Scaling Up Inspiring Ashfield: Extending Place-Based Social Prescribing Support Across Mid-Nottinghamshire
Lead Research Organisation:
Nottingham Trent University
Department Name: Sch of Social Sciences
Abstract
The expanding gap between the most and least deprived areas across the UK has led to increased health inequalities. Lack of money and resources at local community level contribute to poorer health among residents and increase their vulnerability to unforeseen challenges such as COVID-19. As a result, 'left behind' communities have borne the brunt of the pandemic and now need support to cope with their situation.
A key strategy aimed at challenging health inequalities is the NHS's Social Prescribing approach, whereby socially vulnerable individuals are connected to local community services or activities. This has been shown to reduce loneliness and improve health and wellbeing. However, the areas with the greatest need are often those with fewest resources and Social Prescribing is only as effective as the local activities available. In the wake of COVID-19, work is now required to revitalize local communities so that Social Prescribing can have its transformative effects.
One such initiative is Inspiring Ashfield, which coordinates a partnership of over 30 local arts, sports and community groups to produce a year-long calendar of activities for local residents. Partners work with different sections of the population to choose activities which meet their needs. These activities are then made available to Social Prescribers who can more effectively support their clientele.
Nottingham Trent University will work with Ashfield Voluntary Action to capture and transfer the successful elements of Inspiring Ashfield to two adjacent areas. Mansfield and Newark & Sherwood share many of the social and economic difficulties of Ashfield, but have their own unique challenges and resources. Inspiring Ashfield will be adapted to each area so that the new initiatives have a local focus while remaining true to the principles of the original. In addition, sharing resources across the three areas should enrich Social Prescribing for all residents.
The project will take four stages:
1) Gaining experience and insight from the Inspiring Ashfield initiative. NTU has already conducted interviews with those involved in the initiative and will additionally talk to under-represented groups and those who have declined or disengaged from activities. This will help understand what makes the programme work and what barriers there are to accessing it. These insights will then be packaged into a training programme.
2) Delivering the training package across each of the two new sites. AVA and NTU will deliver the training programme to stakeholders in the new areas. Talks and training sessions will cover: supporting place-based Social Prescribing; making sure it meets the needs of local residents; helping vulnerable individuals access activities and ensuring proper funding and monitoring.
3) Linking the initiative to local government and healthcare systems. NTU and AVA will work to gain support for the programme from local government at District and County level and from the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire NHS Integrated Care Partnership. The team will also connect Social Prescribing Linkworkers to various cultural resources such as libraries, museums and galleries to increase the range of activities for clients.
4) Supporting the roll out of the initiative. Once the training and support for the new initiatives are in place, NTU and AVA will work with local community organisations in Mansfield and Newark & Sherwood to help them set up their own programmes of Inspiring events. This will require engaging with local community residents to work out what activities they need and how Social Prescribing could benefit their lives.
We will share our results with government and NHS authorities so that they can implement the approach elsewhere. The ideal outcome of the project would be that people in the most vulnerable communities across the UK have a rich range of local activities to improve their health and restore their sense of belonging.
A key strategy aimed at challenging health inequalities is the NHS's Social Prescribing approach, whereby socially vulnerable individuals are connected to local community services or activities. This has been shown to reduce loneliness and improve health and wellbeing. However, the areas with the greatest need are often those with fewest resources and Social Prescribing is only as effective as the local activities available. In the wake of COVID-19, work is now required to revitalize local communities so that Social Prescribing can have its transformative effects.
One such initiative is Inspiring Ashfield, which coordinates a partnership of over 30 local arts, sports and community groups to produce a year-long calendar of activities for local residents. Partners work with different sections of the population to choose activities which meet their needs. These activities are then made available to Social Prescribers who can more effectively support their clientele.
Nottingham Trent University will work with Ashfield Voluntary Action to capture and transfer the successful elements of Inspiring Ashfield to two adjacent areas. Mansfield and Newark & Sherwood share many of the social and economic difficulties of Ashfield, but have their own unique challenges and resources. Inspiring Ashfield will be adapted to each area so that the new initiatives have a local focus while remaining true to the principles of the original. In addition, sharing resources across the three areas should enrich Social Prescribing for all residents.
