Yearly Archives / 2016

The importance of leadership strategy in Children’s Services

By Lee-Ann Fenge, Deputy Director National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work

It is difficult to under-estimate the importance of effective leadership and leadership style within children’s services. Children’s services represent complex areas of practice including child protection and looked after children, and services are being delivered against a backdrop of increasing fiscal restraint and budget cuts. The recruitment and retention of a skilled workforce is anchildcare-page on-going challenge and as a result leaders need to be able to effectively deliver innovative responses to provide services which achieve better outcomes for children and their families.

Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills) inspect and regulate services that care for children and young people, but worryingly recent inspection figures revealed there were more “inadequate” than “good” children’s services in English local authorities. This is worrying for both local authorities and those receiving support from them.

Staff from the National Centre of Post-Qualifying Social Work at Bournemouth University, have been working in partnership with one local authority to develop a robust approach to leadership in order to enhance service delivery in children’s services. Cheshire West and Chester have committed to deliver an Aspiring Team Leader programme and an Aspiring Practice Lead programme as part of a sustainable workforce development approach. Kate Howe, from the NCPQSW, has worked with them to deliver a bespoke Masters level Leadership unit, providing added depth to the programme.

This commitment to workforce development and leadership has proved very positive for Cheshire West and Chester who were recently awarded ‘good’ in their Ofsted inspection, whilst leadership, management and governance were deemed as ‘outstanding’.

‘This outstanding leadership has resulted in good-quality services that respond to the needs of children and families quickly and effectively’ (Ofsted, 2016:2).iStock_000016105991Large Young People Discussing Finance

Cheshire West and Chester have embraced a culture of leadership and coaching as a central plank to improve services for children and their families, taking on board recommendations from Ofsted’s report into effective leadership (2015).

Ofsted suggest that it is possible to overcome some of the challenges of contemporary children’s services through innovation and robust succession planning. This includes approaches to workforce development which value ‘growing your own’, and an importance on learning and development alongside protected budgets and caseloads (Ofsted, 2015). Cheshire West and Chester’s approach to leadership appears to acknowledge these key areas and their recent Ofsted Inspection highlighted the importance of their partnership with Bournemouth University.

‘The authority is active in trying to retain staff through a staff development policy including aspiring senior practice leads and aspiring team managers’ courses, and is currently developing an aspiring senior manager course, all in conjunction with Bournemouth University’ (Ofsted, 2016: 33).

The value added of working alongside a university concerns not only the content of the learning, but also the critical role of assessment of learning. By designing clear assessment strategies based on reflective practice, it is possible to evaluate the effectiveness of learning on staff thinking and practice, and ultimately support a culture of change within the organisation.

References

Ofsted (2015) Joining the dots… Effective leadership of children’s services, Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/424193/Joining_the_dots__effective_leadership_of_childrens_services.pdf

Ofsted (2016) Inspection of services for children in need of help and protection, children looked after and care leavers And Review of the effectiveness of the Local Safeguarding Children Board – Cheshire West and Chester http://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/local-authorities/cheshire-west-and-chester

 

FMC Cross-Departmental Seminar Series 16 March 2016

Communicating Research

FMC Cross-Departmental Seminar Series 2015-16

The Faculty of Media and Communication at BU

Venue: CG17, Christchurch House, Talbot Campus, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB

Wednesday 16 March 2016, 3pm, CG17

A Corporate Marketing Communication – Politics and Media Guest Lecture

Anastasia Kavada, Westminster Faculty of Media, Arts & Design at the University of Westminster

Collective action and digital media: the case of Occupy

Social movements can be considered as communication phenomena, as actors emerging from conversations amongst groups and individuals which become codified in ‘texts’ of various kinds: common statements and manifestos, training resources and new ‘scripts’ that ritualize common ways of behaving, as well as new digital artefacts whose design reflects the values of the movement. This talk outlines a communication perspective on social movements by focusing on the case study of the Occupy movement. The empirical material is drawn from 75 in-depth interviews with Occupy activists in London, New York, Seattle and Boston. The talk investigates digital media as part of Occupy’s communication ecology, focusing on their use to create spaces for conversation, to delineate the boundaries between the movement and its environment, and to develop ‘texts’ that embody the shared values and codes of the movement. Examining social movements as communication phenomena also provides an insight into how power relations, both within the movement and between the movement and its allies, targets and adversaries, are shaped by communication practices. More specifically, this talk identifies six types of communication power that shaped the power relations of Occupy. Overall, in this talk I argue that viewing social movements as phenomena emerging in and through communication allows us a grounded perspective on their processes and their capacity to effect change.

