Embedding Researchers into Local Government Public Health Teams: Exploring Co-Design, Implementation and Evaluation...

Research suggests that evidence could play a greater role in local public health decision-making than is currently the case. Embedded researchers, located within policy and practice organisations while maintaining affiliations with research organisations, could represent a potential catalyst for bridging the gap between public health evidence generators and evidence users. Evidence examining this potentially transformational model of working is in its infancy. This study explored how the set-up of these roles influences their aims, features of their design, and their expected and observed outcomes, drawing on data from a scheme implemented in 23 Local Authorities (local government) in England. We analysed embedded researcher job descriptions, interviewed stakeholders, examined socio-economic contexts of organisations hosting embedded researchers, and examined publication and funded research data. Our findings indicate diversity in the role specifications, aims, and outputs of embedded researcher positions even within a single scheme. Despite the transformative potential of embedded researchers, challenges such as unrealistic expectations and inadequate evaluation metrics persist. Our analysis suggests that while Local Authorities hosting embedded researchers demonstrated some signs of increased research activity, there was considerable uncertainty as to whether these changes could be directly attributed to an embedded researcher. Co-design of roles between research and practice organisations increases the likelihood that embedded researcher roles were developed with a cogent set of aims, and that these reflect the needs of all organisations involved. The results attest to the complexities of evaluating embedded researcher roles and emphasise the need for tailored, context-sensitive approaches to understanding the contributions of embedded researchers.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43477-025-00179-1.