The project will take four stages:
1) Gaining experience and insight from the Inspiring Ashfield initiative. NTU has already conducted interviews with those involved in the initiative and will additionally talk to under-represented groups and those who have declined or disengaged from activities. This will help understand what makes the programme work and what barriers there are to accessing it. These insights will then be packaged into a training programme.
2) Delivering the training package across each of the two new sites. AVA and NTU will deliver the training programme to stakeholders in the new areas. Talks and training sessions will cover: supporting place-based Social Prescribing; making sure it meets the needs of local residents; helping vulnerable individuals access activities and ensuring proper funding and monitoring.
3) Linking the initiative to local government and healthcare systems. NTU and AVA will work to gain support for the programme from local government at District and County level and from the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire NHS Integrated Care Partnership. The team will also connect Social Prescribing Linkworkers to various cultural resources such as libraries, museums and galleries to increase the range of activities for clients.
4) Supporting the roll out of the initiative. Once the training and support for the new initiatives are in place, NTU and AVA will work with local community organisations in Mansfield and Newark & Sherwood to help them set up their own programmes of Inspiring events. This will require engaging with local community residents to work out what activities they need and how Social Prescribing could benefit their lives.
We will share our results with government and NHS authorities so that they can implement the approach elsewhere. The ideal outcome of the project would be that people in the most vulnerable communities across the UK have a rich range of local activities to improve their health and restore their sense of belonging.
Organisations
- Nottingham Trent University (Lead Research Organisation)
- Ashfield Voluntary Action (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Tohoku University (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF DERBY (Collaboration)
- Nottinghamshire County Council (Collaboration)
- NATIONAL TRUST (Collaboration)
- Kwansei Gakuin University (Collaboration)
- University of Queensland (Collaboration)
- Hokkaido University (Collaboration)
Publications
Charles SJ
(2023)
Diversity of Group Memberships Predicts Well-Being: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Evidence.
in Personality & social psychology bulletin
Stevenson C
(2022)
INSPIRING ASHFIELD INITIATIVE: WORKSHOP BRIEFING REPORT
Stevenson, C
(2022)
Inspiring Ashfield Final Evaluation Full Report
Stevenson, C.
(2025)
Research Handbook on Loneliness and Social Connection
Stevenson, C.
(2023)
Newark & Sherwood Community Survey: CVS Briefing Report
Stevenson, C.
(2023)
Ashfield Community Survey: CVS Briefing Report
Stevenson, C.
(2023)
Mansfield Community Survey: CVS Briefing Report
| Description | The project undertook an advanced multimethod evaluation of Ashfield Voluntary Action's (AVA) 'Inspiring Ashfield' approach to supporting Social Prescribing in the local district. It combined a state-of-the-art community survey with in-depth interviews and an observation of AVA's outreach programme. In doing so it captured the 'active ingredients' of the initiative as well as the barriers it has overcome (Objective 1- met). These findings were shared with CVS organisations through documented workshops (Objective 2- met) and currently forms the basis of the design of new Inspiring approaches in two new areas (Objective 4 - met). The process of coproducing these new initiatives has been documented for other CVSs in a working paper (Objective 5 - met) and the results have been launched to an audience of stakeholders and funders in April 2023 (Objective 3 - met). While the new models of Inspiring have yet to attract sustainable funding to enable their implementation, the CVS organisations remain committed to implementing these if resource becomes available. In terms of key findings, each method has captured unique insights: 1. Group activities benefit wellbeing; poverty and lack of awareness deter service engagement. Our survey of 388 residents of Ashfield identified high levels of loneliness and poor mental health in the local population alongside a variety of barriers to the uptake of social prescribing-related activities. These included low awareness of local community services, time depletion, financial hardship and social anxiety. Advanced analysis of the data revealed that when residents belonged to multiple different social groups and activities, they reported higher creativity, lower loneliness and better wellbeing (a finding replicated using nationally-representative survey data). This paper has been published in a high-impact social psychology journal. 2. Strong place identity can shape health and reduce financial stress. 44 interviews with AVA staff, project partners, link workers, group activity leads, beneficiaries and hard-to-reach residents revealed a range of different understandings of how local neighbourhood affects health, but also a shared understanding of the benefits of social connectedness for residents' resilience to social and economic challenges. This resonates with survey findings which suggest that that the health benefits of local community identity for residents lie in its ability to meet a range of different social and psychological needs, including reducing the stress of financial challenges. This paper is in preparation. 3. 'Inspiring' approaches can transform lives, if barriers to Social Prescribing are overcome. In terms of the Inspiring initiative itself, the appreciation of link workers for the support provided by the Inspiring Ashfield initiative was matched by the positive (often transformative) effects reported by beneficiaries. However, the legacy of COVID-19 poses a lasting barrier to service uptake with many participants reporting their fear of infection, high levels of anxiety and the poor social skills resulting from long periods of isolation as deterrents to engagement. AVA's response in diversifying their offer, providing assertive outreach to those beyond the reach of social prescribing and offering social scaffolding to enable clients to participate was exemplary practice. This is captured in the working paper on coproducing the Inspiring approaches. These findings are of interest to a broad range of academic audiences including social, community, economic and health psychologists as well as in public health and social policy. |