Anastasia Kavada is Senior Lecturer in the Westminster Faculty of Media, Arts & Design at the University of Westminster. She is Co-leader of the MA in Media, Campaigning and Social Change and Deputy Director of the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI). Her research focuses on the links between online tools and decentralized organizing practices, democratic decision-making, and the development of solidarity among participants in collective action. Anastasia’s case studies include, among others, the Global Justice Movement, Avaaz, and the Occupy movement. Her work has appeared in a variety of edited books and academic journals, including Media, Culture & Society and Information, Communication & Society.

About the series

This new seminar series showcases current research across different disciplines and approaches within the Faculty of Media and Communication at BU. The research seminars include invited speakers in the fields of journalism, politics, narrative studies, media, communication and marketing studies. The aim is to celebrate the diversity of research across departments in the faculty and also generate dialogue and discussion between those areas of research.

Contributions include speakers on behalf of

The Centre for Politics and Media Research

The Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community

Promotional Cultures & Communication Centre

Public Relations Research Centre

Narrative Research Group

Journalism Research Group

Advances in Media Management Research Group

Being Human festival – Call for Applications

Knowledge Exchange

The third Being Human festival will run 17-25 November 2016 and is now inviting applications for 2016.

The theme for 2016 is ‘Hope and Fear’. Applicants are encouraged to consider events around the theme, but they’re open to other ideas as well.

They are offering grants to support activities across the UK that communicate research in the humanities in accessible, engaging and fun ways to non-academic audiences.
There are a number of ways to get involved, from organising one event or coordinating a small programme, to becoming a Being Human ‘Festival Hub’. Have a look at the full call for applications to find out more.

Need some inspiration? Check out they gallery from last year.

The deadline for applications is 5pm May 16th.

Science Stalls for Einstein’s Garden at the Green Man Festival 2016/ Camp Bestival

Knowledge Exchange

Call for Proposals 

Science Stalls for Einstein’s Garden at the Green Man Festival 2016 – Deadline 21 March

The Green Man Festival is held near the Black Mountains in Wales and attracts 20,000 festival goers. The festival has earned a reputation as one of the great independent festivals in the UK. The 2016 festival dates are 18/19/20/21 August. For more information see www.greenman.net

Einstein’s Garden is a fusion of science, art and nature. It  has a diverse programme of performances, workshops and installations that use creativity, play and participation to engage people with science and research in unexpected ways. www.greenman.net/explore/areas/einsteins-garden

They are looking for organisations that would like to bring a stall to Einstein’s Garden with the aim of engaging festival audiences with science. Stalls can explore fundamental scientific ideas or phenomena, the process of science or current scientific research. It is essential that stalls include as much interactivity and participation as possible for festival goers and that they embody the creative and playful spirit of Einstein’s Garden.

The Einstein’s Garden theme for 2016 is COMPLEXITY. It is not essential for science stalls to directly relate to the theme, but it may help to shape your ideas.

The fee for standard stalls (up to 4mx4m) is £250 plus VAT. Fees for larger stalls will be negotiable on a case-by-case basis. There will be a limited number of free pitches available for small organisations.

RKEO can support you with funding attendance at the festival and cover materials, equipment, travel and subsistence expenses. – please contact Naomi Kay (nkay@bournemouth.ac.uk)

The stall must be set up by 4pm on Wednesday 17th August (for a site-wide health and safety inspection) and your stall must be open from 12 midday until 7pm on 18th August and from 10am until 7pm on 19th, 20th and 21st August. There will be no power available for stalls and no generators are allowed in Einstein’s Garden so if your stall does need power you must provide your own renewable energy.

If you would like to apply to run a science stall in Einstein’s Garden please complete the online form here: https://marcatoapp.com/forms/greenman/einsteinsgarden/new by Monday 21st March.

The Green Man Festival will provide up to 6 festival passes for successful applicants but we are unable to cover any expenses or provide meal vouchers. Please note that information about Science Stalls will be included on the Green Man Festival website but will not be included in the festival programme.

Camp Bestival

We’re also looking for potential activities to run at Camp Bestival, however these would need to be child friendly and would be more workshop based than drop ins – Please contact Naomi Kay (nkay@bournemouth.ac.uk/ 61342) for more information.

Need participants for your research? Check out this JISC-funded initiative

Advertise your surveys, interviews and other research studies to thousands of participants for free on Call For Participants:

Call For Participants is an online community for researchers and participants, funded by Jisc. University staff and students can use this service for free to advertise their surveys, interviews and other research studies to the public and recruit participants.

