Stands

ARC Wessex

Knowledge Mobilisation is about getting the right information, to the right people, in the right format, at the right time. 

As part of a £7.8 Million investment from the NIHR in October 2024, ARC Wessex appointed a Knowledge Mobilisation team including four KM Fellows to work with Hampshire & Isle of Wight (HIoW) and Dorset Integrated Care Boards, provider organisations, and Health Innovation Wessex, to create a programme directly relevant to needs of patients, service users, carers and health and care systems.

As of 1 April 2026, we moved into a new period of funding under New ARC with five flagship research programmes supported by a collaboration hub, including Knowledge Mobilisation.

Health Sciences University

Under the theme HSU: Partnering for Population Health Impact in Wessex, Health Sciences University will highlight three priority areas where our research and innovation are addressing population health challenges across rural and coastal communities, illustrated through real-world case studies and collaborative projects.

Our work is grounded in the needs of rural and coastal populations, where health inequalities, workforce pressures, ageing demographics, and access to services require context-sensitive, practice-informed solutions. Through collaboration with NHS partners, local authorities, community organisations and professional groups, we generate evidence that is directly relevant to frontline care and community wellbeing.

At our stand, attendees can expect:

• Short, accessible research stories demonstrating real-world impact

NIHR Research Delivery Network

Meet some of the team from the NIHR South Central Regional Research Delivery Network (RRDN). At this event, we are representing the collective work of the South Central and South West Central RRDNs to support research delivery across the Wessex geography.

Visit our stand to find out more about the Research Delivery Network, including the services we offer and the support we provide to enable research delivery. We’ll be showcasing the work we’re doing to support health and care research in coastal and rural communities including our Agile Research Delivery Teams and our Regional Intelligence Tool.

NHS Dorset ICB

The stand will provide an overview of the work of the NHS Dorset Centralised Research and Innovation Service including information on projects recently supported. Information will also be available on the education programme and how attendees can sign up and participate in educational events. Information will also be available on the work of the Dorset Innovation Hub (hosted by NHS Dorset) which is a strategic system partnership that draws together partners to provide expertise to spread and adopt prioritised innovation across Dorset. https://ourdorset.org.uk/innovation/ 

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

The NIHR Wessex Commercial Research Delivery Centre comprises of eight NHS Trusts and other partners working together to deliver commercial clinical trials at scale and pace from our hubs and spokes across the Wessex region. We work closely with industry and to date delivered trials covering vaccine studies, such as flu, heart conditions, obesity, alcohol disorder and respiratory as examples. Our trials bring cutting edge research to more people than ever before.

HIOWH NHS Foundation Trust - Academy of Research & Improvement (specifically Co-Lab & MARC)

Co‑Lab and the Memory Assessment Research Centre (MARC) are part of the Academy of Research & Improvement at Hampshire and Isle of Wight NHS Foundation Trust, each contributing a different but complementary approach to research that supports people living in rural and coastal communities.

Co‑Lab works alongside local communities, particularly those often least heard in research, to support people with lived experience to shape, influence and lead research that matters to them. We will share experiences from our work across coastal and rural settings, including wider Wessex peer researcher insights and insights from the Isle of Wight Community Owned research Network which we facilitate through funding and support. Visitors can explore how trusted relationships, local knowledge and community ownership can help research reach people who are often missed.

MARC (Memory Assessment Research Centre)

MARC delivers clinical trials focused on dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and early memory concerns. Our team will share how research is helping to develop earlier diagnosis and new treatments, and how rurality, coastal geography and access to services shape the experiences of people engaging in our trials.

How our work aligns

While Co‑Lab and MARC focus on different parts of the research pathway, our work often touches similar communities and challenges. Our stand offers a space to explore how community insight, participation and clinical research can grow closer over time, helping to improve the reach, relevance and impact of research for people in rural and coastal areas.

What attendees can expect

Visitors to our stand will be able to:

• Hear examples of community-led and clinical research taking place across coastal and rural Wessex
• Discover emerging opportunities for local people to shape or participate in memory research
• Explore stories, visuals and tools from peer-led projects and dementia research studies
• Connect with researchers, clinicians and community partners interested in strengthening relationships with rural and coastal populations

Dorset REN I Am More Than project with The Lantern Trust and Community Action Network

Those most affected by health inequalities are often the least involved in identifying research priorities or shaping research which directly impacts them. Rigid and formal methods of involvement put this out of reach, particularly for those experiencing homelessness.