| Exploitation Route | The utility of these findings lie in the combination of academic insight and practical utility. Theoretically, they improve understanding of the long-established relationship between place and health inequalities which has come to the fore during COVID-19. Demonstrating the links between community identification, group memberships, psychological wellbeing and health will inform those responsible for providing integrated health and community services to reduce health inequalities. Specifically this illustrates the core benefits of having a thriving third sector for the integration and wellbeing of local communities and the need to invest in those organisations and amenities that can provide these services. Practically, Social Prescribing was brought to a standstill during the pandemic and link workers across the UK still face substantial challenges in supporting their clients to engage in social prescribing and in availing of an appropriate local offer. Our work provides evidence as to how this can be done by illustrating a global approach (Inspiring Ashfield) based on specific modular steps (scoping, informing and connecting stakeholders and clients). Our findings effectively provide a blueprint for how Social Prescribers and CVSs elsewhere can overcome similar challenges. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Healthcare Government Democracy and Justice Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| Description | The findings from the work have already informed the development of Ashfield Voluntary Action's provision. Our scoping study identified the prevalence and range of non-medical needs in their local community as well as identifying the key barriers to service uptake. On this basis, AVA are redeveloping their advertising and media presence, shaping their offer to meet local need and putting in place mechanisms to overcome barriers to participation (including altering timings, locations, costs and supports to increase the accessibility of their services). Relatedly, the findings from the evaluation of Inspiring Ashfield pertaining to effective service delivery have been presented to the advisory board of AVA and incorporated into their development plan for future service provision. The workshops delivered in phase two of the project reached the CVSs in Mansfield and Newark and Sherwood as well as a range of other local community organisations. These participants availed of workshops on service provision, evaluation skills and sustainable funding which were designed to help them recognise and overcome the challenges of delivering and capturing the effects of their services. Feedback from participants was positive with several reporting that they would incorporate the insights into their own practice and most committing to further engagement with the project. The community surveys conducted in Ashfield, Mansfield and Newark and Sherwood as part of the scoping process for the refinement/development of INspiring models of Social Prescribing support have been useful in their own right. Analysis of this data has identified priority issues and vulnerable populations in each area which in turn has helped the CVSs develop and target their provision. It has also informed the work of the Place-Based Partnership which aims to better integrate community healthcare, local government and third sector services in these local areas. Academically, the research findings improve the understanding of the long-established relationship between place and health inequalities which has come to the fore during COVID-19. The novel combination of social psychology of group dynamics and the environmental psychology of place identity further contributes towards the emerging area of the Social Identity Approach to Health being developed by the research team at NTU as well as contributing to their UoA4 Impact Case Study for the 2029 Research Excellence Framework. In a further development of this work, this project has contributed to the co-founding of the International Centre for the Community-Based Prevention of Loneliness. In 2024, I visited Tohoku University to share his research findings on community-based approaches to loneliness reduction, including the findings from this AHRC grant. Following from this initiative Dr Ayahito Ito of Tohoku University, Prof Alex Haslam of University of Queensland and I led the trilateral development of this Centre which is underpinned by an initial Letter of Intent signed by all three universities. This collaboration has won initial funding from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (£100k) to support its activities for the next 5 years as well as internal support from NTU in the form of an international studentship under the cosupervision of Profs Stevenson and Haslam and Dr Ito. The collaboration also involves Hokkaido University and Prof Stevenson is Visiting Professor there, also co-supervising a second PhD student. In a recent development I have been approached by Tohoku University to take up a fractional position as part of their International Research Excellence initiative in order to develop the Centre. This 0.3FTE appointment is accompanied by a research grant which will allow the appointment of two postdoctoral researchers at Tohoku and NTU in autumn 2025. The collaboration now also underpins an ESRC application to be submitted in the coming months. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy |
