South West England

Meet the team

	Dr Jen Pearson Co- Leader  University of the West of England, Bristol
	Dr Kim Diment  Co-Leader  Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
	Dr Ralph Hammond  Co-Leader and Consortium Lead Somerset Clinical School, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
	Jessica Coggins  Consortium Administration  University of the West of England, Bristol

NHSE SW / CAHPR Advancing research careers for under-recognised groups in AHPs across the South West project

Funded by NHS England SW, this is a CAHPR South West project.

Katie Williams (pictured right) is leading this project. We aim to support the implementation of strategic aim 2 of the  Developing a Research Skilled Workforce strategy 2023 – 2026: to improve access and equity, 

The first phase of the project is to explore and build consensus on what AHPs and AHP support workers, across the South West, feel ‘under-recognised in AHP research career progression’ means to them.

This is being done via virtual co-production workshops which were held over November 2023. We have had an excellent response rate to sign up for the workshops and therefore the expression of survey has now closed.

The second phase of the project will be to explore the barriers and enablers to research career development, research delivery and research leadership for those under-recognised AHPs that the participants of the coproduction workshops, in phase one, felt should be focused on in stage two.

The third phase of the project will be to create a summary report to identify how access and equity can be improved for the focused-on under-recognised group within AHPs across the South West.

Developing a research skilled workforce in the South West

NHS England SW has commissioned the University of Plymouth to lead the promotion and engagement of the SW workforce in implementing its regional strategy. 

The regional research strategy: DRSW

There are 6 domains to this strategy:

1. Invest in and nurture our workforce

What CAHPR SW consortium is doing:

• We support delivery of the NIHR clinical academic development programme NIHR ICA programme in the south west. This includes paid internships and bridging awards.
• We offer a monthly Conversation Cafe. This is a drop in, online chat to discuss, share, signpost, support, and encourage people at all stages of their clinical academic  / research delivery / clinical development journey.   

2. Improve equity and access 

What CAHPR SW consortium is doing:

• We are running our biggest ever project: to better understand the barriers and enablers to enabling research advancement for under-represented groups within the AHPs, in the south west (see above).
• We are in talks to develop networks to widen our capacity and reach across the region... watch this space.
• Watch the DRSW webinar Webinar 3 - Do I matter to research? (link to YouTube video)

  Guest speakers: Amanda Dufley, Vimal Sriram PhD, Munira Khan, Sun Sanders-Jackson and Gita Ramdharry PhD ; Webinar hosted 11 July 2023

3. Lead by example

What CAHPR SW consortium is doing:

• We provide funding to support AHPs attend CPD events (see below).
• We promote and celebrate role models in providing evidence-based practice.
• Signpost AHPs to research leadership development courses.

4. Support south west research priorities

What CAHPR SW consortium is doing:

• In 2023 we undertook an online survey to better understand what AHPs in the south west want from us. We are using this to inform our next steps.
• We believe region wide ICB research priorities are due to  be published soon.......... 

5. Grow our influence

What CAHPR SW consortium is doing:

• In 2024, we will be reaching out more more explicitly to the AHP Faculties across the region, offering ourselves as a resource for AHP health and care professionals, and support workers, in accessing research development and research delivery opportunities. 
• We are working with the NHSE south west workforce training and education AHP lead, Carrie Biddle. 
• One of our Research Champions, Dr Richard Collings, is the CAHPR vice-chair.
• Our Consortium lead, Dr Ralph Hammond, is chairing the CAHPR mission and vision working party. 

6. Create a thriving research culture

What CAHPR SW consortium is doing:

• Engaging with the regional research strategy (DRSW)
• Attending the DRSW23 conference with a stand, flyers, and giveaways
• Running a monthly Conversation Cafes
• Running weekly Writing Sessions
• We moderate a Twitter / X feed, for AHPs as a step into the research world
• Our CAHPR Research Champions are a point of contact for AHPs with research questions:

1. Richard Collings
2. Angie Logan 
3. Elaine Willmore
4. Sandi Derham

Videos

Conference/study day funding 

In 2023, we awarded seven AHPs funding to support their conference or study day attendance. They will be posting summaries of their learning opportunity here in due course. ​​​​​

Corinne Birch Feedback Summary Video 

Events 

Conversation Cafés

Join CAHPR South West at our online drop in conversation café!

It's an opportunity for members to ask questions, discuss research, and network. Everyone is welcome! 

Time:  One hour 

Dates:

• Wednesday 10th April 2024, 12.00-13.00, facilitated Dr Jen Pearson

Meeting link: Please click this link to join the MS Teams meeting.

Join our writing sessions 

We are excited to start delivering writing sessions! Our objective is simple yet powerful: to create an environment free from distractions where you can devote your undivided attention to writing. Guided by the renowned Pomodoro Technique, these sessions will cultivate focus and offer brief intervals for a break. Whether you are an experienced researcher or just starting your research career, we invite all Allied Health Professionals within the South West to join us.  

No exercises, lectures, or critiques will fill these sessions; instead, they offer a dedicated space for you to focus on writing those abstracts, undertake service evaluations, funding applications, or publications!

Upon joining, we kindly request that you arrive with a clear goal in mind. The sessions will start with a brief conversation, allowing each participant to share their individual objectives. Following this, we will engage in focused writing bursts.

In consideration of the immersive nature of these sessions, we kindly ask that you commit to participating for the entire duration.

Here are the upcoming dates:

• Tuesday 16th April, 08.00-09.30
• Wednesday 24th April, 17.00-18.30
• Monday 29th April, 08.30-10.00

Meeting link: Please click this link to join the MS Teams meeting.

Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement

Links to useful information

1. NHS Health Research Authority here
2. NIHR Patient and Public Involvement resources for applicants to NIHR research programmes here

Find out more about CAHPR South West, about AHP research, and clinical research

Our twitter feed shares information on events, news, research projects, training opportunities, and funding announcements. Contact us via email if you have specific questions. Scroll to the bottom of this page, below for contact details.

2023

We completed a needs survey with our network, please find this below. 

We will continue to offer our online drop-in Conversation Cafe. 

NEWS

NIHR announces £30 million of funding to support AHPs, midwives, and nurses develop clinical academic careers. £30million funding for clinical academic career development

NIHR expands its clinical academic funding awards Opportunities for AHP research development funding

NHSE South West and the University of Plymouth host a Developing and Celebrating a Research Skilled Workforce conference 29 November DRSW23

Developing a Research Skilled Workforce in the South West strategy DRSW strategy

Recent Activities

Contact information

Tweets by CAHPRsouthwest