JSNA: Research Collaborative Hub (RCH)

East Sussex County Council Research Collaborative Hub

The East Sussex Research Collaborative Hub (RCH) is a partnership between the University of Brighton (UoB) and East Sussex County Council (ESCC).

It builds on many years of collaboration between ESCC and UoB academics including our 2023 bid to form a Health Determinants Research Collaboration with UoB as our lead academic partner. We hope that our RCH will enable us to further develop our partnership with UoB academics and other higher education institutions.

Our six principles of capacity building

These include building skills and confidence, developing linkages and partnerships, ensuring the research is ‘close to practice’, developing appropriate dissemination, investments in infrastructure, and building elements of sustainability and continuity.

Our definition of research

Is the ‘process’ of investigation, which leads to new insights in a specific field or area of knowledge (Cook,2005)

The RCH aims to facilitate the access, participation, knowledge, and increase the confidence of our workforce & communities, to undertake and participate in research and evaluation to improve the health and wellbeing of East Sussex residents.

Through this partnership we will explore different collaborative models for maximising our involvement with research partners whilst using our limited resources effectively.

The RCH has two work streams.

  1. Supporting the delivery of public health research projects in East Sussex.
  2. Building research infrastructure through training and capacity building activities.

What will this mean in practice?

  • Understanding our research & evaluation training needs and addressing these through a range of learning and training opportunities.
  • Making research opportunities available to all staff who have an interest or need.
  • Developing a Research Ready Communities programme.
  • Building and strengthening existing research in the council.
  • Building on research on wider determinants.
  • Building a self-sustaining model – identifying funds to sustain model.

Current research projects

  1. Coastal Community and Creative Health (C3H) .
  2. Theatre in Education study.

We are keen to hear from academics and students that whish to collaborate with us on the following projects:

  • Exploring suitable options for enhancing current evaluation approaches to local authority public health interventions and services.
  • Exploring the development of local tools and evidence to support economic evaluation of local public health interventions.
  • Exploring the development of metrics to measure the health and wellbeing impacts of regeneration programmes in coastal communities.
  • Exploring the feasibility, acceptability, and local impact of regional approaches to public health issues, such as smoking, and how we can take learning from successful action on smoking to develop a coherent approach to the addressing alcohol and unhealthy food and drink consumption
  • Exploring creative approaches to research and evaluation which captures lived experiences from seldom heard groups.
  • Exploring approaches to mobilise evidence locally to address health inequalities in specific groups such as men in disadvantaged coastal communities.
  • Exploring the feasibility and application of social infrastructure mapping to tackle loneliness and other health and wellbeing challenges.
  • Evaluating falls prevention interventions incl. hydration, slipper swaps, medicines management, sensory assessment and modification, muscle strength and balance activity.

Conduct evidence reviews and research projects that support us to understand and act on public health issues and interventions relating to:

  • gambling, particularly with young men.
  • the cost of living on specific groups.
  • the impacts of climate change on seldom heard groups locally.
  • the surge in pharmacological solutions for addressing obesity and potential implications for preventative and behaviour change interventions.
  • alternative nicotine products, such as nicotine pouches, as well as the complexity of addressing dual and poly use of nicotine products.
  • Neurodiversity prevalence, health and wellbeing needs locally.
  • Healthy ageing and interventions to address ageism.

The East Sussex RCH team

For more information about the RCH and collaborating with us please contact RCH@eastsussex.gov.uk

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