Voluntary Health Scotland - national intermediary body for voluntary health organisations

1. Researching the third sector role in public policy making: challenges and opportunitiesHelen Tyrrellhelen.tyrrell@vhscotland.org.uk

2. Voluntary Health Scotland - national intermediary body for voluntary health organisations • Started 2000, partnership between SCVO, Health Scotland; 90% government-funded • Mission – to maximise the impact of the voluntary sector on health in Scotland • 300 members, further reach c.2,000 • Strategic Objectives: Partnership, Support, Promotion, Participation, Management & Governance

4. 1 Why should intermediary bodies carry out research? 2 What kind of research should they carry out? 3 What are the challenges and opportunities?

5. 1 Why should intermediary bodies carry out research? • Stand between sub-sector and government • Represent the interests of the sub-sector • Provide advocacy and support; and continuous feedback loop

6. More specifically: • Research allows us to constantly test the water on issues of importance to our own sub-sector • Research allows us to tailor our services to our members/stakeholders • Research gives intermediaries a mandate for advocacy with Government/NHS • Research addresses participation requirements

7. 2 What kind of research should we carry out? Research = detective work? = RCT? = snapshot? Qualitative (good, third sector) or quantitative (not for us, NHS-driven)? How big (small-scale = ?invalid?) large scale (challenge of data retrieval)

8. VHS - researching the third sector-health policy relationship • 1 Influencing Scottish Health Policy: the voluntary and community perspective (2010) • How, and to what extent does the third sector participate in and influence health policy making? • Does VHS help the sector achieve this, and if so, how? • Highlights • 135 respondents – c.5% RR • High awareness key health policies & programmes -73% • Low involvement in health policy making – • helped plan service - < 9% • delivery partner – 18% • consulted – 41%

9. VHS - researching the third sector-health policy relationship • 1 Influencing Scottish Health Policy: the voluntary and community perspective • Further highlights • Engagement in CHPs – 15% satisfactory engagement; 32% “average” • Engagement in PPFs – 24%; 10% claimed to make any difference • Engagement best where statute/guidance requires, or where action addresses targets (eg. HEAT, SOAs)……. • Does VHS support the sector’s engagement? • Awareness of VHS services – 58%: information provision; two-way feedback with national groups; consultation opportunities; surveys; learning and development events • Yet: over half the respondents unaware/not engaged with VHS • But: most “successful” organisations are members of VHS & value its support

10. VHS - researching the third sector-health policy relationship • 2 Engaging with Scotland's health agenda: a survey of local intermediary bodies (2011) • To what extent are local interfaces engaged with NHS and LA health structures? • How do interfaces engage their local constituents in health structures and policies? • Does VHS help local interfaces to engage? • Highlights • 40 participants (47% RR) • LA most frequent route to engagement, then NHS Board or CHP • Engagement through topic delivery or via national programme preferred to committee membership

11. VHS - researching the third sector-health policy relationship • 2 Engaging with Scotland's health agenda: a survey of local intermediary bodies (2011) • Further highlights • Engagement with health structures still variable • Engagement with local constituents through dissemination of health policies, topic-focused groups, third sector health forum • Barriers mainly resources, still some lack of understanding/acceptance • 56% report receiving valuable support from VHS • Majority wish to see VHS support increase

12. Methodology Small samples (VHS gets c. 10% RR) Getting the right people to respond Qualitative, quantitative or both? Which survey tool? ?Not SPSS, NUD*IST – VHS uses Surveymonkey, Excel A formal write-up? Avenues for dissemination….will the work end up on a shelf somewhere? Wider challenges Who will listen? Will Government/NHS listen? Frustration with barriers to engagement – venting this on researchers? Will anything change? Can government-funded intermediaries be “independent” researchers? What to do if we don’t hear what we want to hear? Does the sector expect too much of (tiny)intermediaries? Challenges to research

13. Researching the third sector role in public policy making • Opportunities • Research allows intermediaries to target and tailor their support for constituents & to determine outcomes more accurately • It enables third sector organisations to make their case in a competitive environment • Increasing opportunities for academic – third sector research collaboration are welcome • There should be increasing opportunities for Government/NHS – third sector research collaboration • Graduate internships provide the third sector with high quality research capacity – VHS has hosted 3 interns

14. Voluntary Health Scotland research • Engaging with Scotland's health agenda: a survey of local intermediary bodies (2011) • Influencing Scottish health policy: a third sector perspective (2010) • Two cheers for democracy....? A perspective on Health Board Elections from Voluntary Health Scotland (2010) • Voluntary Health Scotland Stakeholder Survey (2009) • The role of the third sector in health improvement within Community • Health Partnerships: a sector perspective (2007) • Please contact Voluntary Health Scotland for a copy of any of these reports.

15. Researching the third sector role in public policy making: challenges and opportunitiesHelen Tyrrellhelen.tyrrell@vhscotland.org.uk