This workshop marked our first collective evaluation exercise and centred on findings from Rose’s first deep dive, which explored the theme of Building the Team.
Over the previous 3 months, Rose had interviewed members of the HDRC team, Public Advisory Group, co applicants and Board members to understand how our wider network feels about our progress so far.
Bringing together council staff, academics, voluntary and community sector partners and public representatives, the workshop provided a valuable moment to pause and reflect. Participants explored the evidence gathered to date, celebrated early successes, and identified key questions and priorities to carry forward into the coming months.
I’m getting really quite excited about how far the Leicestershire Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) has come in just a year. With so many different partners involved, it can feel that we are all working in sound proofed silos, so the workshop at County Hall—where we all actively collaborated in taking stock of progress and future plans was invigorating and exciting. And I got to talk about access and inclusion, so that was something!
Person:Annie Bannister, Public Advisory Group member
Annie’s reflections capture the sense of momentum across the partnership, and the value of creating regular spaces for honest conversation, shared learning and collective thinking.
All our actions and decision-making are based on evidence. Over the next 4 years, Rose will be collecting data through interviews, observations, and quantitative performance indicators. She will use this evidence to guide our progress and provide an independent evaluation of the impact of our funding.