The last 12 months: An update from the NIHR RSS Specialist Centre for Public Health
Professor Jane West
26 June 2025
Specialist Centre for Public Health
delivered by Newcastle University and Partners
About us
Our aim is to support the creation of high quality research evidence that is needed to inform policy and practice to improve public health and reduce inequalities.
We do this by:
Building capacity and capability for local authorities to embed research in public health practice by providing resources and support:
Providing expert advice on study design for public health research in settings outside the NHS including local authorities, the education sector, and the voluntary sector.
Our structure
The NIHR RSS Specialist Centre for Public Health is hosted jointly by Newcastle University and Partners and University of Southampton and Partners.
NIHR RSS Specialist Centre for Public Health delivered by Newcastle University and Partners is supported by 3 satellites:
Our satellites are led by public health experts and support our vision.
To support the generation of high-quality research evidence needed to inform decisions about which interventions have the greatest likelihood of improving population health and reducing health inequalities."
Yorkshire and Humber
The team
Research design expertise
The national offer
Public Health Engagement Leads
Local Authority Research Practitioners
Public Health Grassroots Awards
Provide researchers at all career stages with advice on research design and funding applications for public health research conducted outside NHS.
Guidance, templates and a repository of examples to support ethical approval.
Training and development to increase capacity and capability to undertake research that can provide evidence on the interventions likely to be effective in improving population health.
Scope ethical approval for public health research in non-NHS settings.
Immediate post-award research delivery.
Trouble-shooting advice.
Local authority support and resources
Pre award research design
Governance, ethics and post award support
Training
and development
Regional support (BOBHI)
Public health ethics approvals
Research delivery pilot
Explore systems around research governance, planning and delivery.
Public health research registry
Public and Community Partnerships / Research Inclusion
Newcastle University and Partners
University of Southampton and Partners
Jointly delivered
Our pillars
Local authority support and resources
Fund Public Health Engagement Leads, Local Authority Research Practitioners and Public Health Grassroots Awards to support research at all stages in local authorities.
Research design advice
Provide researchers at all stages of their career with advice on research design and funding applications for research.
Training and development
Offer training and development opportunities to increase capacity and capability to undertake research.
Research governance and ethics
Scope current and emerging systems around ethics and governance. Foster shared learning, develop guidance, templates and a repository of examples of best practice.
Local authority support and resources
Local authority research stages model
Research Enhance
(R-ENHANCE)
Research Build
(R-BUILD)
Research Launch
(R-LAUNCH)
No (or very limited) research experience as an organisation.*
Research processes or infrastructure not yet fully considered.
Not yet explored external research funding opportunities.
Some research experience as an organisation.
Research processes and infrastructure being considered or developed.
Beginning to explore external research funding opportunities.
Established research experience as an organisation.
Some research processes and infrastructure in place.
External research funding opportunities secured.
*for example, involvement as a co-applicant on an externally funded award led by a university or NHS organisation.
Local Authority Research Practitioners (LARPs)
LARPs work within their local authority to harness the power of research.
LARPs contribute in various ways to increasing research capacity and capability in local authorities.
A LARP will do different things in different local authorities, tailored to local needs, and depending on the extent to which a local authority is currently involved in research activity.
Our LARPs
Public Health Engagement Leads (PHELs)
A PHEL facilitates connections between local authorities, HDRC's, LARPs, and the SCPH by promoting the value of being a research active organisation.
The post provides an opportunity to advocate for and develop partnership work to build stronger links with appropriate expertise and infrastructure.
PHELs work across a number of local authorities and will be ambassadors for the SCPH, with the ability to bring colleagues together to work collaboratively for the overall benefit of the wider research community.
Our PHELs
Public Health Grassroots Awards
Research design advice
Our methodologists
Our team of expert methodologists offer advice on:
Support delivered
In our first year our 12 methodologists across England supported 126 queries and 157 projects. (Data from 1 October 2023 to 18 September 2024)
And so far in our second year our 14 methodologists have supported 109 queries and 181 projects. (Data from 19 September 2024 to 29 May 2025)
16 of our public contributors have provided 38 Plain English
Summary reviews, reviewed 5 applications and sat on 10 mock
interview panels.
We have also hosted webinars and supported NIHR Academy
events across England sharing application tips and guidance for
local authority, public health fellowship applications.
What to expect when working with us
Complete a request for support
Allocated a general advisor
Initial
meeting
Further meetings with specialist methodologists as required
Ongoing support as required
Training and development
Key themes and priorities
Training and development
Research governance and ethics
Emerging themes
| Local Authorities (LAs) need guidance on governance and ethics topics in a language that is accessible and appropriate to the context. | | Calculating the full costs of research including staff time, resources and overheads can be difficult and time consuming |
| Capacity within LAs for research governance process support is often limited. Pragmatic and proportionate research governance and ethics processes are needed. | | Requests to involve LA in research activity come in a variety of ways to a variety of people making it difficult to set up studies efficiently. |
| Processes for research governance need to be local authority wide and 'cross cutting’. Sometimes processes exist but are not well known or widely utilised. | | LAs would like to share their areas of research interest and allow them to forms links with other LAs and academics with similar interests |
| Relying on university ethics processes for LA based research may not be sustainable or appropriate. | | Local authorities may need support to manage their relationships with academic partners, in HDRCs new partnerships are built and existing ones formalised. |
| LAs need support with data and information governance to manage data for research and using large data sets for research. | | LAs are unique organisations and need to be the ultimate decision makers on whether a piece of research is appropriate in their settings |
Resources and projects
We have created explainer documents for research governance, research ethics, research integrity and research sponsorship.
We are working on:
Consensus definition of research
Local authority research supports decision making about practice, policies and interventions at a local, regional or national level
and/or
It helps us understand how people are impacted by the context in which they live, work and go about their daily lives.
Research uses structured, organised and reproducible methods to:
and/or
Public and Community Partnerships
Public and Community Partnerships
A new Public Involvement and Engagement Innovation Fund for local authorities and community groups to build meaningful and impactful PIE in public health research - to be launched October 2025.
We provide Public Involvement and Engagement advice including research planning, plain English summary reviews and access to a public panel to discuss and involve people in research proposals. We have a Public Involvement Fund to support pre-award public involvement and engagement (PIE) to shape funding applications.
We are developing PIE training for local authority staff, researchers and public and community contributors.
Work with local authority colleagues to create PIE definitions that are relevant to and understood by local authorities.
Support to the devolved nations
Thank you