| Impact Types | Societal Policy & public services |
| Description | CVS support for social prescribing in Mid-Notts |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | These Local Infrastructure organisations have reported that our project has helped develop their delivery and improved their relationship with Social Prescribing Link Workers. They also report that the information we have provided has formed the basis of their applications for future funding. It has not been possible to formally evaluate the implementation of the advice within the limits of the Phase One funding. |
| Description | England Financial Wellbeing Forum membership |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Support for Newark and Sherwood to secure funding for Best Years Hubs |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | Best Years Hibs now serve older adult populations across Newark and Sherwood. The model in being concidered for adoption across the ICS |
| URL | https://www.nandscvs.org/best-years/ |
| Description | ???????????????·??????????? |
| Amount | ï¿¥20,930,000 (JPY) |
| Funding ID | 24KK0056 |
| Organisation | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Japan |
| Start | 08/2024 |
| End | 03/2029 |
| Description | International PhD studentship |
| Amount | £70,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Nottingham Trent University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2024 |
| End | 09/2027 |
| Description | MSc studentship (fee waiver + UKRI-level stipend) for Ashfield Voluntary Action staff member |
| Amount | £23,809 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Nottingham Trent University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 09/2024 |
| Description | Mansfield and Ashfield Programme Management Board |
| Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Nottingham Trent University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2023 |
| End | 07/2023 |
| Description | PhD Scholarship award: Exploring How Individual Differences Affect the Social Cure Within the Context of Green Social Prescribing |
| Amount | £66,792 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Nottingham Trent University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 09/2025 |
| Description | QR funding: Men's Shed in Nottingham |
| Amount | £22,189 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Nottingham Trent University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| End | 03/2025 |
| Description | QR: Research Peak development funding |
| Amount | £49,917 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Nottingham Trent University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2023 |
| End | 07/2025 |
| Description | QR: Supporting Mid-Notts Place-Based Partnership |
| Amount | £13,900 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Nottingham Trent University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| End | 07/2024 |
| Title | Index of diverse group memberships |
| Description | We have developed a new method of analysing a widely used tool for capturing the group memberships of local community residents (used in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing). This index now captures the degree to which individuals belong to different groups (rather than multiples of the same group) so that the unique contribution of group membership diversity can be captured. The initial results have been published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. |
| Type Of Material | Physiological assessment or outcome measure |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The article has gotten some initial traction, being downloaded or viewed over 2000 times and shared on X, placing it in the top 25% of published articles. The paper will be presented at the International Conference on Social Identity and Health in June 2024. |
| URL | https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/01461672231202278 |
| Title | Neighbourhood Needs-Satisfaction Scale (NNSS) |
| Description | We compiled an individual difference measure of the different psychological needs met by local neighbourhoods. The scale has robust psychometric properties and serves to mediate the predictive effect of neighbourhood identification on a range of outcomes including service access, financial managing, loneliness and wellbeing. |
| Type Of Material | Physiological assessment or outcome measure |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This scale has considerable potential to capture the psychological benefits of neighbourhood identification in future research. Once published, the scale will be made publicly available. |
| Title | Ashfield Community Survey Data |
| Description | We conducted a local community survey of 388 Ashfield residents who answered a range of questions on their awareness, use and desire for local community services as well as their psychological wellbeing and social connectedness. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The data has been analysed to provide AVA with guidance on local community need and service-use to develop their service provision. It also forms the basis of two academic publications (one under review and another in preparation). |
| Title | Inspiring Ashfield Interview Data |
| Description | This is a set of 44 interviews with AVA staff, project partners, activity leads, beneficiaries and hard-to-reach residents as well as documented conversations with link workers. The interviews pertain to participants own personal backgrounds, their awareness of and involvement in the Inspiring Ashfield initiative and their experiences and perceptions of its impacts on themselves and the local community. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The dataset has underpinned the evaluation report presented to Ashfield Voluntary Action in strand one of th e current project. Analysis of the data also forms part of an academic paper in preparation. |
