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Time to Talk event emphasises the importance of collaboration in mental health research

The Mental Health Research for Innovation Centre (M-RIC), in partnership with Sefton CVS, held an event for Time to Talk Day on 6 February. The day brought service users, carers, academics and Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) organisations together to discuss the future of mental health research.

Dr Jade Thai, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust Senior Research Lead and Jan Campbell, Sefton CVS Mental Health Navigation Service Manager for Sefton in Mind opened the day. Together they spoke about the importance of widening participation and collaboration in mental health research.

Dr Jade Thai said: “The ethos of M-RIC is to create a civic partnership between the NHS, academics, local community organisations and importantly – service users and carers to help drive forward mental health research. We believe that through firmly embedding collaboration at the heart of research activities we can make Liverpool a world leader in better mental healthcare and ultimately improve the wellbeing of our communities.

“Today’s event is a fantastic example of this collaborative approach. It was so exciting to see community volunteer groups, academics, service users and carers coming together to talk about the future of mental health research. We’re really looking forward to seeing the work that will come out of today.”

Throughout the event the M-RIC team provided presentations on their six work packages. Michelle Harvey, Programme Manager at NHS Informatics Merseyside also gave a talk on the new Count Me In system which aims to widen participation in research.

A number of local Voluntary, Community, Faith, and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) organisations attended, including Sean’s Place, Venus Charity, Age Concern Liverpool and Sefton, Kindfulness Coffee Club, Citizens Advice Sefton, Change Grow Live and Crosby Housing Association.

Workshops gave attendees the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas on research and how it can better involve and serve local communities.

Sue Potts, Chief Executive of Venus Charity, said: “It’s fantastic to be able to discuss collaborative research directly with the heads of research programmes, which doesn’t usually happen. I think it’s an exciting opportunity for Merseyside communities.”

VCFSE organisations who attended were invited to apply for a Time to Talk Seed Funding Grant (up to £500). This aims to support activities that enhance understanding of research processes, stakeholder relationships, and community-led research ideas.

These activities will help build stronger relationships between communities, practitioners and M-RIC researchers while generating community-informed ideas for future studies. Over the next six months, successful projects will lay the foundation for further collaboration, potentially leading to Follow-On Funding Grants (up to £2,000) for co-developing research proposals with M-RIC academics.

Jahanara Miah, M-RIC Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Lead, said: “This phased approach ensures that grassroots insights inform mental health research while creating sustainable partnerships for long-term impact.”

Jan Campbell, Sefton CVS Mental Health Navigation Service Manager for Sefton in Mind, said: “It’s been a brilliant day. We don’t often get the opportunity to bring academics, volunteer sector organisations, service users and clinical practitioners together in a room. The conversation has been really lively and the quality of discussions couldn’t be better. We look forward to seeing what comes from the small grant that we are opening today to support volunteer sector organisations to get more involved in mental health research.”

Watch our video to learn more about the day