Cumberland Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC)

Cumberland Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) is a five-year project that started in January 2024 with the aim to boost research capacity and capability within local governments. Our aim is to embed a culture of always using evidence when making decisions to understand how decisions impact on health and health inequalities within Cumberland Council, partner organisations and the communities we serve.

The NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Cumberland is part of the NIHR and hosted by Cumberland Council. NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaborations enable local authorities to become more research-active, embedding a culture of evidence-based decision making and ensuring there is public health research capacity to look into wider health determinants so that decision makers have the research evidence they need. The NIHR funds, enables and delivers world-leading health and social care research that improves people’s health and wellbeing and promotes economic growth. This major investment is central to NIHR’s offer to local government, providing infrastructure to enable local authorities to become more research active.

Cumberland HDRC works in partnership with Cumbria CVS, Healthwatch Cumberland, University of Lancashire and University of Cumbria.

Read Our Research Plan:

  • Research Plan
  • Picture in Cumberland Report – A secondary data analysis on the wider determinants of health across Cumberland, the North-West and England across Cumberland Council’s seven research themes.

Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram or sign up to our newsletter for our latest news. You can also reach our team at: HDRC@cumberland.gov.uk

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What We’re Up To

There’s always something happening in our research community. Whether you want to learn more about what we do, share your experiences and views on what research matters to your community, or find opportunities to be a part of research, you can find the latest updates here.

Get Involved

Community Co-Researcher Laura is looking to meet adults with physical disabilities in Carlisle to learn more about access to physical activity groups, what barriers there may be, or how people have overcome these. Find out more including how to be involved here:

Participant Information Sheet

Learn more about Laura, her experiences and her project: Researching how exercise can benefit the disabled community | Cumbria CVS

Community Co-Researcher Alex is looking for feedback on his research proposal ‘How families of children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) in Cumberland experience home education, and the implications for support and local service provision’. This is to make sure the project reflects the priorities of the communities it is about.

All questions are optional, so you can spend as much or as little time as you would like. When submitting the form, it does not collect your details like name or email address unless you provide them yourself.

If you would like to take part, you can read his research proposal here: How families of children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) in Cumberland experience home education, and the implications for support and local service provision

And then head over to the survey here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/vRkg87VqB3

Getting Ready for Research

Community Co-Researcher Andrew is exploring the different kinds of support that could help improve the digital inclusion of unpaid carers within Cumberland Council. Read his first report summarising his learning so far: Digital Inclusion and Unpaid Carers – What We Know So Far

Find out more about Andrew and his research here: Unpaid carers and digital inclusion | Cumbria CVS

Community Co-Researcher Becky is preparing to get out into the field to learn from informal carers in Cumberland about their experiences of sleep, what they feel is the underlying cause of their poor sleep and what might help to improve this: Exploring informal carers and poor sleep | Cumbria CVS

Community Co-Researcher Charlotte will be researching democratic participation and health outcomes with an in-depth exploration of Cumberland Community Panels and the experiences of Co-Opted members in more depth: Researching democratic participation and health outcomes | Cumbria CVS

Evidence and Findings

Research Plan and Guides

Cumberland Council’s Gathering Evidence Safely framework, provides a framework ensuring that all evidence gathering undertaken for research is necessary, ethical, well designed and beneficial to all stakeholders involved.

Guides and How to…

Forms

Training

Cumberland HDRC offers a comprehensive research skills training programme designed to help you to feel more confident finding and using research to enhance your work, capture what you already know and share what works (and what doesn’t) and to make and support your decisions. Our sessions are open to all Cumberland Council staff, elected members, and community organisations.

Our training programme is designed in line with the Cumberland Council’s Research, Evidence, Evaluation and Learning (REEL) Capabilities Framework, which sets out the capabilities needed by colleagues to embed evidence into the council’s culture, practice and policies.

Meet the Team

Mike Siddall – Research and Innovation Manager

David Ishola – Public Health Consultant

Daniel Gibbons – Research Officer

Ted Roberts – Research Officer

Peter Kelly​ – Data Analyst

Samantha Carberry – Communications and Engagement Officer

Jae-Llane Ditchburn – Training Officer

Lianna Barrie – Research and Community Project Officer

Kristine Zepa – Research Culture Officer

Warren Fowler – Administrator

Oliver Tait – Apprentice Data Technician

Meet the Community Co-Researcher Team

Our community co-researchers are taking the lead in research, focusing on tackling health inequalities in their communities. They play a key role in Cumberland’s HDRC, co-producing research priorities and co-designing and delivering research projects that are relevant and meaningful for communities.

Community Co-Researchers

Charlotte – Border, Fellside, and North Carlisle

Laura – Border, Fellside, and North Carlisle

Olly – Whitehaven & Coastal

Jess – Whitehaven & Coastal

Becky – Fells and Solway

Sheryl – Workington Together

Maisie – Workington Together

Tyler – Carlisle West

Andrew – Carlisle West

Val – Lakes to Sea

Hayley – Lakes to Sea

Alex – Petteril

Alshaimaa – Petteril

Bob – South Cumberland

 

Shirley Murray – Community Co-Researcher Support Officer