| Title | Mansfield Community Survey data |
| Description | 356 responses from Mansfield residents detailing their demographics, psychological health and wellbeing, service usage and barriers to service uptake. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This forms the basis of an initial report for Mansfield CVS and will be subjected to a secondary analysis to provide more in-depth profiling of vulnerable populations in the area. |
| Title | Newark and Sherwood Community Survey |
| Description | 527 responses from Newark and Sherwood residents detailing their demographics, psychological health and wellbeing, service usage and barriers to service uptake. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This has formed the basis of an initial report for Newark and Sherwood CVS and for the Local Design Team of the Place-Based Partnership. It will be subjected to further secondary analysis to profile vulnerable groups and local needs. |
| Description | NTU - AVA partnership |
| Organisation | Ashfield Voluntary Action |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | AVA are th emain project partners in the research. NTU have contributed substantial consultancy, research and evaluation services to AVA in order to evaluate and inform the development of their service provision. This includes conducting a bespoke community survey to scope out the non-medical needs of residents of the local community and analyse the results to enable AVA to adapt and develop their service provision. Second, NTU conducted an in-depth evaluation of AVA's Inspiring Ashfield initiative involving over 40 interviews with staff, stakeholders and beneficiaries, survey with a small number of beneficiaries and the undertaking of an 'appreciative inquiry' investigation of their assertive outreach programme. The evaluation report was delivered in August 2022. |
| Collaborator Contribution | AVA have provided access to the staff, stakeholders and beneficiaries involved in the Inspiring Ashfield initiative and recruited hard-to-reach and minority residents for interview. AVA also contributed to the delivery of the phase two workshops including providing an account of their assertive outreach programme and a session on sustainable funding in the sector. |
| Impact | The main outputs from the collaboration have been the datasets contributing to the evaluation (interviews and surveys), the evaluation report itself and the series of workshops which derived from this activity. In turn the data has given rise to three publications at various stages of the publication process. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | National Trust - Midlands and East of England Regional |
| Organisation | National Trust |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The Scaling Up Inspiring Ashfield project led to a partnership with the Midlands and East of England region of the National Trust. They were included as partners in a large-scale bid for round three of the Mobilising Community Assets programme and while that bid was unsuccessful, the partnership now includes an NTU-funded PhD studentship which has evaluated the community engagement provision at a National Trust property on the Lincolnshire coast |
| Collaborator Contribution | The National Trust supported the PhD researcher in their attempts to recruit, survey and interview participants in their walking and volunteering activities onsite in Sandilands nature reserve. This now forms study one of the PhD. They are currently supporting the recruitment of survey participants from teh local area for the second study. |
| Impact | The collaboration is single discipline in focus (Psychology), though involves a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods which are more characteristic of the broader social sciences. To date the work has generated an evaluation report for the partners detailing the efficacy of their walking activity programme and advising on its suitability for accepting Social Prescribing referrals. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Partnership with Hokkaido University |
| Organisation | Hokkaido University |
| Country | Japan |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | As part of the International Centre for Community based Loneliness Prevention, I now collaborate with Hokkaido University. I was appointed as Visiting Professor in 2025 and will co-supervise a PhD Student from April 2025. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Hokkaido university have appointed me as Visiting Professor and as co-supervisor to a PhD student. They will also be hosting my visit in June 2025. |
| Impact | I co-authored a book chapter with my colleague Dr Risa Takashima at Hokkaido University |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Partnership with Kwansei Gakuin University |
| Organisation | Kwansei Gakuin University |
| Country | Japan |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In 2023 I established a connection with Professor Takashi Yamamoto at Kwansei Gakuin University in Osaka. Over the course of a year I presented my research on loneliness reduction and social prescribing, including the AHRC Upscaling Inspiring Ashfield research. On this basis I was invited to give a series of lectures at Kwansei Gakuin University in June 2024 to an audience of academics and social workers. I was invited to write up these lectures into a series of book chapters to appear in Prof Yamamoto's book on introducing Social Prescribing to Japan, targeted at academics and policy-makers. in 2025 I will be presenting my research on loneliness reduction interventions to officials from Osaka Prefecture |
