![[The University of Leicester]](unilogo.gif)
Promoting better health in the West Midlands
The Institute of Lifelong Learning (LILL) is a partner in the Big Lottery funded project Community Research for Better Health (CRBH) This project is working with community researchers to understand and support localised health interventions for disadvantaged communities in the West Midlands. The project is supported by Professor John Benyon and Yvonne Dickinson from LILL and is entering its second year of funding in 2011. Staff working on the project consider promotion of the project and its progress as a priority to inform wider audiences of the progress and benefits of the CRBH project.
The funders, Big Lottery (BIG) for the WEA Community Research for Better Health project, see research and learning as central to their strategy. They therefore arranged a seminar, in London on 11th November 2010, to bring together those carrying out research projects so as to share outcomes, learning, experience and expertise, focusing on themes such as user involvement, dissemination, well being, disability, community cohesion and isolation.
Approximately 100 delegates attended from across Britain. There were keynote speeches by Sir Clive Booth, Chair of the big Lottery Fund; Katherine McKenna, evaluator of the Research Grants programme; Razia Shariff from the Third Sector Research Centre; Sue Milne, talking about dissemination; and Dianne Seddon plus Natalie Djohari and Adam Brown, talking about user involvement.
Val Woodward, the Project Researcher, attended this seminar and delivered a presentation about Community Research for Better Health in the Midlands, as part of parallel sessions based on the projects. The presentation sparked considerable interest and discussion mostly about methodology and work already completed on the ground.
The presentation forms part of a package of resources being built up by the WEA CRBH team so as to share our own findings with partners and other interested bodies. It was therefore adopted to use at a later presentation to Sandwell Physical Activity Development Officers early in December.
We welcome all feedback and discussion as we constantly reflect on our work and progress.
Useful Links
