Blackpool Researching Together is a health inequalities research partnership between:
- Blackpool Council
- Lancaster University
- The local community
- The voluntary sector
- Blackpool Teaching Hospitals
The scheme is known nationally as the Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Blackpool and has been awarded 5 years of funding by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
By supporting access to research and creating new research, Blackpool Researching Together will help Blackpool Council and others to find out exactly why health inequalities exist and how we transform our services and systems to work better for our local communities.
Our research will focus on the following four priority areas:
About National Institute for Health and Care Research (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 (HDRC's) 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.
Meet the team
Our team includes both youth and adult community co-researchers who work alongside colleagues from all the partner organisations.
By putting the Blackpool community at the heart of the project, we can work together to find ways for everyone to have the chance to lead happier and healthier lives. Working together as co-researchers, we will ensure that local people’s day-to-day experiences of facing health inequalities in the town drives our work.
Find out more about the Blackpool Researching Together team
Co-producing research: the Blackpool way
Over the last 10 years, Blackpool has been developing and embedding a whole town approach to co-producing change.
Blackpool has moved from a consultation-based approach where we ask residents what they think about policies, systems and services, to what we would define as authentic co-production, where people with lived experience are at the heart of changing services and systems, to improve the lives of our community.
Blackpool Researching Together has commissioned two community organisations to recruit community members to join the team as co-researchers. We have a commitment to providing paid roles for 10 youth community co-researchers with Boingboing Foundation and 10 adult community co-researchers with HealthWatch Blackpool.
Read our guide on co-producing research in Blackpool
Contact Us
Do you need more information on Blackpool Researching Together? Email hdrc@blackpool.gov.uk.
If you want to keep up-to-date with all the latest news, follow us on social media @Blackpool HDRC.
The NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Blackpool is part of the NIHR and hosted by Blackpool Council. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaborations enable local authorities to become more research-active, embedding a culture of evidence-based decision making.