| Collaborator Contribution | Professor Yamamoto leads a Japanese government funded research project piloting Social Prescribing in Japan. This project paid for my trip and facilitated my introduction to the project team and their local government partners. |
| Impact | 3 lectures delivered in Osaka; 3 book chapters |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Partnership with Queensland University |
| Organisation | University of Queensland |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | As part of the International Centre for Community-Based Loneliness Prevention, I now collaborate with Queensland, co-supervising a PhD student with Prof Alex Haslam. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Prof Alex Haslam now co-supervises an NTU PhD student |
| Impact | PhD ongoing |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Partnership with Tohoku University |
| Organisation | Tohoku University |
| Country | Japan |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | On the basis of my research on Social Prescribing and loneliness reduction, I was invited to collaborate with Tohoku University. I delivered an invited lecture in person at the university in June 2024 and hosted Dr Ayahito Ito at NTU later that month. This activity formed the basis of the founding of the International Centre for Community-based Loneliness Prevention - a collaboration between NTU, Tohoku,, Hokkaido and Queensland universities. This centre has attracted £100k. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Dr Ayahito submitted a successful bid to the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science to fund activities for the next 5 years (100k) |
| Impact | The collaboration spans social psychology and occupational therapy and focusses on Community Sheds in each country. the collaboration is underpinned by a trilateral Letter of Intent, which foreshadows a MOU. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Tackling Loneliness Collaborative |
| Organisation | Nottinghamshire County Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | On the basis of the AHRC award and other related research Prof Clifford Stevenson was appointed to the board of directors of the Nottingham/Nottinghamshire Tackling Loneliness Collaborative (TLC). The TLC is funded by Nottinghamshire County Council and comprises a collaboration between NHS, LGA and third sector to implement the UK government's loneliness policy at local level. While NTU has had a relationship with the TLC since its inception in 2022, Prof Stevenson's appointment to the board provides a formalisation of this partnership. Recently Prof Stevenson has provided specific research insights and guidance based on the Upscaling Inspiring Ashfield research to the TLC which has informed the development of their policy and programme of activity. NTU will now provide evaluation support to the TLC's nascent community connector scheme. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The TLC is the overseeing body for loneliness-reduction activities across the Nottingham/Nottinghamshire ICS. It is funded by Nottinghamshire County Council (£250k) to undertake a programme of activities to promote awareness of loneliness, coordinate responses between charities and statutory agencies and provide guidance and support for frontline services. It has previously supported NTU's applications to the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the Mobilising Community Assets programme. In 2022, it commissioned research by Prof Stevenson and his team to establish the range of services available across the ICS as well as the prevalence and experience of loneliness among the general population. This research was enriched and informed by the AHRC Upscaling Inspiring Ashfield research. Since Prof Stevenson has been appointed to the board in 2024, the TLC has hosted a conference for over 80 attendees from various organisations across the area. It has also designed and developed a local community connector scheme. |
| Impact | The earlier NTU research which has informed the development of TLC policy is available at: Bowe, M., Kellezi, B., Wakefield, J., Stevenson, C., Potter, A. (2022). Loneliness in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire: Final Research Report. https://3fb234d2-9e19-419b-b4f5-65566d35b648.usrfiles.com/ugd/3fb234_1828e9937902452eb23f146c4a47d63b.pdf The recommendations from this research (which were enriched and informed by the AHRC Upscaling Inspiring Ashfield project) now form the basis for the TLC Terms of Reference. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | University of Derby |
| Organisation | University of Derby |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | NTU have partnered with fellow recipients of Mobilising Community Assets Phase One funding at the University of Derby (Social Prescribing for All). IN addition to sharing the findings from the Phase One projects, the partnership formed the basis of a Phase Three bid to develop Green, Arts and Financial Social Prescribing across the Derby/Derbyshire, Nottingham/Nottinghamshire (D2N2) footprint. While unsuccessful, this bid now forms the basis of ongoing collaboration and collaborative grant writing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Derby coordinated the extensive network of external partnerships involved in the Derby/shire side of the bid. |
