of Care – University of Warwick
Andrea Buckley - Service Manager, Community Resilience & Engagement - Coventry City Council
Richard Grant - PPIE Rep
Jane Whitehurst - PPIE Rep
Pillar 4 Team - Evaluation
Rachel Chapman - Consultant in Public Health - Coventry City Council and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
Beck Taylor - Clinical Associate Professor - University of Warwick
Pillar 5 Team - Impact and Implementation
Graeme Currie - Professor of Public Management - Warwick Business School
Jessica Allen - Deputy Director - University College London
Stephen Weir - Strategic Lead, Economic Development - Coventry City Council
Voluntary Sector
Christabell Amoakoh - CEO and Centre Manager - The Highlife Centre
Alan Markey – Chief Executive - Coventry Advice Service
Sue Ogle - Chief Executive - Voluntary Action Coventry
Clare Wightman - Chief Executive - Grapevine
Claire Stern - Director of Service Development and Impact - Central England Law Centre
Noreen Bukhari - Health Programmes Manager - Foleshill Women's Training
Teresa Johnston- Head of Business Development, People and Performance - Coventry Citizen's Advice
The HDRC Coventry is a collaboration between Coventry City Council, Coventry University, University of Warwick and a range of partners within the community and voluntary sectors, with support from University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and University College London. Find out more about the collaborating organisations on our partners and collaborators page.
About NIHR
The NIHR funds, enables and delivers world-leading health and social care research that improves people's health and wellbeing and promotes economic growth.
NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaborations enable local authorities to become more research-active, embedding a culture of evidence-based decision-making.
The NIHR has awarded £150 million to 30 HDRCs across the UK, to provide the capacity and capability for local authorities to undertake public health research to address the wider determinants of health and health inequalities.
NIHR
The NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Coventry is part of the NIHR and hosted by Coventry City Council.
Visit the NIHR website