About the Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Coventry

Our vision and mission

Coventry Health Determinants Research Collaboration has a vision to use research to help address unfair differences in the building blocks of health in Coventry. We do this by creating an environment where data, insight, and evidence help decide the best way to reduce the causes of unfair differences in health in our city.

Coventry City Council is one of 30 local authorities across the UK awarded funding to establish a Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC). The HDRC builds on Coventry’s track record of cross-sector engagement and collaborates with the University of Warwick, Coventry University, University College London, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, the voluntary sector, and local communities.

Our objectives are:

• Build a research infrastructure to help the Coventry City Council make evidence-based decisions
• Develop a training offer for all members of staff, the voluntary sector, and residents that provides knowledge and skills in using research
• Involve our residents. They can influence where research happens based on their lived experience
• Evaluate our work so that we can make consistent improvements

As part of our objectives, we have developed a Diversity and Inclusion Position Statement  that shows our commitment to treating everyone fairly, including all voices, and making sure our work is accessible to everyone in Coventry. 

Our pillars

The work of the HDRC is formed across five pillars: 

Pillar 1: Data and Governance will design new and robust approaches to research that make it easier for people to conduct their own high-quality research.

Pillar 2: Training and Skills will take an inclusive approach to delivering training for staff and Councillors at Coventry City Council, partner organisations, the local community, and the voluntary sector to encourage skills and confidence in finding, using, and, in some cases, doing research.

Pillar 3: Public Involvement will develop a strategy to enable the diverse communities of Coventry to be involved in all HDRC activities. We aim to ensure that their voices are heard through discussion and contribute to decisions on topics and how research is undertaken.

Pillar 4: Evaluation will help us understand how the Coventry HDRC is working in practice and how we can improve to achieve our goals.

Pillar 5: Impact and Implementation enables us to link university expertise and researchers with teams and services across the council to identify and use good evidence-based practice from research, give advice on evaluation and research, develop new research projects, and access funding.

The timeline for the project

Year 1

• Funding received 1 October 2022
• Team established
• Establishing a work platform

Year 2

• Infrastructure being built:
  • Ethics review processes
  • Governance processes
  • Evaluation framework
  • Developing training
  • Research Ambassadors
  • Communication and engagement

Year 3

• Dissemination of existing research and funding opportunities
• Identification of possible research questions and areas of interest

Year 4

• Establishing an impact platform
• Establishment of wider communities of practice in key areas
• Utilising research fellows and research evidence to improve practice

Year 5

• Culture change within Local Authority
• External funding research applications

Long term

• Evidence-driven approach to tackling wider determinants
• Use of research evidence to improve services and address inequalities of health
• Further development of HDRC concept/infrastructure

Meet the team

 Valerie De Souza – Director of Coventry Health Determinants Research Collaboration / Consultant in Public Health

John Wilcox – Head of Coventry Health Determinants Research Collaboration

Harmony Lully – Programme Officer

Lauren Bell – Research Fellow - Qualitative and Mixed Methods

Karen Thomas – Programme Manager Health Protection

Jessica Weeks – Public Involvement Officer

Seeman Tsang – Research Governance Officer

Michael Ogunyemi – Project Assistant

Cameron Ley – Research Fellow - Evidence Synthesis

Chloe Ryder – Research Fellow - Quantitative and Mixed Methods

Eve Wang – Research Assistant

Nora Atasoy-Schmid – Communications Officer

Pillar 1 Team – Data and Governance

Dr Tim Robbins – NIHR Consultant Physician and CRIO – University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and Warwick Medical School

Tracy Gazeley – Clinical Research Facility Delivery – University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust

Ceri Jones – Head of R and D – University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust             

Pillar 2 Team - Training and Skills           

Grace Haynes - Head of People and Culture – Coventry City Council

Dr Maxine Whelan - Assistant Professor  - Coventry University

Pillar 3 Team - Public Involvement                    

Valerie de Souza – Consultant in Public Health – Coventry City Council

Professor Sophie Staniszewska – Patient and Public Involvement and Experiences of Care – University of Warwick

Andrea Buckley – Service Manager, Community Resilience and Engagement – Coventry City Council

Richard Grant – PPIE Rep             

Jane Whitehurst – PPIE Rep        

Pillar 4 Team - Evaluation                     

Rachel Chapman – Consultant in Public Health – Coventry City Council and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust

Beck Taylor - Clinical Associate Professor - University of Warwick

Pillar 5 Team - Impact and Implementation                          

Graeme Currie – Professor of Public Management – Warwick Business School

Jessica Allen – Deputy Director – University College London

Stephen Weir – Strategic Lead, Economic Development – Coventry City Council

Meet our Research Ambassadors 

 Voluntary Sector

Ade Johnson – Development Manager (Projects and Programmes) – Coventry Central Hall

Alan Markey – Chief Executive - Coventry Advice Service

Claire Stern – Director of Service Development and Impact – Central England Law Centre   

Clare Wightman – Chief Executive – Grapevine    

Christabell Amoakoh – CEO and Centre Manager – The Highlife Centre     

Noreen Bukhari – Health Programmes Manager – Foleshill Women's Training

Simon Richards – Chief Executive Officer – Coventry Citizen's Advice

Sue Ogle – Chief Executive – Voluntary Action Coventry

The HDRC Coventry is a collaboration between Coventry City Council, Coventry University, University of Warwick and a range of partners within the community and voluntary sectors, with support from University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and University College London. Find out more about the collaborating organisations on our partners and collaborators page.

About NIHR

The NIHR funds, enables and delivers world-leading health and social care research that improves people's health and wellbeing and promotes economic growth.

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

The NIHR has awarded £150 million to 30 HDRCs across the UK, to provide the capacity and capability for local authorities to undertake public health research to address the wider determinants of health and health inequalities.