Researchers can also access other support and resources, such as webinars, guidance on communicating research to the public, ethics guidance, and case studies to support their research activities. Call For Participants is used and trusted by academic researchers from over 340 universities worldwide.

To advertise a survey, interview or other research study, visit the researcher homepage and create a study page. For resources and support for researchers visit the researcher support page, and the blog.

call for participants webpage

How did research fare in the BIS funding letter to HEFCE?

HEIF

The HEFCE grant letter (sent from BIS to HEFCE) for funding in 2016-17 was published on 4th March and contains some information on RKE funding that you may find of interest.

ref-logoREF

  • HEFCE is asked to take account of the Stern Review outcomes in developing proposals for the next REF, which should be completed by the end of 2021. This suggests submission will be in autumn 2020.
  • Open access and open data continue to be priorities.

 

moneyResearch funding

  • The letter reaffirms the Government’s commitment to the dual support system.
  • It confirms that the science and research budget will be ring-fenced.
  • Mainstream QR will continue to be allocated based on selective funding of world-leading and internationally excellent research with impact wherever it is found.
  • Funding will continue to be available for PGRs and leverging external funding from the charitable and business sectors (current RDP Supervision, QR Charity Support Element, and QR Business Support Element funding).
  • An additional £400m will be allocated via the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund through to 2021.

 

Research Councils

  • The letter states the Government is taking forward the recommendation from the Nurse Review that the seven councils are brought together under Research UK.

 

HEIF

  • The Government recognises the important role of HEIF and expects HEFCE to introduce a long-term methodology for allocating HEIF funding in future.
  • In the meantime, HEFCE will maintain HEIF allocations at current levels with a continued focus on outcomes-based funding approaches.

 

NCUB-Logo-LargeNCUB

 

You can access the full letter here: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/newsarchive/2016/Name,107598,en.html

 

The Research Lifecycle

If you haven’t checked out the BU Research Lifecycle yet then you most definitely should! Our Research Lifecycle diagram is a jazzy interactive part of the BU Research Blog that shows the support and initiatives that are available to staff and students at each stage of the research lifecycle. The information is general enough so as to apply to all disciplines and you can use it to organize and identify the many activities involved in your research. You can explore the Research Lifecycle to find information on how to get started with:

1. Developing your research strategy

2. Developing your proposal

3. The research process

4. Publication and dissemination

5. Impact

RKEO will be adding to the Research Lifecycle to ensure it always contains the most up to date information to support you with planning, organising and undertaking your research.

You can access the diagram from the links in this post or from the menu bar that appears on all screens in the Research Blog.

HE Policy Update

Monday

Grant letter

HEFCE received the annual grant letter from BIS, covering 2016-17. The letter confirms moves to “retarget” student opportunity funding for the poorest students in the coming year ahead of future cuts. The grant letter also revealed that the teaching grant will be £1.539 billion in 2016-17, down from the £1.671 billion figure in last year’s grant letter. The letter also states that Hefce will take responsibility for delivering the TEF in Year 2. BIS grant letter asks Hefce to deliver TEF (THE).

Tuesday

Pay gap

According to data compiled by the University and College Union, the average gender pay gap in universities is £6,100 annually. According to the results, just eight universities pay women equally or more than men. Call for equal pay in universities (Research Professional).

Wednesday

Scotland HE Bill

A bill aimed at strengthening the management of higher education in Scotland has been passed at Holyrood. The Higher Education Governance Bill had proved controversial, with the government agreeing to cut some measures from the legislation. The bill modernises academic boards with elected chairs and an enhanced definition of academic freedom. Controversial higher education bill passed by MSPs (BBC).

Thursday

Brexit

Worries about the impact on research funding for British universities from a UK exit from the European Union have been “massively exaggerated”, according to Conservative MP Owen Paterson. Brexit research worries ‘massively exaggerated’, says Tory MP (THE).

Polls

The ‘What UK Thinks: EU Poll of Polls’ shows the average share of the vote for ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’ in the six most recent polls of voting intentions in the EU Referendum. EU Referendum Poll of Polls. (What UK Thinks).

HE Bill

According to the Financial Times, the Prime Minister is understood to have ordered that a bill on higher education should be included in the Queen’s speech. The bill will include attempts to broaden access and create more competition between universities. (Please see pdf attached).

