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Edition 5 - October 2025

Welcome to the latest edition of the
Blackpool Researching Together newsletter!

In this edition we're sharing an update on our seed funding scheme, providing details on our new Evidence Hub and finding out what our community co-researchers have been getting involved in.
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Seed funding scheme - round 2 recipients
The Blackpool Researching Together seed funding scheme provides up to £20,000 funding to support a collaborative approach to Blackpool becoming more research active. 

Our second round of seed funding applications has now closed and we received some excellent submissions. We're delighted to share the following two applicants successfully receiving funding:
  • Blackpool Council adult social care team and Lancaster University who are developing a research proposal to explore the underlying drivers and mechanisms which facilitates high rates of long term residential care placements in Blackpool. 
  • Blackpool Council climate team who are developing a research proposal to understand the impact of extreme weather on health and social care services and care home residents and the preparedness of services to deal with extreme weather events.
Expressions of interest for our third round of funding will open early next year. Applications are welcomed from any Blackpool-based organisations or groups who have previously expressed an interest in becoming more research active or are already carrying out research.
Find out more
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The Evidence Hub is coming soon!
The first stage of our new Evidence Hub within Blackpool Council will be launching soon.

The Evidence Hub aims to be a ‘one-stop-shop’ where people can:
  • Ask for help in identifying relevant academic, community, and practice based-evidence to inform decision-making
  • Get advice when planning new research, evaluation, and co-production projects
  • Ensure that new projects are carried in a safe and ethical way
  • Share new knowledge, learning, and best practice with others
We're currently testing the Evidence Hub content and processes with council staff to see how people use the resources available and what kind of support they need in their work.

We'll be sharing more updates soon.
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Join our Community of Research & Evidence (CORE)
Last month we launched our Community of Research and Evidence (CORE) Teams channel. This space is designed to share information about training, development, and resources related to research and evidence-informed practice. Within the channel we share:
  • Upcoming external training sessions, workshops, and events
  • Links to useful tools and e-learning
  • Opportunities to connect with others interested in research
So far we have over 90 members and the group is growing. We welcome all Blackpool Council staff and those from our community partners. If you would like to join the group, please email HDRC@blackpool.gov.uk
Join now
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Co-designing an Evidence Champion role
We're co-designing a process for developing an Evidence Champion role within Blackpool Council.

A group of 15 members, including council officers, volunteers, and community co-researchers, recently met to begin working collaboratively to shape the role.

The Evidence Champion will help embed research and evidence into everyday decision-making across teams. The group will meet regularly over the next few weeks to co-develop a proposed model that we hope to trial within the council.

Stay tuned for updates as the role takes shape!
Project update
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Cosy Homes in Lancashire evaluation
Co-researchers Sandra and Sharon have recently shared their experiences working as part of the Cosy Homes in Lancashire (CHiL) evaluation team, working with NIHR PHIRST Fusion Research.

Their feedback has now been shared in a blog post by NIHR PHIRST.

The ChiL scheme offers guidance and funding to residents to help improve the warmth of their property. The evaluation worked to better understand the take-up for CHiL’s support so they can provide a better service for those who need it.
Read more
Community blog
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Household Support Fund evaluation launch 
Matt and Natalie recently attended the Household Support Fund (HSF) evaluation launch workshop in Liverpool.

This project aims to explore how local authorities in England have used HSF to support food insecure families with children in four areas of high deprivation in the North West of England; Blackpool, Knowsley, Liverpool and Manchester.

We're proud to be part of such an important piece of work to showcase HSF’s need and continued funding for helping the most vulnerable people in our community. 
Read more
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We're now on YouTube!
We're now sharing video content on YouTube.

We'll be sharing more videos soon, subscribe to @BlackpoolHDRC to make sure you're the first to know when new uploads are available.
Subscribe now
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Training
opportunities
Interested in learning more about research? Here's a list of some upcoming NIHR training opportunities you might like:
  • Webinar: Making research engaging
    📅 Thursday 6 November
    🕧 11am - 12pm
  • Webinar: The benefits of evidence-based decision making
    📅 Thursday 4 December
    🕧 10 - 11am
  • Webinar: Designing ethical research
    📅 Thursday 11 December
    🕧 11am - 12pm
  • Webinar: Introduction to mixed methods
    📅 Wednesday 14 January
    🕧 2 - 2:45pm
Find out more
Keep in touch
Website: www.blackpool.gov.uk/ResearchingTogether
Email: HDRC@blackpool.gov.uk
Don't forget to follow our social media for all the latest news!
Blackpool Council   |   PO Box 4  |   Blackpool   |   FY1 1NA
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The NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Blackpool is part of the NIHR and hosted by Blackpool Council. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaborations enable local authorities to become more research-active, embedding a culture of evidence-based decision making.