Co- designing Opportunities with Young People and Organisations in the North West of England

This practice-led research presents an understanding of how collaborative approaches to co-design can be applicable and valuable in providing support for young people in left behind and overlooked communities across the North West of England in partnership with a range of organisations based in the region. The study provides new knowledge on how co-design approaches can be used to address place-based disparities, such as employment and learning opportunities in the United Kingdom. The research is part of a doctoral research training programme funded by the AHRC called Transformation North West. An action research approach and case study structure were applied in four projects with publicly funded organisations who specialised in design, arts, education, and youth support. Each case study focuses on utilising co- design approaches in a specific geographical location in and close to the North West of England, in areas where young people face significant barriers to work opportunities. The research included the design of workshops, structures, and tools to engage local young people and organisations, and explored the design of interventions to connect young people to opportunities and local support. Data on the design, application,impact, and perceived value of the approaches was reflected upon and captured during and after the projects. A thematic analysis process was carried out to generate theory and understanding of the approaches.This research has multiple contributions to knowledge including detailed evidence that co-design approaches can be used as a tool to address geographical inequalities in opportunities for young people in partnership with local organisations and deliver a range of socio-economic outcomes. It contributes knowledge on the design of co-design approaches aiming to address complex socio-economic challenges, generate long-lasting social change, as well as the challenges and opportunities of co-design application in this context. The study provides timely evidence that co-design approaches can deliver value to communities who have been overlooked, making a difference to lives, as well as fostering conditions for a sustainable and inclusive economy

Co-designing Pathways to Opportunities for Young People in the North West of England

This paper presents ongoing research from the first of a series of projects examining how collaborative design approaches can raise aspirations and increase opportunities for people throughout the North West of England, in support of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy. The paper presents a case study where design practitioners and youth workers have worked together to co-design a prototype for an intervention that aimed to foster positive engagement between young people and businesses in Burnley in the North West of England. The paper outlines a number of insights that have emerged from observing and participating in the co-design process including the importance of trust in partnerships, skills and learning of the team, steps needed to sustain the project, and the challenges and opportunities of co-design. The paper concludes on how a “place-based co-design approach” may potentially contribute value to more resilient and sustainable communities

Health and Wellbeing:Challenging Co- Design for Difficult Conversations, Successes and Failures of the Leapfrog Approach

Conversations are an everyday element of health and social care practice, and improving them could lead to widespread positive impacts on care provision. We present three initiatives to improve difficult conversation through three case studies, each using co-design to produce tools for later use by practitioners. The approach taken is knowingly risky, as tools can be difficult to co-design and difficult to encourage others to use, leading to failures as well as successes. Alongside specific empirical insights from the case studies we discuss the benefits of co-designing flexible tools for ongoing use and adaptation by practitioners, and the implications of this approach for the sustainability and impact of co-design initiatives

Engaging underrepresented people in a regional transformation project:Co-production of a framework

This report summarises the activities from the Engaging Underrepresented People in a Regional Transformation Project, a collaboration with the Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme (LSCNHP). The project was awarded project funding from Research England through the Lancaster University Vice-Chancellor’s Prize for Participatory Research. The project ran from the beginning of March to the end of July 2022. The Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme is part of the Government’s commitment to building 40 new hospitals by 2030. Together with eight existing schemes, this will mean 48 hospitals built in England over the next decade, the biggest hospital building programme in a generation. Find out more on the ‘Improving NHS infrastructure’ website. Discussions with the New Hospitals Programme team identified that, whilst there has been engagement with regional stakeholders, local people, patients, staff, and some health inclusion groups, there was still a gap in the engagement of those who were routinely underrepresented. The project team were open to further insight and suggestions on how to address the gap. This project aimed to: Fill a gap in knowledge on good practice engagement with underrepresented people, Produce a framework for future engagement practice, Provide evidence to inform the New Hospitals Programme’s engagement practice, Inform engagement approaches for future transformation projects

SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected in blood products from patients with COVID-19 is not associated with infectious virus