Immigration policy

International business students are being put off studying at UK universities because of stringent visa policies, a new report has claimed. Business schools: UK immigration policy sparks drop in students (THE).

Friday

HE Bill

The HE bill that is likely to remove barriers to new entrants to stimulate competition has been criticised by the University and College Union. Higher education bill mooted (Research Professional).

Student cap

The Economist looks at the effects of lifting the student cap in England and how different universities have responded. Stronger institutions, both new and old, are growing at the expense of weaker ones, says Emran Mian, Director of the Social Market Foundation. Open universities (The Economist).

Predictive Analysis of Complex Social Networks – here we come!

Awarded & submitted bids

I am delighted to share with you good news about the small grant that I was awarded from the Grants Academy at BU. It will help me to develop my research in the area of predictive analysis of complex networks.
The main goal of the project that will be a result of this small grant is to develop a robust and adaptive framework for Predictive Analysis of Complex Social Networks. Sound mysterious and you are probably asking so what?
Let me give you some background. For the first time in history, we have the possibility to process big social data about the interactions and activities of millions of individuals that can be represented as a social network. It represents an increasingly important resource yet is underutilised due to the scale, complexity and dynamics of these structures which makes them extremely difficult to model and analyse. As only recently the development of ICT technology has made collecting this data feasible, there is no coherent and comprehensive approach to analyse such networks and their dynamics which is crucial to advance our understanding of continuously changing people’s behaviour. It means that we need new approaches that will enable us to analyse and predict the future of social networks.

And now the next question that you are asking is probably: so why is it important?
Again, let me give you some examples that shed a little bit of light onto importance of my study:
a) Improving national security
The outcomes of this project will be applied in a collaborative research, with a visiting researcher, Prof. De Meo from the University of Messina, Italy, focused on Cosa Nostra analytics, for understanding of the organisation of Mafia syndicates. Application of my framework for Predictive Analysis of Complex Social Networks will contribute to the improvement of well-being and security of citizens. Results of this joint cross-disciplinary research will help law enforcement agencies and policy makers to more efficiently allocate resources in the fight against Mafia
b) Improving health and well-being
The results will also be applied in the cross-disciplinary collaborative research with a visiting researcher, Dr De Ruddere from the Ghent University, Belgium, to understand the social exclusion of patients with chronic pain. Application of my framework will facilitate the understanding of how the social networks of people with chronic pain evolve over time contributing to the improvement of the patients’ quality of life and social well-being.

If you would like to have a chat and hear more about my research please keep in touch: kmusialgabrys@bournemouth.ac.uk

Latest Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

fifty-pound-note-money

The following is a snap-shot of funding opportunities that have been announced. Please follow the links for more information:

NERC

UK aquaculture initiative – innovation projects call

NERC and Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council are inviting proposals for innovation projects to the UK Aquaculture Initiative, which builds on the 2014 Sustainable Aquaculture capacity-building call. Approximately £1·2m of funding is available for this call for projects that meet the needs of the UK aquaculture industry and create sustainable, tangible economic or societal benefits.

Maximum Award: £1.2m available
Deadline: 1st stage application by 26 April 2016

International opportunities fund

NERC is inviting proposals for Pump Priming and Pump Priming Plus grants to its International Opportunities Fund (IOF). The IOF scheme provides resources to NERC-supported researchers to allow them to forge long-term partnerships with overseas scientists that add value to current NERC-funded science. IOF grants are pump-priming, to help stimulate novel research collaborations.

Maximum Award: £40,000
Deadline: 19 May 2016

ESRC

ESRC/NRF Newton call – higher education in Africa

The ESRC and National Research Foundation (NRF) invite collaborative projects between the UK and South Africa which can offer additional value to existing programmes of education research. Some themes are:

  • Organisation of higher education systems, higher education institutions (HEIs) and alternative providers
  • Equity in higher education access and participation
  • Curriculum, pedagogy and modes and levels of provision

Maximum Award: £630,000
Deadline: 3 May 2016

BBSRC

Future Leader Fellowship

The Future Leader Fellowship (FLF) will provide support for researchers wishing to undertake independent research and gain leadership skills. The FLF will support the transition of early stage researchers to fully independent research leaders.

Maximum Award: £300,000
Deadline: 12 May 2016

NIHR

Health technology assessment programme – commissioned call for proposal 15/167

Proposals are sought on the topic of management of knee braces in the management of knee osteoarthritis, with the specific research question: What is the clinical and cost-effectiveness of knee braces in the management of knee ostearthritis.

