January 28, 2026

I’m really excited to share that the Cumberland Community Co Researcher (CCR) project has officially got underway. After months of planning behind the scenes, it’s fantastic to finally see this work come to life.

This project is a joint initiative between Cumberland HDRC (Health Determinants Research Collaboration) and Cumbria CVS, and it’s all about making sure local people play an active role in shaping and delivering the research that affects their communities’ health and wellbeing. Ultimately, the learning from this research will help inform the policies developed by Cumberland’s Public Health team — keeping community voices right at the heart of decision making.

 

Welcoming Our Community Co Researchers

Back in December 2025, we welcomed 15 Community Co Researchers to the CCR team. They’re employed by Cumbria CVS (where we’re providing pastoral support) and work closely with the HDRC team (who are supporting them with the practical side of doing research).

Our Community Co Researchers are local residents, representing all eight Community Panel areas across Cumberland, and each brings valuable lived experience with them. They’re currently taking part in training led by Dr Suzanne Wilson from the University of Lancashire, which will support them to develop their research skills and work together to identify and agree the research topics they’ll be exploring.

 

A Warm Welcome to Shirley Murray

I’m also delighted to introduce Shirley Murray, who has joined the project as our Support Officer.

Shirley’s role is all about helping the Community Co Researchers stay connected, feel confident in their roles, and find meaningful ways to engage with their communities. She’s providing the pastoral support for the project and will be a key point of contact as the CCRs navigate what can be a new and sometimes challenging role. We’re really pleased to have her on board.

 

Why This Project Matters

Cumberland faces some very real and complex challenges — from rural isolation to higher than average mental health and wellbeing issues. Too often, research about communities is done to people rather than with them.

By directly involving local people in the research process, the HDRC is helping ensure that potential solutions come from within the community itself, informed by lived experience rather than solely by existing datasets or external studies. As I mentioned earlier, the research carried out by the Community Co Researchers will be presented to Cumberland’s Public Health team, with the aim of helping to shape future priorities and policies that genuinely support the health and wellbeing of local residents.

There’s another important benefit to this work that I’ve only recently started to fully appreciate. The findings from the CCR research will be publicly available. This means that voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations can also use this evidence of need to strengthen funding applications and service planning. It’s a brilliant way of making the research useful in really practical ways — and of recognising the contribution of the Community Co Researchers themselves.

 

Looking Ahead

I’m really excited to see how this partnership develops, to hear more about the CCRs’ research projects as they take shape, and to learn from the final findings. I’m also keen to see how Cumberland’s Public Health team uses this learning to influence future policy and practice — all with the shared aim of improving health and wellbeing across Cumberland.

Watch this space — I’ll be sharing updates as the project progresses.

 

 

Bridget Johns
Operations Manager
Cumbria CVS