Cornwall Council is one of 30 local authorities across the UK that has been awarded funding to establish a Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC). The HDRC builds upon our track record of cross-sector engagement. It is a collaboration with the universities of:
- Exeter
- Falmouth
- Plymouth, and
- the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCSE) and local communities
Background
People's health and wellbeing is impacted by the physical and social environment that they live in. In Cornwall there is a 5 1/2 year gap in life expectancy between the poorest and richest neighbourhoods. 17 neighbourhoods are among the 10% most deprived in England. There are also specific challenges which relate to the rural and coastal environment. To help make sure that everyone in Cornwall has the opportunity to thrive, it is important to understand which factors:
- have the biggest impact
- who they effect
- what are the possible solutions, and
- how well the solutions can work locally
to improve people's health and wellbeing.
High-quality, place-based research can help us to produce this information. It will create new knowledge that will help improve the lives of people in Cornwall. It will also help inform areas facing similar issues nationally. However:
- for us to take part in research, and
- for partners such as universities and communities to inform the way in which we design and deliver our services
there needs to be some change to the existing system.
Aim and vision of the HDRC
To create culture change within Cornwall Council. To use the power of creativity and collaboration with community and university partners to:
- gather
- create
- understand, and
- use high-quality research
- to find solutions
to the social and environmental issues that influence health and health inequalities of people in Cornwall.
Business Plan
The Cornwall Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) will bring together:
- Cornwall Council
- the Universities of Exeter, Falmouth, and Plymouth
- the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCSE), and
- local communities
University partners are experts in accessing, planning and conducting research. People and communities are experts of their individual and local experience. And Cornwall Council deliver local services and have an understanding of needs across the whole county. Each partner brings essential knowledge to achieve a reduction in health inequalities. The HDRC will create a space for this knowledge to be shared and grown through creative processes of collaboration.
Public and community involvement
A core component of the HDRC will be a Citizen Research Group co-created by communities and partners from the VCSE and resourced by the HDRC. It will allow people in Cornwall to contribute to the decisions and activity of the HDRC in a way that works best for them. This may include;
- sharing personal experience to highlight areas of the system that are working well or need change,
- being involved in working groups to create solutions to shared problems or developing skills to do research.
Timeline and delivery
In the first stage, partners will work together to set a strategy with shared goals and culture for the HDRC. The plans will be delivered, checked, and refined over the following years. At all times the HDRC will build towards sustainability. It will do this by attracting further funding and interest in the innovative models of working. This will be especially in the last two of the funded five years.
Impact and dissemination
Through HDRC activity our aim is that people in Cornwall, both Council staff and community members will:
- gain skills, and
- be supported by appropriate resources and infrastructure
to make meaningful and lasting changes to the way that health inequalities are tackled in Cornwall. The ultimate aim of the HDRC is to reduce the difference in life experience between people who are most and least well-off in Cornwall.
Cornwall Council HDRC Team
We have a dedicated HDRC team working as part of the Cornwall Council Public Health team. The team has a drive and commitment to ensure that the people of Cornwall all have the opportunity to start well, live well and age well.
Eunan O'Neill
HDRC Centre Director
Charlotte Bramwell
HDRC Service lead
Emily Taylor
HDRC Senior Research Support Officer
Jody Wilson
HDRC Research Support Officer | Communities and Co-production
Dugald Foster
HDRC Research Support Officer | Neighbourhoods
Jan Maksymczuk
HDRC Research Support Officer | Sustainable Growth and Development
Luca Owenbridge
HDRC Research Support Officer | Together for Families
Sam Kammerling
HDRC Research Support Officer | Communities and Co-production
Sophie Bennett
HDRC Research Support Officer | Care and Wellbeing
Katie Giles
HDRC Engagement and Dialogue Officer