In this blog Francesca Morland, our Health and Wellbeing Research Partnerships Coordinator, reflects on the work that has been happening to connect health and care researchers with the VCSE sector, and shares what is planned for the year ahead to build valuable partnerships that shape research for the benefit of people and our communities.
Meaningful research that contributes to more equitable health outcomes is built on strong and sustainable partnerships between those who study communities and those who are embedded within them. Across the North East and North Cumbria (NENC) and beyond, Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations play a key role in shaping research, and ensuring it reaches and reflects the people it aims to benefit. Our Research Partnerships work at VONNE aims to connect health and care researchers and the VCSE sector, providing the support, guidance and resources needed to form reciprocal and sustainable partnerships for research. The work is funded and guided by colleagues at the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Since joining VONNE as Research Partnerships Coordinator in April 2025, it has been great to be involved with and support the creation of a number of cross-sector partnerships. As we enter the new year, it seemed like an appropriate time to reflect on the work that has taken place through already and what is planned for the year ahead. We hosted a ‘Workplan Engagement Session’ for the project in 2025, which enabled the VCSE sector to input into our plans for future activities. This feedback, and the wider needs of the VCSE sector, are central to informing the work.
In 2025, we supported 38 individual enquiries from researchers and VCSE organisations with opportunity sharing, partnership building, and guidance on how to engage effectively with communities in research. Much of this work is ongoing, and is informed by the principles of the NIHR Community Engagement Toolkit. We will be sharing resources to accompany the toolkit very soon, which should give practical ways to put the principles into action.
In September, we delivered a pilot ‘Introduction to Health and Care Research’ session to the NENC Deaf Wellbeing Network, hosted by the NIHR ARC, which was well received and gave us excellent feedback to implement ahead of rolling out this training more widely. The first of these free training sessions takes place in February 2026, and will be co-delivered by VONNE and a colleague at the NIHR ARC. It is open to anyone representing a VCSE organisation in the NENC region with an interest in, or experience of, health and care research. To sign up for the February session, please visit: An Introduction to Health and Care Research - training
A Research Partnerships Network has been established, which is open to anyone in a VCSE sector or research role across the NENC region. Signing up to our research-themed mailing list, through our online form here, allows network members to receive a new Research Partnerships bulletin which will be distributed bi-monthly throughout 2026. The purpose of the bulletin is to showcase opportunities for research collaborations, relevant news and funding, highlight upcoming training and events, feature key topics and best practice through blogs, and more.
We continue to be involved in projects with partners such as NortHFutures, REN and Durham University Institute of Medical Humanities, and regularly share our support offer across the region by attending and presenting at events and meetings. If you think your organisation may benefit from hearing more about our work, please get in touch.
I am looking forward to building on the Research Partnerships support that we offer at VONNE in 2026, and would invite anyone that is looking to connect for community driven research to contact me directly, or fill in an enquiry form for researchers or VCSE organisations.
To read more about VONNE’s Research Partnerships work and the support available, visit our VCSE Research Partnerships webpage.