Centre for Health PolicyFrom Talk to Action: Embedding Research Partnerships for Real-World Change

From Talk to Action: Embedding Research Partnerships for Real-World Change

Author: Shona Hilton

Research partnerships have the potential to be powerful catalysts for tackling social inequalities, particularly in health. But making them work—really work—isn’t as simple as bringing people together. It takes careful planning, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to driving real-world change. These themes took front and centre stage at a symposium held from March 25th to 27th at the Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR) supported by the University of Queensland’s Global Partnerships grant. The event brought together researchers, community partners, and practitioners to explore what makes partnerships thrive, and why they sometimes fall short.

As a Professor of Health Policy and Social Innovation at the University of Strathclyde, I was invited to share my experience as a partner in the newly funded Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC)-Glasgow, an innovative model led by Glasgow City Council and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). This embedded research partnership aims to bridge the implementation gap by working directly with local government, integrating research into policy structures and processes to support evidence-driven decision-making.
In recent years, the NIHR has committed over £150 million to establish 30 five-year HDRC partnerships across the UK. These partnerships are designed to boost research capacity and capability within local government and embed a culture of using evidence to improve decision making on health and health inequalities. Both Strathclyde and Queensland universities share a strong commitment to health equity, social justice, and partnership-driven research, ensuring that evidence actively shapes policy and practice.

 

Addressing the Determinants of Health

Addressing health challenges, particularly those driven by inequalities, demands collaboration across sectors, disciplines, and institutions. In Glasgow and Scotland more broadly, health inequalities remain a significant concern. High rates of preventable diseases, poor mental health, and stark disparities in life expectancy between affluent and deprived communities highlight the need for cross-sector solutions. Glasgow, for example, has some of the highest rates of drug-related deaths in Europe, alongside major challenges related to alcohol harm, obesity, and child poverty, all requiring coordinated, multi-agency responses. Queensland, despite being on the other side of the world, people there face similar social and health inequities. These include high rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease and significant disparities in health outcomes for Indigenous communities. In both regions, no single organisation can tackle these complex problems alone. Effective partnership working is crucial to harness expertise, resources, and influence, enabling the design of policies and interventions that work in real-world settings.

While it is still early days, the HDRC approach could be a game-changer for how partners work together to build the necessary collaborative infrastructure to plan evidence-driven decisions. By combining local government insights and academic expertise, it aims to drive lasting social impact. The NIHR’s investment in HDRCs may set a precedent for other funders, demonstrating how to close the ‘implementation gap’ and enable more meaningful, practice-driven knowledge exchange.

 

Building Stronger Embedded Research Partnerships

The symposium reinforced that successful partnerships for driving social and health change require intentional effort and a strong foundation. The most effective collaborations are built on:

  • Shared goals, values and clear expectations, ensuring all partners are aligned from the outset.
  • A mutual understanding of contributions, recognising the unique value each partner brings.
  • Trust and power-sharing, fostering openness, transparency, and equitable influence.
  • A commitment to co-designing solutions that are not only relevant but also capable of driving meaningful, lasting change.

However, research partnerships also face persistent challenges, including:

  • Misaligned priorities between partners, making it difficult to deliver insights at the right time.
  • Securing sustainable funding to ensure partnerships remain viable in the long term.
  • Power imbalances that can limit the influence and voice of smaller partners or marginalised communities.
  • Differing timeframes, as policymakers often need rapid, actionable insights while academic research requires time to generate robust evidence.

Yet, despite these challenges, the symposium reinforced a shared sense of momentum, a belief that, when done right, partnerships can ‘land’ meaningful, lasting change. As we look ahead, the focus must remain on strengthening these embedded partnerships so that research continues to be timely, relevant, and capable of shaping policies that tackle inequalities in the most effective way possible. At the University of Strathclyde, this commitment to ‘useful learning’ is more than just a slogan—it’s a guiding principle that ensures research partnerships lead to real-world progress.