Our Areas of Research Interest (ARIs) are the key topics where HDRC Cornwall is keen to strengthen understanding. From this we will develop evidence to inform policy. Our ARIs highlight areas that are important for improving health and wellbeing in our communities. They are also where collaborative research can have a real and lasting impact.
The 2015 review of the UK Research Councils asked that departments share their research needs. This can then help researchers identify priority areas. In response, government organisations have created ARI documents since 2017.
ARIs aim to encourage dialogue and partnership between academics and local authority teams. We're sharing these priorities to make it easier for researchers to align with the needs of local government. As a result they will be supporting research that is timely, relevant, and co-produced.
Our ARIs share broad areas of focus with specific knowledge gaps we seek to address. We welcome contact from academics and research partners to explore opportunities for collaboration. If you would like to conduct research or share existing evidence in any of these areas, please contact us. Email hdrc@cornwall.gov.uk
Benefits of engaging with ARIs
Engaging with ARIs offers researchers a unique opportunity to:
- Show real-world impact through contributing to local policy and practice. As well as supporting REF impact case studies. This will also strengthen evidence of societal benefit.
- Co-produce research with policy partners. This will ensure we apply academic insights where they can have the greatest effect. It also ensures that on the ground realities shape findings.
- Access rich local data, insight, and networks. This includes community partners, practitioners, and decision-makers. They work across health, housing, environment, and social policy. We strive to adopt Open Research principles. For this we aim to support access to data held by the Council for research purposes.
- Develop longer-term collaborations by building trusted relationships. These will then underpin joint funding bids, pilot projects, and sustained research programmes.
- Increase degree programme attractiveness for students through delivering real-world policy experience. For example through a postgraduate student placement at Cornwall Council.
Engaging with our ARIs
We welcome engagement through:
- sharing evidence or research findings
- collaborating on research projects
- grant applications that align with our ARIs
- opportunities for engaging postgraduate students. This could be for example as part of a dissertation project or industry placement.
If you have research evidence relevant to our ARIs we would love to hear about it. Also please let us know if you are planning research relating to one of our questions. You can contact us at hdrc@cornwall.gov.uk
We may also be able to offer endorsement of grant applications. This will depend on resources available at the time. We see our ARIs as an offer to collaborate with researchers on projects. We will respond to speculative approaches for research funding where possible and appropriate. Please note that ARIs are not an invitation to tender, but they are an open offer to collaborate. Together we can shape Cornwall’s future through research and evidence-based policy making.
Our Areas of Research Interest
Our team has been working across Cornwall Council to identify priority research areas. We have been interviewing staff to understand the Council’s research needs.
We have summarised our findings under four primary Areas of Research Interest:
- Social Belonging, Identity and Health
- Life-long Purpose and Productivity
- Health Systems and Cultures of Health
- Place and Environmental Conditions for Health
1. Social belonging, identity and health
- How can special educational needs services use AI to improve waiting times and parent experiences?
- How can reflective practice supervision improve:
- wellbeing
- job satisfaction and
- outcomes for Health Visitors?
- How does rural and coastal poverty impact the health and wellbeing of children and young people (CYP)?
2. Life-long purpose and productivity
- Why does Cornwall underperform the rest of the country on productivity metrics?
- Improving cardiovascular disease prevention and outcomes for post-menopausal women in Cornwall.
- Improving cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccine uptake in under-served groups.
- What are people’s experiences of waiting for diagnosis for neurodivergence in Cornwall?
- What are the barriers to good quality employment for young people in Cornwall?
- How does focusing on parental trauma impact clinical psychology services to CYP?
- What are the most effective practices for reducing exclusions in secondary schools?
- What are the most effective practices for improving attendance in secondary schools?
- What are the motivations and demographics of families choosing Elective Home Education?
- What are the:
- academic,
- social, and
- emotional outcomes for children educated at home? (Particularly compared to those educated in mainstream schools).