Maximum Award: Unspecified
Deadline: 19 May 2016

Arthritis Research UK

Career development fellowship

Career development fellowships aim to attract and retain talented postdoctoral basic scientists and allied health professionals in research relevant to arthritis and related musculoskeletal conditions, and provide them with the opportunity to develop an independent research career and progress towards higher-level appointments.

Maximum Award: Salary and research expenses
Deadline: 1 June 2016

EPSRC

Human dimensions of cybersecurity

The funder is inviting proposals which address the challenges identified at the ‘Human Dimensions of Cyber Security’ (HDoCS) workshop in 2014. The challenges are titled:

  1. Design, build and measure
  2. A theory of everyone
  3. Risk, trust and response
  4. Understanding people
  5. Evolution of cybercrime

Maximum Award: up to £5 million available
Deadline: 8 June 2016

eFutures Facility award

This award is intended for researchers who have a current or recent cross-disciplinary project and require additional resources to take their idea towards commercialisation or require further investment to bridge the gap with follow-on funding.

Maximum Award: £20,000
Deadline: Unspecified

Trans-Atlantic Platform Social Sciences & Humanities

T-AP Digging into Data Challenge

This funding opportunity is open to international projects that consist of teams from at least three member countries, and must include partners from both sides of the Atlantic. Projects must address any research question in humanities and/or social sciences disciplines by using large-scale, digital data analysis techniques, and show how these techniques can lead to new insights.

Maximum Award: Unspecified
Deadline: 29 June 2016

If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact your  RKEO Funding Development Officer with adequate notice before the deadline.

For more funding opportunities that are most relevant to you, you can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in  RKEO or view the recent blog post here.

If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on Research Professional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.

‘Voices of the Secret State’: Seminar presentation by Dr Hyun Joo Lim, 16th March, Studeland House, Room S206, 13:00-13:50

Awarded & submitted bids, BRIAN, BU Challenges, Centre for Excellence in Learning, Coffee Morning, conferences, Funding opportunities, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Grants Academy, Knowledge Transfer, Publishing, R & KE Operations, Research assessment, Research Ethics, Research Integritiy, Research themes, Women's Academic Network

All staff and students welcome. Please feel free to bring your lunch.

 

Voices of the Secret State: Human Rights Activism among North Korean

Defectors in the UK

 

Abstract: My paper aims to highlight the lived experiences and identity formation of North Korean defectors settled in the UK who are involved in human rights activism. Whilst violations of human rights in North Korea are well documented, human rights activism by its defectors is less well known. Since 2004, approximately 600 North Koreans have settled in the UK. Free NK, a human rights organisation born out of this settlement, has been active in illuminating the reality of North Korea whilst also working towards subverting the regime by informing its fellow remainders about the outside world through the distribution of newspapers. This paper is drawn from ongoing research on North Korean defectors living in the UK. The data is collected using life history interviews to capture their lived experiences and to identify a range of factors which have influenced their involvement in the activism whilst also seeking to find better ways of improving the wellbeing and quality of life for those activists. The presentation will focus on the in-depth story of a North Korean defector who has founded Free NK. Themes that will be addressed in this story include the reason why he has fled North Korea; the processes of getting to the UK; challenges he has faced in his human rights activism.
Dr Hyun-Joo Lim is a lecturer in Sociology and the programme leader for BA Sociology and Social Policy at BU. She is originally from South Korea and has been engaged in various research projects that explore issues around migration, ‘race’/ethnicity, gender and identity. Her previous research examined East Asian mothers in Britain.

For more information about Social Science seminar series please get in touch with Dr Mastoureh Fathi (mfathi@bournemouth.ac.uk).

 

BRAD 2016 starts in April – don’t miss out – get yourself booked in!

The BU Researcher/Academic Development (BRAD) events programme will run 4th of April – 11th of April 2016.BRAD

With less than one month to go until our BRAD events programme begins – there is still time to book yourself into one or more of our exciting events through Organisational Development under the following themes.

Introduction and Basics

BRAD wordle

Terrain Generation Using A Voxel Grammar-based Approach

PG research

We would like to invite you to the latest research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre.

 

Title: Terrain Generation Using A Voxel Grammar-based ApproachVoxel

 

Speaker: Rahul Dey (a BU research engineer based at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)

 

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 16th March 2016

Room: P302 LT, Poole House, Talbot Campus

 

Abstract:

 

As computational power has increased, so has the fidelity of computer graphics for real time simulations and video games. Terrain is a feature that is ubiquitous in any game that needs to represent an outdoor environment. The creation of larger landscapes for such simulations now requires some automated assistance in the form of Procedural Content Generation (PCG). Many procedural methods forego user design and interaction in favour of complete automation.

