Research Facilitator (for Local Government) - Catherine Staite
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Birmingham
Department Name: INLOGOV
Abstract
Local government plays a substantial role in the wellbeing of economy and society in the United Kingdom. 433 local authorities in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales employ almost 1.7 million people delivering and commissioning a wide range of public services.
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), in partnership with the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) and the Local Government Association (LGA), invites applications for the post of Research Facilitator for Local Government which is available for 12 months on a three day a week basis from 1 May 2015. Applications for this non-research 6 post will be made by applicants from eligible research organisations (which include most universities in the UK and hereafter referred to as a 'research organisation') eligible for UK Research Council funding. Eligible costs will be reimbursed at 100 per cent of Full Economic Costing (fEC), up to a maximum of £68,000.
The overall purpose of the post will be to encourage local authority engagement with academic research by taking forward and building on the work of the Local Government Knowledge Navigator project and its action plan 'Analysis to Action' (http://www.solace.org.uk/knowledge/reports_guides/LGKN_Analysis_to_Action.pdf). This will include working closely with individual local authorities as well as the LGA and SOLACE as leading voices in local government to increase research use. This role has a focus on England (353 local authorities) with the partners committed to making connections with complementary initiatives elsewhere in the UK. The partners consider that this role has the potential for substantial strategic impact opportunities for research organisations and offers access to some of the most senior personnel working in local government today. Funding is secure for 12 months and the partners will be actively exploring ways to maintain the activity over the longer term.
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), in partnership with the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) and the Local Government Association (LGA), invites applications for the post of Research Facilitator for Local Government which is available for 12 months on a three day a week basis from 1 May 2015. Applications for this non-research 6 post will be made by applicants from eligible research organisations (which include most universities in the UK and hereafter referred to as a 'research organisation') eligible for UK Research Council funding. Eligible costs will be reimbursed at 100 per cent of Full Economic Costing (fEC), up to a maximum of £68,000.
The overall purpose of the post will be to encourage local authority engagement with academic research by taking forward and building on the work of the Local Government Knowledge Navigator project and its action plan 'Analysis to Action' (http://www.solace.org.uk/knowledge/reports_guides/LGKN_Analysis_to_Action.pdf). This will include working closely with individual local authorities as well as the LGA and SOLACE as leading voices in local government to increase research use. This role has a focus on England (353 local authorities) with the partners committed to making connections with complementary initiatives elsewhere in the UK. The partners consider that this role has the potential for substantial strategic impact opportunities for research organisations and offers access to some of the most senior personnel working in local government today. Funding is secure for 12 months and the partners will be actively exploring ways to maintain the activity over the longer term.
Planned Impact
The project is designed to deliver impact to a number of audiences:
1. Local authorities: The central purpose of the project is to enhance local authority utilisation of academic research, building on the work of the LGKN. This impact will be delivered though the 'hub and spoke' model set out in the proposal. Whilst there is perceived to be a scepticism within some areas of local government regarding the value of academics and academic research, the location of the project in INLOGOV, with its strong academic/policy interaction, will enhance our ability to overcome - or at least reduce - this barrier to research utilisation. Impact on this audience will be facilitated via the project website and outputs agreed with and badged by SOLACE/LGA.
2. Local government sector organisations: The project has emerged from the SOLACE/LGA interaction with ESRC, and part of our work will be to strengthen strategic planning by these two key local government bodies regarding opportunities for generation and utilisation of relevant research from the academic community. However, beyond these two bodies the project will reach out to other relevant local government-related organisations, for example the Local Government Ombudsman and the unions, in order to identify possible synergies for enhancing research utilisation to benefit policy-making, management and delivery of public services in the current and future context.
3. Academics and consultants: The impact for academics is discussed in the 'academic beneficiaries' section. However, it should also be remembered that a considerable amount of policy and management-related development is undertaken by consultants of various kinds and that they also undertake research for local government. Some of these bodies could be seen as research intermediaries, drawing to some extent on academic research and translating it into advice for local authorities. Given available resources, we would want to explore this relationship and examine the extent to which local authority research utilisation could be enhanced my focusing more on academic-intermediary relationships.
Other similar research utilisation initiatives offer the prospect for rapid learning that could inform the impact of this initiative, for example, from discussion with the long-term 'Living With Environmental Change' programme that seeks to connect academics and policy-makers in a multidisciplinary environment in order to address the consequences of climate and other environmental changes.
1. Local authorities: The central purpose of the project is to enhance local authority utilisation of academic research, building on the work of the LGKN. This impact will be delivered though the 'hub and spoke' model set out in the proposal. Whilst there is perceived to be a scepticism within some areas of local government regarding the value of academics and academic research, the location of the project in INLOGOV, with its strong academic/policy interaction, will enhance our ability to overcome - or at least reduce - this barrier to research utilisation. Impact on this audience will be facilitated via the project website and outputs agreed with and badged by SOLACE/LGA.
2. Local government sector organisations: The project has emerged from the SOLACE/LGA interaction with ESRC, and part of our work will be to strengthen strategic planning by these two key local government bodies regarding opportunities for generation and utilisation of relevant research from the academic community. However, beyond these two bodies the project will reach out to other relevant local government-related organisations, for example the Local Government Ombudsman and the unions, in order to identify possible synergies for enhancing research utilisation to benefit policy-making, management and delivery of public services in the current and future context.
3. Academics and consultants: The impact for academics is discussed in the 'academic beneficiaries' section. However, it should also be remembered that a considerable amount of policy and management-related development is undertaken by consultants of various kinds and that they also undertake research for local government. Some of these bodies could be seen as research intermediaries, drawing to some extent on academic research and translating it into advice for local authorities. Given available resources, we would want to explore this relationship and examine the extent to which local authority research utilisation could be enhanced my focusing more on academic-intermediary relationships.
Other similar research utilisation initiatives offer the prospect for rapid learning that could inform the impact of this initiative, for example, from discussion with the long-term 'Living With Environmental Change' programme that seeks to connect academics and policy-makers in a multidisciplinary environment in order to address the consequences of climate and other environmental changes.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Catherine Staite (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
| Description | The aim of the 'Research Facilitator for Local Government' project is to support better understanding and stronger relationship between local government and academic researchers. We have achieved this by (1) running six workshops at which academics and local government have engaged on key topics, (2) by the project leader raising awareness of local government of opportunities to work collaboratively with researchers, (3) by the development of a web-based platform, including a register of interests, a blog series and a Twitter feed. Over 500 people have engaged with the project in some way and as a result, their awareness has been raised. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
| Sector | Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |