The latest ARCFEST in Kendal proved to be mint for those who attended as they benefitted from the opportunity to learn about the organisation’s latest work and were able to sign up for bespoke workshops which focused on health equity and tackling specific research questions, as posed by members of the collaboration.

116 people including ARC NWC staff, representatives of member organisations and public advisers attended the hybrid event, set in the stunning grounds of the Castle Green Hotel on the 13th of September.

With no theme meetings on the agenda the revamped format featured the ‘Marketplace’, acting as a hub to provide face-to-face access to theme representatives and an opportunity for PhD students to present their work.

In his opening speech Professor Mark Gabbay, Director of ARC NWC, outlined progress against objectives and reminded the audience of the need for a focus on impact of ARC NWC’s work, capturing and disseminating this and ensuring the collaboration is delivering valued work for members and communities across the region.

“We are now over halfway through the life cycle of ARC NWC and we need to demonstrate we are delivering and making an impact, especially if there is a call for an ARC 2,” he said.

Throughout the day two workshops dedicated to mainstreaming equity were available. ‘Mapping equity across ARC NWC’ allowed attendees to reflect on how much an equity lens is embedded in their own organisations and what actions could be taken by their teams to progress on their equity journey. In the afternoon, the ‘Health Equity Research Champions’ workshop explored the potential benefits and challenges of such a role/network and its implementation.

Katerina Panagaki, Health Equity Mainstreaming Lead for ARC NWC and who facilitated the workshops, said: “It was encouraging and stimulating to hear the buzz in the room physically and also in the online breakout-rooms. People are passionate about taking action that targets health inequities and it’s important to keep the discussion going as to how we can enable and empower everyone to do that. One size doesn’t fit all, that much we know, so we need to keep challenging and inspiring each other to think outside the box. Attendees were generous in sharing their thoughts and insights that the HEMS group will now need to review, summarise and feedback to everyone again. Both workshops were meant to trigger discussions that we want to take forward through the Community of Practice for Health Equity Research, in future ARCFESTs, and any other means helpful.”

Public Adviser Hilary Garret, who attended ARCFEST online, said: “I found this ARCFEST to be one of the most engaging I have been involved with. Centring around the Health Equity Mainstreaming Strategy, it was interactive and thought provoking. It placed issues of health and care equity totally centre stage, as they should be, for all research professionals, member organisations, and public contributors. “

Dr Mark Goodall, Research Fellow at ARC NWC, who facilitated the online sessions said: “Both workshops were excellent opportunities to further explore the importance of considering Health Equity in our organisations and research plans. There were lively discussions around our table when considering each of the questions raised during the mapping exercise. Many topics and thoughts were raised and explored. Prioritised was the challenge of ensuring an organisation puts a Health Equity focus through all it does.”

Public Adviser Saiqa Ahmed said: “I think that the HEMS workshop was very informative, interactive and overall, a valuable workshop which convinced me that I should get involved.”

Running parallel to the HEMS workshops was the ARC NWC Methodological Innovation, Development, Adaptation & Support Theme (MIDAS) Rapid Conversion of Evidence Summaries (RaCES) workshop (pictured, above). RaCES enable member organisations to learn how to identify and critically evaluate evidence from a systematic review on an important question around policy or their practice; assess the implications of the evidence; consider opportunities for implementing change and write a two-page summary of the findings to disseminate wider afield.

If you missed ARCFEST you can view a summary of the day and individual theme videos can be found on our YouTube channel Link to playlist: ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w7Ep94k54w&list=PLvZGNMd_rVLRNSRSF46jKgsvBIlIkoKpn)

The next ARCFEST will take place at Chester Racecourse on the 13th of December, details to follow.