The latest RaCEEs cohort, co-led by ARC NWC Research Fellow Dr Valerio Benedetto, has completed all six sessions. The final face-to-face workshop was held on 2nd September at the University of Lancashire.

The course was designed to make health economics accessible, practical, and directly relevant to participants’ roles. Across six sessions, participants explored core concepts through structured teaching, targeted homework, real-world case studies, and engaging video content.

Interactive exercises encouraged participants to apply what they learned in a hands-on way, building confidence and developing critical appraisal skills, including interpreting cost-effectiveness data and understanding the implications of economic evaluations for healthcare practice

Valerio Benedetto, course co-lead, said “Health economics can often feel abstract or intimidating, but the RaCEEs course breaks it down into practical, engaging, and highly relevant learning. Through case studies, videos, interactive exercises, and real-world examples, participants gained hands-on experience that built both confidence and capability.”

“The attendees developed the skills to critically analyse economic evaluation papers, interpret cost-effectiveness findings, and translate these insights into actionable decisions within their own roles. By the final workshop, participants were applying what they had learned, working collaboratively, and producing outputs with real-world impact. Seeing them complete the course equipped with these skills, ready to use them in their teams and organisations has been incredibly rewarding.”

This combination of learning approaches ensured participants left with practical tools and skills they could immediately apply in their work.

By the final workshop, participants were ready to critically appraise published evaluation papers and co-develop actionable recommendations for practice, culminating in a co-produced, publishable commentary.

The course strengthened participants’ confidence and capability, directly supporting decision-making in health and care settings and upskilling professionals across the ARC NWC collaboration.

Dr Lucy Astle, a GP in Burnley and one of our past participants, said: “As the Health Inequality Clinical Lead for Burnley East Primary Care Network, having the opportunity to understand how economic factors impact on health interventions was really helpful. Taking it forward, particularly with the ongoing work around health inequalities in Burnley, I feel the course has incentivised me to think more about the economics of what we are doing and of the range interventions we are testing.”

To hear more about the course from past attendees please visit our YouTube channel.

To sign up for the next course you can sign up here: https://forms.office.com/e/ppZFuaPdKK