NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester and the Greater Manchester Research Engagement Network Team have launched the Greater Manchester Research Engagement Network (GM REN) and Respectful Research Charter, to enable them to reach communities and organisations across Greater Manchester and to share their mission to create an inclusive environment that enables diverse communities to take part in health research, addressing health and care inequalities.
Greater Manchester is proud to be home to diverse communities, and it is important that this diversity is reflected in the health and care research taking place here. That is why the GM REN and Respectful Research Charter has been launched, which sets out to understand the barriers preventing those who are typically underrepresented in research to engage in the process, and then to put measures in place to break down those barriers and make research accessible to all.
What is the Research Engagement Network in Greater Manchester?
GM-REN has been co-led by the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership (GM ICP), the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester (ARC-GM), Vocal, the Caribbean and African Health Network on behalf of the Greater Manchester VCFSE Leadership Group and the Greater Manchester NIHR research infrastructure.
As part of the REN programme, a Greater Manchester Respectful Research Charter has launched as a framework for improved ways of working. The co-developed Charter aims to make research systems and processes joined up and accessible for community involvement.
The Charter focuses on five key areas and values for collaborative success:
- Community Leadership – Meaningful research on what matters most to the people it is about and for
- Respect for Community Values – Communities know their neighbourhoods - listen and learn first to understand people and their needs
- Embed Research in Communities – Develop long-term relationships between researchers and communities, fostering trust and collaboration for future projects
- Use Accessible Approaches – Community involvement opportunities should be accessible to all
- Mutually Beneficial Relationships for All – Working together in a way that rewards and values contributions, building sustainable, mutually respectful and productive relationships
The network has also produced supportive resources to help people better understand and identify with the aims of GM-REN – this includes using community members and researchers to write and deliver a poem, and an original animation that explains the GM-REN processes.
You can find out more about the Charter here.
How can GM REN and the Charter support your organisation and the people you serve?
Strong, equitable and respectful partnerships between researchers, the VCFSE sector and the Greater Manchester communities will empower those facing the greatest health challenges to actively participate in and shape research, ultimately leading to fairer health and care.
The GM REN programme is already developing local partnerships between the Integrated Care system (ICS); NIHR research infrastructure and (VCFSE) organisations to better support diverse communities to get involved in research.
The GM REN programme want to encourage those delivering services and empowering communities in Greater Manchester to participate in the programme to help them better understand the needs of diverse communities, so that appropriate and accessible healthcare can be delivered where it is needed most.
Find out more here