PHIRST Legacy

PHIRST Insight (a collaboration between (Bristol and Cardiff Universities) has been funded by the NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) through the Public Health Intervention Responsive Studies Teams programme to work with local authorities and other groups to evaluate promising public health initiatives. Since its inception in 2020 the team has worked with 10 local partners, which include local public health teams and third sector organisations, providing evaluations of a range of local initiatives. The team has reviewed our work to understand how our partners experienced the process of working with us, and better understand impact the studies have had locally (and more widely) on public health practice, evidence, and policy. This review is intended to inform our practice, including how we can best continue with our principles of co-production, public involvement, building research capacity, and maximising impact. It is also intended to review the benefits to our local partners and how (or if) these can be improved by understanding the factors which support or disadvantage public health teams engaging with academic researchers.