Research Ready Surrey

What does your organisation do?

Alliance for Better Care is a Community Interest Company which brings together 47 GP practices across Surrey and Sussex to work together in partnership. We support our GP practices, hospitals, and community groups to focus on an integrated approach for healthcare delivery.

Our mission is to transform how people manage their health in their community so that we can all live happier lives. We focus on all residents including underrepresented groups, refugees, asylum seekers, children, and young persons.

How has your organisation been involved in research?

We collate lots of important insights to improve the delivery of social care for the communities we work with but do not consider ourselves as engaging in ‘real’ research currently. We use the insights of problems and challenges we gather to find creative, organic solutions.

What are the barriers to getting involved in research?

Currently our biggest obstacle to being involved with research is access to funding. Sharing information can also be difficult when separate projects use different data collection tools.

What has worked well?

We prioritise trust with the groups and communities we support, and we are committed to maintaining this.

We have recently hosted a series of workshops designed to bring together residents and community partners wishing to improve the health and wellbeing of residents, and the delivery of local NHS services.

Where do you want to go with research?

We are piloting a scheme looking at personalised health budgets for residents to use for things like bus tickets or to purchase bikes through a third-party organisation. We want to use research to monitor the impact of this scheme. We also want to evaluate previous work to allow us to strategically plan our next phase.

Can people get in touch to find out more?

Of course, please visit the Alliance for Better Care website and subscribe to our mailing list to be kept in the loop about our future work.

What does your organisation do?

Good Company has been running since 2012 and started originally as a food bank.

We run a wide range of projects across Surrey, including five food banks, the Poverty Truth commission, Epsom and Ewell Refugee Network, Epsom Pantry. We also provide money advice surgeries, furniture, support, school uniforms, energy top ups and counselling. Our mission is to see a community free from poverty, where everyone can afford life’s essentials.

How has your organisation been involved in research?

We are a franchisee of the Trussell Trust foodbanks. We regularly collate usage statistics on employment status, repeat visits and other demographics.

We have hosted focus groups to understand how to do research in communities and we are developing a Theory of Change framework. Our Poverty Lead is a trained social researcher, who identifies opportunities for research projects through their engagement and participation work, so that we ensure our work is user-led.

Have you seen an impact because of your research?

Yes. Our research has enabled us to understand why people use food banks and the support received by users. We have identified three types of food bank user, based on their usage pattern:

• Crisis
• Coping
• Chronic

We are now able target support that is bespoke to each type of user group. For example, we created a peer group Christmas saving scheme.

What are the barriers to getting involved in research?

As with many charities, we have little time. Finding the additional costs to undertake research is also a challenge. We also struggle with ‘closed shop’ cultures, where opportunities to share our findings to enable meaningful actions is limited.

What has worked well?

We are fortunate to be part of a flexible, ‘light touch’ national organisation, with good networks. This allows us to access support for admin and governance tasks. This frees up time and resources for us to do more engagement and inevitably improves the impact of research and support that we offer.

What would make getting involved in research easier?

It would be great if VCSE organisations in Surrey had named researchers within the NHS or Surrey County Council that could support and enable the meaningful production of research and create regular information sharing opportunities. Better connectivity across all sectors and an increase in audit activity would help us share outcomes and learn what impact measurements are being used by others.

Having more forums to share with researchers about how our communications, actions and research has driven change and created impact could support the development of better evidence and long term interventions for the people we serve.

Where do you want to go with research?

We want to build an online referral system that allows us to gather knowledge of the themes and profiles of people that are common across our services.

This will help us improve how we signpost people (to avoid duplicating information and repeated storytelling) and will also allow us to learn what our community needs are. We would also like to ‘put faces’ to the statistics through more qualitative research, and of course, we are open to collaborating with researchers on relevant projects.

Can people get in touch to find out more?

Yes!  We are open to more research and collaboration opportunities. Please visit our Good Company – Supporting Our Community website for more information or email tom@goodcompany.org.uk

What does your organisation do?

Harry’s Hydrocephalus Awareness Trust (Harry’s HAT) was founded in 2018, by Harry’s family and friends, following Harry’s diagnosis with hydrocephalus (water on the brain). We became a registered charity in 2019.

Our overall aim is to make life better for children with hydrocephalus, as well as for those who love and care for them. We want to raise awareness, fund research, train nurses and connect families.

The charity has grown holistically based on need and input from other families who are also on the same journey.

How has your organisation been involved in research?

To achieve our aims, we need to understand the challenges faced by children and their families and learn about their experiences of hydrocephalus.

We do this through family and carer engagement work. This includes gathering insights via social media, online questionnaires, group workshops and detailed 1:1 interviews. We also work with universities, health organisations and other charities to share our findings.

Have you seen an impact as a result of your research?

In November 2020, we began our first ‘research project’ on lived experiences and attitudes to antenatal screening and post-natal care.

We worked with students from Royal Hollway University to run an online survey and we met with families via 1:1 sessions and group discussions to learn about their experiences. The output was shared at the annual British Paediatric Neurosurgery Group Conference and the insights informed our subsequent user-led research and insights studies.

Since then, we have completed five national research and insight gathering projects with families. We have also carried out a project on hydrocephalus with neurosurgery professionals.

The findings have been presented at academic and health conferences both nationally and internationally, leading to three national awareness campaigns. This has led to the development of new clinical devices and protocols.

What are the barriers to getting involved in research?

Access to funding is an ongoing issue. It is also challenging getting access to NHS hospital data with the costs involved and ethical approvals required.

What has worked well?

We are embedded in the communities we serve so can listen and build trust. We are lucky to have trustees with relevant experience and expertise in fundraising, governance, and social research.

