Case study: working with the voluntary sector to improve public involvement and engagement in the Wessex region

How can public involvement teams build effective research partnerships with the voluntary and community sector? The Wessex Public Involvement Network has been working with Southampton Voluntary Service. 

What’s the issue?

The Wessex Public Involvement Network (PIN) has a vision to create long term, sustainable and meaningful partnerships between research and the voluntary and community sector. We sought a partnership that would lead to greater diversity of public involvement and participation in research, and more community-led research. We believed it would support better implementation of research, through better supporting communities to interpret and make use of research findings.

The PIN worked with Southampton Voluntary Services (SVS) to explore what was needed for local National Institute for Health Research infrastructure to build effective research partnerships with the voluntary and community sector. The SVS had an existing partnership with the University of Southampton’s Public Engagement with Research Unit to progress their Civic University agenda, which aims to embed civic responsibilities to ensure that the university’s position is used to drive positive societal change.

They were also commissioned to deliver aspects of a Public Health research project for the local authority. It was the optimal time for the Wessex PIN to explore a relationship with SVS. Alongside our own conversations, we explored and learnt from what was or was not working well within other partnerships, leading to more meaningful partnerships with the voluntary sector.

What did you do?

Coproduction workshop delivered to Wessex Public Involvement Network

Southampton Voluntary Services’ staff delivered a training workshop to Wessex Public Involvement Network explaining Civil Society and providing an overview of the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector (VCSE).  The workshop focused on the sector’s contribution to public health outcomes through tackling the wider social determinants of health.

The workshop explained how better engagement with diverse communities can be achieved through partnering with local voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector organisations.

Following the workshop, SVS received feedback from Wessex PIN regarding the areas of the workshop that were useful, those which could be expanded on, and areas which were perhaps less relevant.  This enabled SVS to further shape the workshop, with a view to wider delivery to Wessex PIN and Clinical Research Network Wessex.

Presented to Clinical Research Network Wessex Partnership Group

SVS Chief Executive Officer attended this meeting to provide an overview of the work being undertaken and its value.

Regular meetings with Wessex PIN team

Building relationships with key staff, shaping our partnership agenda, and creating collaboration opportunities. Wessex PIN staff have attended to several SVS Services meetings, and SVS has received further funding for other projects from Network organisations.

Podcast introducing SVS and key staff involved in this project.

An informal interview / conversation outlining SVS purposes and aims, and how we are working with research partners.

What happened?

Through this project we have established a key relationship between Wessex Public Involvement Network and Southampton Voluntary Services on which we plan to build. The work has enabled a greater understanding of Civil Society, and the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector, for Wessex PIN staff and how relationships can be grown to enable reach into diverse communities to coproduce research.   

In terms of the training resource, we have ensured that this has been coproduced between SVS and Wessex PIN, to ensure it is as meaningful as possible.

Attendance at the Wessex CRN Partnership Board raised awareness of the role the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector can play in terms of bridging the gap between research and communities and has helped to garner further support for these initiatives – particularly in light of the strategic direction being followed by UK Research and Innovation.

The podcast has provided an easy-to-access resource that explores and lends some insight to the purpose and aims of an infrastructure and support organisation like Southampton Voluntary Services, and the role they can play connecting communities to research, as well as ideas for future developments.

What could other people take from this?

This project highlights the importance of voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector engagement as an enabler to robust coproduction with communities, to enhance research outcomes based on community need.  The project underlines the vast networks of community-led organisations operating in many areas of society that researchers and organisations can work with to gain greater insight into community need.  The project has also attempted to unpack some of the common challenges that community organisations face, including the need for adequate resources and the barriers of low social capital in some areas of greatest need.

A key component of this approach is the need to build trust and demonstrate that communities can have a meaningful voice in coproduction, which in itself builds capacity within communities and individuals.  The project notes, however, this is not always a quick or simple process, and needs adequate resources to be successful and generate outcomes.

What’s next?

We now plan to take the project forward, working with other similar organisations across the Wessex region.  We are also keen to explore other ideas that have been generated through this project, including the formation of community-led research networks.