Our project aims to ensure Dorset’s most marginalised inform the development of our research engagement network - underpinned by a robust monitoring infrastructure to review data and insights and drive action to improve diversity of participation.

Research Support Service and Specialist Centre for Public Health

At our stand, attendees can find out about our public health research ethics support, governance toolkits, and our bespoke training offer for non-NHS organisations in the south-central region. 

Raising Voices in Research

Connecting communities with research opportunities that match there interests in order to help improve representation in health and social care research. Flyer, informal conversations, opportunity to sign up to be ap art of our Research Collaborative.

Primary Care Research Centre, University of Southampton

Our work sees us partnering with local communities to identify priority areas for research and drive action in response.

Developing new approaches to support primary care delivery and support effective self‑management of common conditions

Generating high‑quality evidence to improve access to primary care and reduce barriers across populations.  We will be sharing research from across the primary care research centre which benefits people from rural and coastal areas,  such as self management advice on eczema,  managing mental health.

Southampton Clinical Trials Unit

Find out about working with a clinical trials unit to deliver high quality clinical research and investigational studies that can help bring new treatments and diagnostic tools to patients. With a particular focus on widening research participation, community screening and diagnostic innovation, our unit is working to reduce health inequalities and disparities in access to clinical trials by looking at how all communities can be part of research.

Wessex Secure Data Environment (Wessex SDE)

The Wessex Secure Data Environment is owned and run by the NHS. It gives researchers fast, expert-supported access to real-world health data – enabling discoveries that improve care and strengthen the NHS. 

The stand will be hosted by members of the SDE team and public contributors who will be available to explain the work that we do and how it is delivering benefit to the NHS and all communities in our region.

Help & Care

Help & Care engages extensively with rural and coastal communities, addressing disparities and enhancing the quality of health and care services.

Health Innovation Wessex

Health innovation is essential to supporting our rural and coastal communities across Wessex. Our diverse demography and geography mean new ways of working are needed to meet our populations needs. By sitting at the heart of the region’s innovation ecosystem, we help find, test and scale solutions that are tailored to our people and our place. From digitally enabled neighbourhood care and AI‑powered monitoring, to point‑of‑care testing and new innovative models that bring treatment closer to home, innovation is helping shift care from hospital to community, from reactive to preventative, and from analogue to digital.

Our work doesn’t just improve health outcomes—it boosts productivity, supports our workforce, strengthens local life science industries and helps people stay well and stay working.

Together with our members, stakeholders and partners across Wessex we are focused on closing the gap between the distinctive needs of rural and coastal communities and the scale of innovation required to meet them.

https://healthinnovationwessex.org.uk/ 

NIHR Wessex Experimental Medicine Network (WEMN)

The NIHR Southampton BRC aims to improve people's health and resilience throughout life, generating the next generation of improved and individually personalised treatments. We support a large number of clinical academic researchers, clinical studies, and research projects across the region and beyond. WEMN supports new collaborative research projects between Wessex Health Partner organisations through the annual Small Grant Scheme funding calls run jointly with Wessex Health Partners. 

University of Southampton

Our stand will showcase the DALLI, DASA and CEDA studies which explore the intersection between domestic abuse, geographical location, socio-economic status, gender and ethnicity. The studies will include participants from underserved groups, such as people living in rural and coastal communities.

Wessex Cancer Alliance

Setting out data on the impact of cancer on rural and coastal communities in Wessex alongside some of the approaches we are taking to improve outcomes for people

University of Portsmouth

We are pleased to showcase the research developed by our local clinical academics and work from our Portsmouth Technology Trials Unit. 

Motorcycle Injury Prevention Network (MIPnet)

The MIPnet stand brings together the real-world impact of the DocBike charity and cutting-edge research to prevent motorcycle injuries.

Meet clinicians who both treat injured motorcyclists at the roadside and lead the research into preventing collisions.

Discover how frontline experience has shaped MIPnet — and how evidence-led research can succeed where traditional initiatives have failed.

Endometriosis South Coast

Our stand will showcase our collaborative Painful Periods project with Portsmouth City Council, focused on improving early recognition of gynaecological conditions and reducing preventable diagnostic delay in a coastal population.

Portsmouth faces distinct coastal health challenges, including higher deprivation, workforce pressures, and barriers to accessing specialist care. Our project worked at the intersection of public health, education, and community engagement to:

• Increase awareness of when period pain is not “normal”
• Provide evidence-informed resources for schools and young people
• Support earlier help-seeking and clearer referral pathways