Friday, 01 July 2022
A team from the Universities of Nottingham, Loughborough and Lincoln has been awarded £2.5 million by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to deliver evaluations of public health initiatives across the UK.
The Public Health Intervention Responsive Studies Team (PHIRST) scheme was launched in 2019, and funds academic teams to provide timely and accessible research to local authorities (LAs) that are keen to have their work evaluated. Each PHIRST group acts as a ‘ready to go’ evaluation team and delivers a rolling programme of evaluations in response to LA requests.
This collaboration, led by the University of Nottingham, is the fifth PHIRST award to be made by the NIHR, and provides funding for 5 years from early 2022. Each project will be run in collaboration with the relevant local authority, with co-designed plans and initiatives to build long term evaluative capacity in the LA itself.
The project team combines expertise and experience across public health, working with local and national government, community research, impact, and a range of research methodologies.
The team comprises:
University of Nottingham: Dr Elizabeth Orton (Associate Professor and Consultant in Public Health) overall lead, in collaboration with Prof. Denise Kendrick (Professor of Primary Care Research), Prof. Pip Logan (Professor of Rehabilitation Research and Occupational Therapist), Prof. Jo Leonardi-Bee (Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology), Dr Joanne Morling (Associate Professor and Consultant in Public Health) and Prof. Adam Gordon (Professor of the Care of Older People).
Loughborough University: Professor Lauren Sherar (Professor of Physical Activity and Public Health) and Dr Jo Barnes (Senior Lecturer).
University of Lincoln: Professor Mark Gussy (Global Professor in Rural Health and Social Care) and Dr Julie Bayley (Director of Research Impact Development and the Lincoln Impact Literacy Institute, Health Psychologist).
Patient representative: Pamela Rees.
The group is well connected with regional Public Health and Local Authority leads, and throughout the work will connect with the wider PHIRST community to share practice.
I’m so privileged to lead such a talented team of public health researchers, who are each international experts in their own right.
She added: "As a Consultant in Public Health in a Local Authority I know how challenging it is to ensure that what we do is based on the best available evidence as often that evidence just doesn’t exist. The PHIRST initiative will make a significant contribution to providing that evidence base and achieve even wider impact by sharing findings across the public health community.
“The PHIRST evaluation programmes will also build future research capacity in the local authorities that they work with and the communities that they serve.”
Professor Lauren Sherar said: “It is fantastic to have this collaboration in the East Midlands. By working in partnership, we can not only cement stronger links between our respective universities, but also draw together a far stronger regional footprint for public health excellence and local impact.”
Professor Derek Ward, Director of Public Health, Lincolnshire County Council said: “I am delighted that the NIHR have decided to fund a new PHIRST team led by a team based here in the East Midlands. Whilst PHIRSTs provide support for local authorities anywhere in the country, having brilliant academics in our local universities, who understand the region and it’s challenges, will inevitably improve the quality and effectiveness of the public health services we provide right here in the East Midlands. As Directors of Public Health we are eager to start working with the team and we hope this will be the start of a strengthening of public health research across the region.”
More information on the PHIRST programme is available via the NIHR website www.phirst.nihr.ac.uk, or by contacting phr@nihr.ac.uk.
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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