| Impact | The initial bid was unsuccessful, but attempts to secure future funding are ongoing. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Invited talk at Bassetlaw CVS annual event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk on place-based approaches to reducing loneliness including data from the Upscaling Inspiring Ashfield AHRC project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Invited talk at Newark & Sherwood launch of Best Years Hub |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The research conducted as part of the AHRC Upscaling Inspiring Ashfield project was used by Newark and Sherwood CVS to secure funding for their Best Year's Hub initiative to provide social connection for older adults living in this area. I was invited to the launch to give a presentation outlining this background research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Launch of Upscaling Inspiring Ashfield project in April 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | The Upscaling Inspiring Ashfield project was launched to an audience of NHS, LGA and third sector attendees in April 2023. This was a well-attended event which showcased the findings from the project. It was also attended by collaborators from University of Derby and provided an opportunity to coproduce the focus and structure of the subsequent (unsuccessful) application for round three funding in this programme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Phase Two Workshops (Oct/Nov 2022) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Our series of six workshops engaged the CVS organisations in Mansfield and Newark & Sherwood as well as a range of other third sector organisations and NHS staff: Mansfield CVS Primary Integrated Community Services (PICS) Mid-Notts NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) Ashfield Voluntary Action (AVA) Citizen's Advice The Dukeries Community Workshop Newark & Sherwood CVS Newark & Sherwood District Council Mid-Notts NHS Integrated Care Service (ICS) Mid-Notts Place Based Partnership Sherwood Forest Trust The workshops covered the evaluation findings as well as sessions on sustainable funding and evaluation methodology. As well as disseminating information, the sessions stimulated lively discussion among participants all of whom reported positive benefits from the sessions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Presentation to Ashfield and Mansfield Programme Management Board (January 2023) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The preliminary findings of the project were presented to NTU's Ashfield Mansfield Programme Management Board. The research group's Social Prescribing research forms a core part of the university's regional development programme and the board were interested in knowing how the project was developing. As a consequence, the Board granted the researchers £10k to upscale their research on this topic. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation to Midlands Social Prescribing Steering Group: Evaluation Task and Finish Group (August 2022) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | The Midlands Social Prescribing Steering Group runs a number of task and finish groups on different aspects of Social Prescribing. In the evaluation strand I presented an overview of the findings from the Upscaling Inspiring Ashfield project to the other contributors. This stimulated discussion on the findings and the techniques used in the process and requests for further information on the work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Presentation to Tackling Loneliness Collaborative (June 2022) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | This presentation gave the Tackling Loneliness Collaboration (a collective of LGA, NHS and third sector organisations involved in overseeing and coordianting loneliness reduction services in Nottinshamshire) an overview of the main findings of the Inspiring Ashfield evaluation as part of a broader discussion on how to better coordinate health and community services to reduce health inequalities. As a result, participants requested to be involved in future research funding applications. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Secondary analysis of community survey data: Newark & Sherwood LDT Briefing |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This presentation was requested by the Local Design Team on the basis of a previous preliminary review of local community survey results earlier in the year. It provided more detail on the vulnerabilities of specific groups in the area as well as indicating the geographical distribution of wellbeing in the area. The audience requested access to the data and further survey work to be undertaken in the area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | TV interview for NottsTV (March 2022) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | This TV interview outlined the rationale for the AHRC project and its planned activities over the year. The interview centred on explaining the concept of Social Prescribing and the need to enable the third-sector to deliver these activities post-pandemic. Informal feedback from those watching the broadcast indicated that it had informative value. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://vimeo.com/694843060 |
| Description | Tackling Loneliness Collaborative Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Conference to raise awareness of loneliness as a social and health issue and to inform of forthcoming community connector intervention. My talk presented the findings of the AHRC Upscaling Inspiring Ashfield project along with my other research on place-based approaches to loneliness reduction |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Upscaling the Inspiring Ashfield Approach to Support Social Prescribing: Newark & Sherwood LDT Briefing |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This presentation outlined the main findings of the Inspiring Ashfield project and the initial results of the community survey in Newark and Sherwood. As well as outlining the model of Social Prescribing support advocated in that research, it provided an overview of levels of loneliness, depression, anxiety in the area as well as awareness of and barriers to uptake of local services. Attendees requested a more detailed breakdown of results (which was provided at a subsequent meeting). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |