The University of Warwick has been announced as one of the partners working with Coventry City Council, after it was awarded a £5 million boost to tackle inequalities and improve health outcomes across Coventry through research.
It's part of a wider £50 million investment across the country, aiming to boost local authorities' capacity and capability to conduct high quality research. The HDRC will help to stimulate economic growth, particularly in some of the most deprived areas of the country and contribute to the Government's plans to take action for the longer-term resilience of the health and wealth of the country.
Warwick's input will be into the overall design of the program, with Professor Paramjit Gill, Head of Health Sciences at Warwick Medical School, as HDRC Research lead. Academics from Warwick will provide training to council colleagues to help them embed and deliver the research.
As well as Warwick Business School and Warwick Medical school, the ground-breaking work includes Coventry University, University College London and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire as well as a range of partners within the community.
Professor Paramjit Gill, Head of Health Sciences at Warwick Medical School, said, "We are delighted to be working with Coventry City Council and partners on this exciting opportunity to address the underlying causes of widespread inequalities in our city. We hope to significantly contribute to effective solutions by embedding research culture within our partner organisations; enabling and empowering them to make a real impact on the lives of our local community."
Professor Graeme Currie from Warwick Business School said 'The involvement of Warwick Business School in this initiative reflects our mission to address the most challenging societal issues. In this case, with Coventry City Council and other partners, targeting public health intervention towards meeting the needs of vulnerable populations in the region. Drawing upon Warwick Business School research, we aim to cultivate the evidence-based and collaborative culture across providers of public services to meet their needs'. He added, 'Our research expertise regarding how to cultivate an evidence-informed and collaborative culture across public services delivery partners is central to the HDRC'
Cllr Kamran Caan, portfolio holder for Public Health and Sport at Coventry City Council said 'There is a true One Coventry approach to this exciting piece of work as it will be delivered in partnership with collaborators'.
'This presents a really exciting opportunity to strengthen the research culture, capability and capacity across our organisations. It will enable us to more deeply understand the wider determinations of health so that we can seek ways to find solutions to the health inequality challenges that exist within and across our communities'.
