NIHR* Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Wessex has teamed up with Raising Voices in Research (RViR) to work with organisations from across Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight to target research into mental health areas of most concern to local communities.
This new partnership is an extension of RViR, a collaboration led by Action Hampshire RViR is a Hampshire and Isle of Wight (HIOW) project funded under the NHS England’s Research Engagement Network (REN) Development programme to increase diverse participation in health research.
RViR is a collaboration between Action Hampshire (project lead), HIOW Integrated Care Board (ICB), University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, and the Engaging Communities Research Centre (ECRC) University of Winchester. The model proposed and tested by RViR was to reach underserved communities through partnership with voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations who are engaged, embedded in, or led by those communities.
The project will build on work of the Mental Health Research Hub, which is funded by the *National Institute for Health and Care research (NIHR) ARC Wessex.
The Mental Health Research Hub has been developing research expertise and capacity over the last 2 years. Researchers at the hub have been focussed on the mental health of children and younger people, older adults in coastal communities, men and military personnel and veterans.
It is led by Professor Sam Chamberlain, Psychiatrist, from Hampshire and Isle of Wight NHS Foundation Trust:
“This is a great opportunity to being together the people and organisations concerned about mental health and including their ideas in research. Researchers and people living with mental health conditions will be working closely together to co-produce research studies. Sharing lived experience and research knowledge.”
The programme of activities will include two Research Collaborative events in the Summer and Autumn of 2025, as well as a series of workshops led by VCSEs with their community members to understand their needs and perceptions regarding mental health research.
Researchers will also be offered RViR training to help them improve their links with VCSE’s and local communities, and VCSE’s will be offered support to develop research skills.
Nicky Judd is the Chief Executive Officer for Action Hampshire:
“VCSEs are a fantastic bridge to people with a range of lived experience. As trusted people who have long term relationships with their community group, they can help research happen and are wonderfully placed to co-create inclusive research that leads to more equitable outcomes. That's why we're so pleased to be working with ARC Wessex and the other RViR partners to embed this approach in the area of mental health research.”
By March 2026 the collaboration is aiming to expand links between researchers and the communities across the Wessex region, working with a wide-ranging group of people who care passionately about the mental health of people in our region.
For information about the partnerships please contact;
jessica.johnson@actionhampshire.org from Action Hampshire www.actionhampshire.org
or Jamie.stevenson@soton.ac.uk from NIHR ARC Wessex
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