Local councils across the UK will get faster, more rigorous evaluations of their public health policies—from cycle lane schemes to alcohol licensing rules—through a new research team based at the Universities of Bristol and Cardiff. This matters because local authorities routinely introduce policies intended to improve health and reduce inequalities, but rarely have the resources or expertise to test whether those policies actually work, for whom, and at what cost. Without robust evaluation, good ideas may be abandoned and ineffective ones may persist, wasting public money and missing opportunities to improve lives. If successful, the PHIRST Insight team will turn local policy questions into co-produced research studies within months, not years. Each study will involve practitioners, policymakers, and members of the public from the start, ensuring findings are relevant and actionable. The team will produce accessible reports, briefings, and tools that councils across the UK can use to design better, more equitable public health interventions. Over time, this could shift local government culture from making decisions based on precedent or pressure to making them based on evidence—quietly improving the systems that shape air quality, physical activity, social connection, and economic opportunity in every community.
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The Universities of Bristol (UoB) and Cardiff enthusiastically support the aims of PHIRSTs to respond to requests to evaluate local policies and interventions to improve public health and reduce inequalities, and wish to host a PHIRST team. Public health researchers have collaborated successfully across both institutions for two decades and have excellent international reputations for producing high quality, impactful and policy relevant research. All departments involved ranked from 1st to 5th in the UK in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework. We are well equipped to host a PHIRST as we have a long track record of engaging with and responding to requests for research from public health practitioners. UoB is a member of the NIHR School for Public Health Research so we have substantial experience of its Public Health Practice Evaluation Scheme, forerunner of PHIRST, having successfully led or co-led 7 such studies to date. We were also instrumental in establishing the Welsh Public Health Improvement Research Network (PHIRN) in 2005. It also brings together academics and practitioners to formulate and conduct evaluations. To date 196 such studies have been co-produced. We contribute to the upskilling of those working in local government via this work, our co-located staff, and short courses. We have a broad range of methodological skills and substantive knowledge. The UoB hosts an NIHR Applied Research Collaboration, Health Protection Research Unit, Biomedical Research Centre, a UK Prevention Research Partnership collaboration and is unique in being a member of all three national schools of Primary Care, Social Care and Public Health. These centres, all part of national networks, together with our involvement in PHIRN and many UK-wide research projects means that if asked to undertake work requiring additional skills or knowledge, we have access to many potential collaborators. Our involvement ensures we understand the different ways that public health operates in the UK’s four countries and have the reach to take on UK-wide commissions. We have embedded practice and public involvement in all levels in our PHIRST. On receiving a commission we would set up a Task and Finish Group to work with the local authority and practice and public stakeholders to identify: i) questions to be addressed; ii) potential evaluation designs; iii) data required; iv) an intervention logic model and theory; and v) ethical issues. Stakeholder mapping would be undertaken to ensure all relevant partners are involved in co-producing the research. An agreed preliminary proposal would be presented to the NIHR PHR. Once approved a Study Management Group (SMG) comprising researchers and local practitioner and public representatives would collectively develop a detailed research plan which the researchers would work to, overseen by the SMG ensuring the research and outputs are coproduced in a timely way and attend to inequalities. Commissioning and progress of the studies will be overseen by a PHIRST Management Group comprising academics, and public and practice representatives. Building on our strong track record of translation of research into policy and practice, each SMG will co-produce a plan for dissemination, implementation, impact, communication, and engagement to be operationalised by the whole PHIRST team. This will include working with practice and public partners to ensure our findings are widely available to the public in accessible forms.
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