The Community Research and Engagement Network (CoREN) is part of the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North West Coast (ARC NWC). The CoREN is led, built and shaped by Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) organisations, its representatives and ARC NWC member organisations that deliver services, research and sit within communities across the region.

The CoREN is a platform for members to share their knowledge and expertise, and to learn from each other, to support the development, dissemination, and implementation, of health and social care research. It is also a supportive space for new collaborations to be promoted and to develop a strong network which can focus on health priorities and reducing inequalities in your area.

All research will incorporate the communities needs from the initial stages rather than being delivered to the communities to make sure each project has a meaningful impact. All CoREN research is co-designed and co-produced to ensure visibility, sustainability and viability for everyone involved.

It is about understanding how people live their lives every day within their communities and working with communities to understand what health inequalities and challenges they face.

As part of ARC NWC, the CoREN wants to bring together key partners from across health and social care.

• We would like to know what matters to people in your area and your community which health research could help improve, understanding issues impacting on health and wellbeing at a local level;
• We want to make sure those communities are involved in developing and creating research that can really help change lives;
• We would like to create a space for discussion and development of ideas for how to develop and deliver health research;
• We want to share knowledge and skills around health research and how better to understand it and get involved.

We want to hear from the organisations and the communities which they represent about any work they are already doing. We do have the resources to be able to offer support, skills development, capacity building etc however we want to make sure it is directed in the right way and the right place, so we really need the help of the experts i.e. the organisations, in order to do that!

We have developed a short survey as a tool to understand what’s already happening and how we can best utilise the CoREN resources and how we can conduct health related research as well as building and strengthening relationships within communities.

Once we have the information in, we will see what the results tell us about what people want and need and develop the CoREN as a result, the output will be shaped by the research we conduct and that’s why we want to hear from everyone who would like to be involved. The survey can be found here: –

https://neighbourhoodresilience.uk/the-coren-needs-you/

If you want to know more, please contact Claire Selby (Stakeholder and Engagement Manager) on c.selby@lancaster.ac.uk