Background: Laboratory diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection (the cause of COVID-19) uses PCR to detect viral RNA (vRNA) in respiratory samples. SARS-CoV-2 RNA has also been detected in other sample types, but there is limited understanding of the clinical or laboratory significance of its detection in blood. Methods: We undertook a systematic literature review to assimilate the evidence for the frequency of vRNA in blood, and to identify associated clinical characteristics. We performed RT-PCR in serum samples from a UK clinical cohort of acute and convalescent COVID-19 cases (n=212), together with convalescent plasma samples collected by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) (n=462 additional samples). To determine whether PCR-positive blood samples could pose an infection risk, we attempted virus isolation from a subset of RNA-positive samples. Results: We identified 28 relevant studies, reporting SARS-CoV-2 RNA in 0-76% of blood samples; pooled estimate 10% (95%CI 5-18%). Among serum samples from our clinical cohort, 27/212 (12.7%) had SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected by RT-PCR. RNA detection occurred in samples up to day 20 post symptom onset, and was associated with more severe disease (multivariable odds ratio 7.5). Across all samples collected ≥28 days post symptom onset, 0/494 (0%, 95%CI 0-0.7%) had vRNA detected. Among our PCR-positive samples, cycle threshold (ct) values were high (range 33.5-44.8), suggesting low vRNA copy numbers. PCR-positive sera inoculated into cell culture did not produce any cytopathic effect or yield an increase in detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Conclusions: vRNA was detectable at low viral loads in a minority of serum samples collected in acute infection, but was not associated with infectious SARS-CoV-2 (within the limitations of the assays used). This work helps to inform biosafety precautions for handling blood products from patients with current or previous COVID-19

What Design Research Does ... : 62 Cards Highlighting the Power and Impact of UK-based Design Research in Addressing a Range of Complex Social, Economic, Cultural and Environmental Issues

Design research makes a significant contribution to the UK economy and society as a whole. Ever since the establishment of the Government Schools of Design in the nineteenth century, the UK has been widely acknowledged as an international leader in design research. Following this lead, the What Design Research Does… cards highlight the wide range of social, economic, cultural and environmental impacts that design research, funded and based in the UK, makes all over the world. The 62 cards illustrate unambiguously the positive changes that contemporary UK-based design researchers are making in many complex issues. Each What Design Research Does… card lists the challenges and issues faced by the design researchers, who they collaborated with, the research methods and approaches taken, the outcomes of the design research, what the main results and findings have been, and what impact the design research has had. In short, the What Design Research Does… cards clearly articulate the breadth of social, economic, cultural and environmental impacts that UK-based design researchers are achieving today

IDEAs for Impact Toolbox

The tools are the Superheroes and the Intro Cards, which have both been designed by IDEAS for Impact and put to use in many successful workshops, including workshops with external organisations such as The Scottish Government and The Victoria and Albert Museum. Both tools have been designed so that they are really easy to use. Simply download the tool PDF from the website, if desired, edit the text on the tool by typing into the highlighted boxes on Adobe Acrobat and press print. Superheroes is a fun tool that enables people to reflect on the individual skills that they use day-to-day and what might be possible if they could break through the limitations and constraints. The tool consists of the outline of a day-to-day person and the outline of a superhero (like Clark Kent to Superman). There are various prompts, such as core skills, supertools and kryptonite, which draw responses from the participant. The tool can be downloaded in an A3 format for individual work and large-scale format for team work depending on the intended use and includes instructions included. The Intro Cards can be used as part of a fun and collaborative activity to transform round-the-table introductions. The A5 cards ask workshop participants to respond with five words about them or a drawing of themselves with five lines and share the card contents with the rest of the group

The Inspirer Newspaper

Leapfrog has produced a newspaper called The Inspirer to share tools co-designed by young people to ensure adults in authority hear their voices. The young people, our “young designers” were key to the design process of this project. When they came together for a residential weekend in November 2015, they were sharing the frustrations and challenges they face when they meet with social and youth workers, and other adults they work with on a daily basis and trying to think of new ways to fix the problems they face. The young people were either in care, on the edge of care or young carers and therefore had plenty to say about how they felt about their experiences