Collaborations with universities, health innovation networks and nurses have really helped build our research expertise and capacity. Sharing our research via our website has been positive and we can make sure accessible formats are available which helps more people access our research.

Where do you want to go with research?

We have launched a UK Paediatric Hydrocephalus Network group to connect patients, families, clinicians and researchers. This amplifies patient and family voices, helps implement research projects which are patient and family-focused and raises the profile of UK paediatric hydrocephalus research.

Is there anything else you would like people to know?

We would like researchers to think about co-production and have the following things to consider when conducting research.

• Make sure transport and cost is not a barrier to participation. Details of reimbursement should be clear and outlined from the beginning of the engagement.
• When working with children and families, please ensure the venue is nice, comfortable, and accessible.
• Families with children with disabilities can often be tired and stressed. Please be kind and recognise that their time is valuable.
• Make sure your communications and expectations are clear and jargon free.
• Please feedback your results to show families where their effort has gone.

Can people get in touch to find out more?

Certainly. Please reach out to us via the form on the contact section of our website, located in the ‘About’ section.

Contact - Harry's Hat (harrys-hat.org)

What does your organisation do?

Founded in 1984, I Choose Freedom is a small Surrey based independent charity dedicated to providing refuge and a path to freedom for survivors of domestic abuse.

We have three refuges that house women and children and we also offer eight self-contained units for any survivor of domestic abuse.

We have helped thousands of women and children live safely and we are the largest provider of refuges in Surrey.  We are also the only provider offering accommodation to any survivor of domestic abuse in Surrey.

How has your organisation been involved in research?

We have worked with Surrey County Council on their Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for Housing and Related Support.

We have also contributed to a national research programme with the Institute for Addressing Strangulation (IFAS) on the effects of strangulation on cognitive abilities.

We have displayed several case studies on our website from women and children we have provided refuge to.

What are the barriers to getting involved in research?

As we don’t regularly conduct research, our confidence and experience is currently low. Training in the correct methods would really help us take the next step.

The women we support are hidden in plain sight which prevents us sharing their details. Therefore, we must be especially careful about how we get involved in research. In addition, funding is also a barrier.

Unfortunately, we often find that domestic abuse and subsequent research is not currently viewed as a priority by all professionals.

What has worked well?

We are passionate about working with our communities and we do this in many ways. This includes identifying our training needs and the priorities of the people we support.

What would make getting involved in research easier?

We work with an extremely vulnerable population. Additional guidance on what we should consider when carrying out research with participants. This includes getting help to define research questions, and support to understand what ethical factors need to be considered.

It would also be beneficial to improve our understanding on how we adhere to best practice.

Where do you want to go with research?

We want to make a difference nationally by creating a change to laws and raising awareness.

Our current research is quite observational. We feel that having more concrete data would give us a platform, and improve our confidence, to advocate for additional resources.

Can people get in touch to find out more?

You can contact us via: info@ichoosefreedom.co.uk

What does your organisation do?

Intergenerational Music Making (IMM) is a national not-for-profit organisation which brings people of all ages together.  Through the power of music and creative health, we reduce loneliness and boost wellbeing amongst older people and young people, particularly for those living alone and minoritised communities.

IMM delivers intergenerational hubs, projects, research, training, youth social action, special educational needs (SEN), music therapy sessions in person and online services.

We offer services within churches, community centres, care homes, schools, youth groups, and four NHS hospitals in Surrey. Our offices are based in Manchester, London and Woking, Surrey.

How has your organisation been involved in research?

Within the intergenerational landscape we have been carrying out a huge amount of research and development across the housing, social care, education, health and youth sectors.

For example, the Intergenerational Housing Steering Group has enabled us to create a new intergenerational social value within the housing sector. We work with councils to provide input on the creation of intergenerational policies to sit within their systems.

We work closely with NHS England and Integrated Care Systems to implement an intergenerational framework into current systems. We have also engaged in qualitative and quantitative research with the University of Southampton and Royal Holloway University.

All of our projects involve collecting data using a variety of different methods including the PERMA model (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment), UCLA loneliness scale, Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Health Scale and the WHO-5 well-being index.

Have you seen an impact as a result of your research?

In 2021, we launched the Together with Music initiative to improve health outcomes in collaboration with care homes, schools, VCSE, community assets and the wider community. Evaluating this work highlighted the success of the IMM framework, emphasising the need for innovative, person-centred solutions to address health gaps and promote holistic wellbeing.

Using evidence-based strategies and partnerships allows IMM to provide a blueprint for NHS Integrated Care Systems to enhance community health and resilience.

What are the barriers to getting involved in research?

Organisations working in silos, insufficient signposting to research opportunities, and a lack of education around intergenerational language and its understanding are significant barriers. These make it difficult to identify and collaborate on similar projects, leading to duplication of efforts and a fragmented approach.

What has worked well?

Our founder and director, Charlotte Miller, is trained as an Allied Health Professional music therapist. This has highlighted the importance of qualitative research in this area. Additionally, having a diverse and passionate team, along with dedicated volunteers, has significantly contributed to our success.

What would make getting involved in research easier?

A key part of what we do is working with volunteers. Adequate funding would enable us to incentivise them and give them the recognition they deserve for such a huge commitment of their time and dedication.

Where do you want to go with research?

Ideally, we would like to create a lasting intergenerational legacy across the UK. To do this, we have set up Intergenerational England. This works with sector leaders to advocate for intergenerational practise, research and policy.

Can people get in touch to find out more?

We encourage anyone interested in our work to visit the IMM website which has information about previous and upcoming projects and research.

You can also sign up for our mailing list, or email us directly at: info@imm-music.com