WCVA, as a partner in the Wales School for Social Prescribing Research (WSSPR), has won a prestigious award for impact and engagement.
ENGAGEMENT AND IMPACT AWARDS
WSSPR is hosted by the University of South Wales (USW). USW recently held its Engagement and Impact Awards to celebrate the accomplishments of staff involved in research and innovation with external partners that impacts communities.
WSSPR received an Engagement for Impact Award, recognising the efforts made to engage stakeholders and disseminate social prescribing research beyond academia.
ENGAGEMENT WITH STAKEHOLDERS
WSSPR, in partnership with WCVA, have engaged a wide range of stakeholders, including Public Health Wales, Welsh Government and Health Education and Improvement Wales, as well as public and community stakeholders. Engagement has come through events and forums, including the launch of the National Framework for Social Prescribing, and research and development studies. This has helped increase understanding of social prescribing in Wales, remove barriers to engagement, and improve evaluation methods.
Specific examples included:
- The development of the social prescribing Glossary of Terms for Wales in conjunction with Public Health Wales.
- The development of the South Wales Social Wellbeing Scale (SWSWBS), a measurement tool to evidence the impact of social prescribing service, which has already been used in an all Wales survey led by Cardiff Metropolitan for Public Health Wales, and requested for future use nationally and internationally.
- WSSPRs role within the steering group for the development of the Competence Framework, and its engagement with other members and key stakeholders such as to inform the development of a national all-Wales framework. The Competence Framework addresses the core skills and knowledge required to equip the workforce to provide personalised, high quality social prescribing services.
Professor Carolyn Wallace, Director of the Wales School for Social Prescribing Research, said:
‘Working in partnership is key to delivering social prescribing in Wales. We all have a part to play in improving health and wellbeing for individuals and our communities. Winning this award was testament to this partnership’s success. It has been a great pleasure working with WCVA over the last four years, and long may it continue.’
Dr Simon Newstead, Senior Research Assistant at the University of South Wales, said:
‘We are very grateful to receive this award, which provides recognition for the collaborative efforts of WSSPR, Public Health Wales and Welsh Government.’
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For further information, please visit the University of South Wales, Engagement and Impact Awards website.