ICS Research Engagement Network Development (REND / REN)

From 2023 to 2025, the ICS Research Engagement Network was created to make health research engagement more inclusive, participatory and reflective of local communities. EHCVS worked with NHS, research and voluntary sector partners to build relationships that helped bring underrepresented communities closer to research, health engagement and wider public health conversations. The project focused on trust, relevance and meaningful local participation.

Its wider importance lay in the way it connected community knowledge with research systems. By creating hyperlocal engagement opportunities and improving collaboration across sectors, the project helped make research engagement feel more accessible, grounded and responsive to local realities.

Impact:

• 1,212 participants reached through 10 roadshows in 2022/23.
• 597 health checks and 283 evaluation forms completed.
• 5 prostate cancer awareness events delivered in 2024/25, engaging 265 men from African, Caribbean and South Asian communities.