Who are Blackpool Researching Together?
Blackpool Researching Together is a health inequalities research project which is a partnership between Blackpool Council, Lancaster University, the local community, the voluntary sector, and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals. The project 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).
Health inequalities are unfair and avoidable differences in health between groups of people. Blackpool Researching Together will use the day-to-day experiences of Blackpool residents to inform decisions about how council and health services are designed and delivered with the aim of ultimately improving people’s health, especially those facing the greatest challenges.
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. 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.
Find out more about Blackpool Researching Together
What is the seed funding scheme?
We understand some of the barriers to applying for formal research funding. There are lots of hurdles to jump through and it can be a lengthy process. In response to this, we have developed a seed funding scheme.
Our hope is that this will enable more residents and community organisations to work alongside Blackpool Council and academics to develop research proposals that could lead to larger funding bids, or be used for short-term, focused projects which support research skills development, such as evaluations.
Seed funding criteria
Applications should focus on one or more of the following priority areas:
- Mental health
- Housing
- Conception to age 2
- Education, skills and employment
Maximum funding available: £20,000
Project timeline: 6 months
Who can apply?
Applications are welcomed from any Blackpool-based organisations or groups who have previously expressed an interest in becoming more research active or are already carrying out research.
Organisations currently commissioned by HDRC Blackpool are not eligible to apply.
Who should be involved in the project?
To ensure a collaborative approach, each project would need to include:
- At least one academic with relevant topic expertise
- At least one council officer
- A HDRC community co-researcher
- Community members or a community organisation and community members
A letter of support from the academic(s) involved in the project should be submitted to HDRC@blackpool.gov.uk to support the application for funding.
We hope that this approach will further build relationships across Blackpool by encouraging people who might not have had the chance to be involved in a research project to get involved, building their skills and experience, and forging partnerships that could be sustained long after the seed funding has ceased.
We understand that you may not have an existing relationship with a council officer, academic, HDRC community coresearcher, community organisation and residents and therefore the Blackpool Researching Together team are happy to chat to anyone who needs some support with making these connections and offer further support if needed. We are here to help!
What can seed funding be used for?
- Academic support
- Accommodation (office space/meeting venues)
- Training
- Resources (stationery etc.)
- Travel within reason
Funding cannot be used to cover personal expenses or service delivery.
NIHR payment guidance for researchers and professionals
Data governance
If the project involves collecting or analysing new or existing data, consideration should be given to the implications for information governance, data access and storage.
For all successful applications, it is intended that a summary of the project as well as project outputs (e.g. written reports, presentations, videos etc.) will be included on the council’s website and will be part of a research library available to council staff. You should ensure that the project team and anyother participants in your project are informed of this and consent obtained where required.
Application process
Applications for round three of funding are now open until Tuesday 31 March.
After the closing date for applications, the seed funding panel will meet within 3 weeks to consider all applications received.
We will aim to notify you of the outcome of the seed funding panel within 1 week. This might include asking for some additional information to support your application.
If your application was unsuccessful, the Blackpool Researching Together team can offer support/guidance on how to further develop your research project so that you can potentially apply for a future round of seed funding.
Seed funding recipients
Four applications have now successfully received funding from our first two rounds of seed funding.
Find out more about the seed funding recipients
Further information
If you have any further questions or would like advice about making a seed funding application, you can contact the Blackpool Reesarching Together team at HDRC@blackpool.gov.uk.
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.