This research introduces a novel method to construct terrains by utilising user-designed rulesets. Terrains are represented using a volumetric approach which is a more powerful and flexible way of creating features such as caves, naturally formed arches and overhanging cliffs. Terrains are generated by using the provided ruleset as a grammar to parse the volumetric grid and transform voxels in sections of the grid.

 

This presentation will focus on the method that has been developed to generate these terrains, and detail some of the future work to be carried out during the rest of the course of the research.

 

 

We hope to see you there.

Lightning Talks at Cafe Scientifique Bournemouth- Interested in presenting?

Cafe Sci runs every first Tuesday of the Month from 7.30pm – 9pm and takes place at Cafe Boscanova in Boscombe.DSC_7906

You can find out more about Cafe Sci here: https://cafescibournemouth.wordpress.com/

We are looking for BU Academics, Researchers, PGR students and URA students to present a Lightning Talk on their Research as part of Cafe Scientifique on Tuesday 5th April.

What is a Lightning Talk; In essence it is a short, to the point talk on a particular subject.

If you are interested in taking part in this event and sharing your research in an enganing and lively manner then please contact Rhyannan Hurst in RKEO on 61511

Case for Support with Dr. Andrew Derrington

Funding opportunities

BRADAs part of BRAD week, Dr. Andrew Derrington has been brought in to run a “Case for Support” workshop on Monday 4th of April 2016.

The workshop is designed to start you working on an extremely efficient ’recipe’ for a research project grant, such as research council standard grant, that makes it possible to produce a case for support in 2 weeks. The case for support is the central component of a grant application. All the rest of the information in the application should derive from the case for support.

If you have a fundable project in mind at the start of the workshop, you should have a rough draft of the skeleton of the case for support, in the form of 10 key sentences, by the end of the day. If you don’t have a fundable project in mind at the start of the day you will practise the skills of writing the 10 key sentences with a dummy project.

For those who are interested in booking onto this training, please follow the link here to book through Organisational Development.

Fusion in Action: Clinical Academic PhD scholarships jointly funded with NHS

Fusion, PG research, student research

Fusion Diagram Doing a PhD may appeal to midwives and other NHS health professionals, but it often involves having to make difficult choices. Undertaking a part-time PhD means studying on top of a busy clinical position, but starting full-time study involves stepping away from practice, which may lead to a loss of clinical skills and confidence. The Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) at Bournemouth University has come up with a novel solution making it easier for midwives to undertake a doctorate while still maintaining their clinical skills. This approach is highlighted in the latest publication by Dr. Susan Way and colleagues, describing a process where CMMPH collaborate with NHS partners to apply for a match-funded PhD. [1]  The first partnership was with Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (PHT), with later partners expanded to cover the Isle of Wight and Southampton. Currently there are negotiations with Dorset Country Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Non NHS organisations have also showed an interest with the Anglo European Chiropractic College (AECC) our likely next collaborator.

Dr. Know 2016

This jointly funded clinical academic doctorate allows midwives to combine clinical practice with a research role, working across BU and their NHS Trust. The studentships runs for four years and PhD students will spend two days per week working as a midwife in clinical practice and three days per week working on their thesis. This set up facilitates the co-creation of knowledge. Anybody interested in developing a joint clinical academic PhD with us please contact Dr. Susan Way (sueway@bournemouth.ac.uk), Prof. Vanora Hundley (vhundley@bournemouth.ac.uk), or Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (evteijlingen@bournemouth.ac.uk) .

In addition to providing the individual midwives with excellent education, these studentships are designed to examine an area of clinical practice identified by the collaborating organisation where the evidence is lacking and research is needed. As a consequence the research studies will be directly relevant to practice and will have a demonstrable impact in the future. Hence BU will be able to show that its research and education have a direct benefit to the wider society. Moreover, the studentships currently benefit midwifery practice by building a critical mass of research-focus practitioners, who will translate research findings into practice and so create a culture of evidence-based practice. At BU the model has also been adopted by other professional groups such as nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy (OT).

 

The result is a clinical academic doctoral studentship is probably the best practical example of BU’s concept of FUSION, since it truly fuses research, education and practice.

 

Susan Way, Vanora Hundley & Edwin van Teijlingen.

CMMPH

 

 

References:

  1. Way. S., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E., Walton, G., Westwood, G. (2016). Dr Know. Midwives (Spring Issue): 66-67.