Abstract
Background: Embedded research involves co-locating researchers within non-academic organisations to better link research and practice. Embedded research initiatives are often complex and emergent with a range of underlying intents, structures and processes. This can create tensions within initiatives and contributes to ongoing uncertainty about the most suitable designs and the effectiveness of different approaches. Aims and objectives: We aimed to devise a practical framework to support those designing and cultivating embedded research by operationalising findings from an extensive study of existing initiatives. Key conclusions: The underpinning research on embedded initiatives – a literature review and scoping exercise of initiatives in health settings across the UK – showed that such initiatives share ten common sets of concerns in relation to their intent, structure and processes. We used these insights during a co-production workshop with embedded researchers and their managers that made use of a range of creative activities. The workshop resulted in a practical framework (and associated web-based tools) that draw on the metaphor of a garden to represent the growing, emergent nature of embedded research initiatives and the active work which individuals and organisations need to put into planning and maintaining such initiatives. Each of the aspects is represented as a separate area within the garden using relevant visual metaphors. Building on this, we also present a series of reflective questions designed to facilitate discussion and debate about design features, and we link these to the wider literature, thereby helping those involved to articulate and discuss their preferences and expectations.
Highlights
Embedded research involves co-locating researchers within non-academic organisations to better link research and practice
‘Embedded research’ is increasingly advocated as a powerful way of linking research and researchers with practice and practitioners (Marshall et al,2014).This is evident in the sphere of health and social care, where greater interaction and dialogue between researchers and those responsible for planning, evaluating and delivering services is seen as a way of developing more effective service delivery (Marshall et al, 2014).While embedded research comes in different forms, we focus here on initiatives that involve physically locating researchers within non-academic organisations
In this paper we present a framework to support those designing, managing and evaluating embedded research initiatives.The framework is based on extensive research that enabled us to tease apart and map the various features of an embedded research initiative (Ward et al,2021).We begin by outlining that research before describing how we turned our research-based insights into a useful and practical framework.We present the framework in the form of a visual representation of an embedded research initiative and accompanying materials, including a series of reflective questions.We conclude by drawing on our experiences of being involved in designing and managing embedded research initiatives to discuss the potential utility and value of the materials for others seeking to initiate and cultivate embedded research initiatives
Summary
‘Embedded research’ is increasingly advocated as a powerful way of linking research and researchers with practice and practitioners (Marshall et al,2014).This is evident in the sphere of health and social care, where greater interaction and dialogue between researchers and those responsible for planning, evaluating and delivering services is seen as a way of developing more effective service delivery (Marshall et al, 2014).While embedded research comes in different forms (ranging from researchpractice partnerships to participatory research initiatives), we focus here on initiatives that involve physically locating researchers within non-academic organisations. At the start of the workshop we gave a brief five-minute presentation that recapped this material.This was to ensure that we could spend the majority of the workshop engaging in creative co-design activities.After the presentation, participants were asked to add comments, thoughts and questions to postcards which depicted each of the features with a simple icon (for example,a location icon for proximity,a house for belonging).These thoughts were discussed within small groups before being summarised and fed back to the rest of the group.The aim of this activity was to enable participants to assess and begin to make sense of each of the features.We asked small groups to explore the relationships between the features and discuss whether some were more of a priority than others, by assembling and reassembling the postcards into different forms (for example, to represent hierarchies, processes or categories) These initial activities resulted in a number of new insights on the features and their relationships including: the emergent and oftentimes under-articulated nature of intended outcomes; the central (yet usually hidden) nature of power dynamics; the sense of ‘homelessness’ often felt by embedded researchers; the need to consider when and where to involve others in an initiative; the idea of proximity as a journey as much as a set of locations; and the need to manage expectations about researcher skills, expertise, roles and activities. We reflect further on the different ways in which the framework could be used, drawing on our engagement with those involved in embedded research initiatives and our own experiences designing and leading such initiatives
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