Workstream leads
Clinical Senior Lecturer and Hon Consultant in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry,
University of Manchester and
Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital
Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist, Senior Clinical Researcher & Associate Professor,
University of Oxford
Main location of work
The Capacity Development workstream builds mental health research capacity across the UK and supports the MH-TRC workstreams: Children and Young People’s Mental Health, Data and Digital, Early Psychosis, Mood Disorders and the two demonstrator sites Mental Health Research for Innovation Centre (M-RIC) based at Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Liverpool, along with the Midlands Translational Centre (MTC), based at the University of Birmingham, to help them deliver their objectives.
Workstream overview
The workstream aims to strengthen and increase the size of the mental health research community, attract industry and researchers from a wide variety of disciplines, and support mental health researchers at crucial points in their careers.
Why the work is important
Building research capacity is essential to meet the needs of MH-TRC Mission, engage and attract industry research and ensure excellence in provision of mental health care. Capacity development is seen as a dynamic intervention that operates at a number of structural levels with the common goal of “more research done well”.
Aim
The aim of this work stream is to build mental health research capacity and enhance research capability across the UK and enable the delivery of objectives aligned to industry requirements and MH-TRC Mission outputs. The main activity focus is to increase the critical mass of the mental health workforce and create bespoke training packages to improve the mental health workforce.
Planned work packages
- Work package 1: Scoping review of the research capacity interventions across the MH-TRC Mission – supporting the training needs of the workstreams and demonstrator sites to deliver ambitious programmes of industry supported work in each specialist area. See PDF: MHM Capacity Development Scoping Report
- Work package 2: Increasing research active mental health workforce – to increase the number of research active clinicians able to deliver early phase industry supported studies across the UK
- Work package 3: Enhancing capability of the research workforce – to enhance the capability of the mental health workforce and support the activities of other workstreams.
Patient and public involvement, engagement, and participation (PPIEP)
The Capacity Development workstream has PPIEP representation on their Oversight Committee and Research Funding Awards Panel to make sure that PPIEP steer is accounted for in their strategic decisions.
Increasing research capacity
This workstream works closely with other partners, including Royal College of Psychiatrists and the NIHR Incubator for Mental Health Research, to facilitate the dissemination of capacity building initiatives and training and development opportunities.
The Capacity Development workstream offers the GROW Researcher Development Programme, a bespoke career development programme open to and designed for MH-TRC Mission early career researchers. The Programme is free to attend and is delivered by the NIHR Incubator for Mental Health Research team with contributions from MH-TRC Mission researchers.
More details about ongoing Capacity Development workstream initiatives can be requested at: [email protected].
