Projects and Activities

Research Development Groups

PHIRN will instigate and support Research Development Groups (RDGs), each of which will have two individuals responsible for their leadership, one drawn from academia and the other from service/policy/practice. There will be no fixed formula for the operation of RDGs. RDGs could be of variable size, although normally less than 10 individuals. The membership of each RDG will be determined organically, but it will be a condition of PHIRN support that all PHIRN participants will be informed of the intention to form a new RDG and will be invited to attend its first meeting. Each RDG will work towards the development of a research protocol. This would normally be for a research proposal for external funding. Alternatively, a RDG may be formed to plan a protocol for a natural experiment or some other rigorous research design for the evaluation of a new policy or intervention being planned by a policy, practice or service participant. RDGs will not be involved in the commissioning of research. Occasionally, a RDG may be formed in anticipation of the commissioning of a rigorous evaluation by a policy participant. The RDG would advise on protocol development, in this case the development of a commissioning brief, but the subsequent commissioning exercise would be independent of the RDG and PHIRN and open to all.

The PHIRN co-ordinating team will provide academic and secretarial support to RDGS, assist in their project management and ensure that timelines are met. Through linkage with CRC Cymru, AWARD, funded Research Support Services in Wales, and through links with the wider research community in the UK and internationally, PHIRN will act as a broker to identify and bring into RDGS appropriate specialist expertise. Inactive RDGs will be disbanded. RDGs that successfully operationalise their protocol, normally by securing the required funding or support, will then continue as a Research Management Group, and continue to be supported by PHIRN.

We encourage researchers to notify PHIRN about establishing a RDG through the members discussion forum.

RDGs will be strongly encouraged to involve the public in their work. The specific mechanisms through which this will occur will depend on the nature of the research. In some projects, it may be appropriate and possible to identify individuals or groups with a special interest in the research, whether it be as a patient or as a member of the community exposed to a particular public health threat. In such cases, it may be possible to recruit a member of the public to join the RDG. In other projects, it may be more appropriate to consult individuals or groups outside the formal arena of the RDG and then feed their views into the RDG's deliberations. The PHIRN co-ordinating team will assist RDGs in recruitment of members of the public to RDGs and in facilitation and conduct of consultation with individuals or focus groups. As projects become funded, an alternative model of public involvement favoured by the applicants is for User reference groups to be established. Such groups would comprise a mix of public and non-academic professionals, who could advise on the research design and ethical issues, promote the research among the target research community, and assist in dissemination of findings and implementation of research results. PHIRN will promote public involvement in all projects within its remit, and adopt best practice as it is developed by organisations such as INVOLVE.

Central network support
This website forms part of the central network support providing details on PHIRN activities, a searchable database of PHIRN participants including information on research skills, interests, experience. A fortnightly email bulletin will be despatched by the co-ordinating team highlighting research funding opportunities, key publications, conferences etc., with a focus on PHIR material. PHIRN participants will also be added (with permission) to the circulation of Healthcare Alliances' Public Health News monthly email bulletin. The co-ordinating team will also establish and moderate a discussion forum facility for PHIRN members. This will provide an additional means of information exchange and cross- fertilisation of ideas between researchers throughout Wales. The co-ordinating team will provide support and assistance to RDGs, notably project management, monitoring of activity and progress, and facilitation of public involvement.

Annual All Wales Public Health Scientific Conference
These conferences will be based on the successful model developed in South-West England, which were developed under the leadership of Dr Gabriel Scally, in his then role as Regional Director of Public Health. These one-day conferences consist mainly of parallel sessions. Abstracts are submitted to a committee who review them primarily in terms of the innovativeness of the work presented, rather than its scientific quality. There are also two plenary sessions, with keynote speakers and the highest ranked abstracts. The success of these events is based on (i) the engagement of key senior staff from potential participating organisations, and their encouragement of attendance and submission of abstracts by staff; (ii) the emphasis on innovation rather than scientific rigour - it is thus an ideal occasion on which front-line innovation can be brought to the attention of colleagues and researchers, with strong potential for subsequent R&D collaboration; (iii) the excellent attendance from research, policy and practice professionals from both within and outside the NHS. PHIRN will organise conferences in the Spring of 2007 and each year thereafter.

Health Challenge Wales Evidence for Policy Seminar Series
Each event in this quarterly seminar series will focus on a specific topic relevant to Health Challenge Wales (e.g. Smoking, nutrition, schools, health impact assessment). Each seminar will consist of three speakers and an open discussion. National and international speakers will be invited, which will serve the important purpose of linking RDGs with these individuals, their networks and their projects. The main aim of these seminars will be to draw key policy makers into PHIRN activity and RDGs. The seminars will provide an important opportunity to increase communication and collaboration between research, policy and practice communities in Wales.

Outputs
The main aim of PHIRN is to increase the quantity and quality of public health improvement research that is relevant to policy and practice. The intended outcome of PHIRN activities will be successful project grant applications to major research funders, and rigorous evaluations of new initiatives in policy and practice ('natural experiments').