- What are the most effective and fair approaches to reduce consumption of ultra-processed foods? Particularly in ways that support:
- individual agency,
- cultural relevance, and
- long-term wellbeing
- How effective are financial and regulatory policies in reducing the amount of ultra-processed food we eat? (For example taxation or advertising restrictions.)
- What behavioural interventions are most effective in reducing individual consumption of ultra-processed foods?
- Can we design interventions that help reduce consumption of ultra-processed food. As well as address health inequalities?
- What social, economic and cultural factors are contributing to the rise in teenage pregnancies in Cornwall?
- How does access to sexual health education and services vary across communities in Cornwall? How might this impact teenage pregnancy rates
- What role do:
- family dynamics,
- peer influence and
- mental health play in teenage pregnancy in high-deprivation areas of Cornwall?
- What are the key factors driving the increase in STIs among young people in Cornwall?
- How has the use of digital platforms influenced STI transmission patterns in Cornwall? (For example dating apps and social media).
- What barriers exist to STI testing and treatment for young people in Cornwall? (Particularly in rural or underserved areas.)
- How does stigma and awareness levels affect STI prevention and treatment-seeking behaviours?
- What are the key barriers to vaccine uptake among different groups in Cornwall? How can targeted interventions improve coverage for vaccines? (Such as flu, COVID-19, MMR, and HPV.)
- How can stop smoking interventions be enhanced to better support long-term quitting outcomes? (Particularly among high-risk or under-served populations?)
3. Health systems and cultures of health
- Building an alliance of organisations to deliver joined-up social support services in Newquay.
- Assess the homeless hospital discharge support service based at Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust. Explore other similar services across the UK to identify good practice and learning.
- Crime and criminalisation of CYP in rural and coastal places. Health and wellbeing of CYP involved with the Criminal Justice System.
4. Place and environmental conditions for health
- Scope how to address damp and mould issues within all tenures in Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. Can we access property damp and mould intelligence held organisations in Cornwall?
- Evidence where the NHS and local government have embedded a simple referral system. This is for patients whose home is negatively impacting their health.
- What is the impact of green and blue Social prescribing on mental health and wellbeing for CYP?
- Does being on Index of Multiple Deprivation in rural areas increase disparities in health outcomes?
- How to engage and promote healthy place-making to external developers?
- Inform local housing plans through analysis of impacting factors. (Including affordability trends, market pressures, and population needs.
- Development of comprehensive databases to:
- identify,
- prioritise and
- target interventions in areas such as damp and mould.
- Evaluation of retrofit interventions (including hubs and sensor-based monitoring) on housing. Assessment of the impacts of evolving EPC standards on households and the private rented sector.
- Understanding the drivers of vacant properties, and landlord responses to regulation. Improving the accuracy and coverage of relevant datasets.
- Analysis of housing supply trends and their relationship with planning outcomes. This includes the drivers of planning appeals.
- Building on private rented-sector Pathfinder initiatives to strengthen housing quality datasets. Support the establishment of a robust national evidence base.
- Strengthening evidence on private rented sector enforcement activity. This includes evaluating the impact of the Renters’ Rights Bill. As well as assessing health, social and safety outcomes of interventions. (Particularly in unregulated accommodation such as park homes and caravans.)
- Exploring the role of housing design in shaping behaviour. This includes promoting healthy lifestyles, supporting ageing populations, and adaptation to climate change.
- Identifying housing delivery gaps, particularly for vulnerable groups. Improving the consistency of housing data across sources.
- Evaluating:
- Housing First,
- commissioned services and
- innovative approaches to ease temporary accommodation pressures for the homeless.
- Assessing outcomes of homeless hospital discharge schemes.
- Improving data on damp and mould in social housing. Understanding the implications of changes in seasonal excess deaths monitoring.
- Developing an index that integrates housing and health evidence. This is to assess and improve housing outcomes.