Across realist theory, evaluation and policy change.
Project · Collaboration
How, when and why inter-organisational collaboration in the NHS works.
A realist programme explaining the conditions that allow partnerships between NHS providers to build trust and improve performance.
From 2019 to 2021 I was the research fellow on the NIHR HS&DR-funded project "Towards a framework for partnering as an intervention for improvement in the NHS" (NIHR127430) at the Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham. Using realist review and evaluation methods, the project built and refined a programme theory of how trust, confidence and faith drive collaborative performance between healthcare organisations.
Alongside the core realist work, I led a qualitative policy analysis of how regulatory reform and the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped inter-organisational relations in the NHS. The project produced a 50,000-word NIHR report, eight peer-reviewed papers, and a practical framework that NHS provider collaboratives have used directly — one Mental Health Provider Collaborative reported it helped them "reach a consensus that we'd failed to achieve for probably 10 months."
Evidence at a glance
A detailed evidence synthesis and practical framework.
Reported by an NHS Mental Health Provider Collaborative.
Outputs
Publications so far
Modelling lifecycles of inter-organizational collaborations in healthcare: a systematic review and best-fit framework synthesisFirst author
2023 · Journal of Health Organization and Management
Towards achieving interorganisational collaboration between health-care providers: a realist evidence synthesis
2023 · NIHR Health and Social Care Delivery Research
How, when, and why do inter-organisational collaborations in healthcare work? A realist evaluationFirst author
2022 · PLOS ONE
Collaboration over competition? Regulatory reform and inter-organisational relations in the NHS amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative studyFirst author
2022 · BMC Health Services Research
How, why, and when do inter-organisational collaborations in healthcare improve performance? A realist evaluationFirst author
2022 · Karger
When trust, confidence, and faith collide: refining a realist theory of how and why inter-organisational collaborations in healthcare workFirst author
2021 · BMC Health Services Research
Why do some inter-organisational collaborations in healthcare work when others do not? A realist reviewFirst author
2021 · Systematic Reviews
Building an initial realist theory of partnering across National Health Service providersFirst author
2020 · Journal of Integrated Care
Funding
Grants in this programme
- 2019 — 2021Towards a framework for partnering as an intervention for improvement in the NHS — research fellowNIHR HS&DR (NIHR127430) · Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham
Impact
Reach beyond academia
- Sep 2021Developed a programme-theory-based survey to evaluate the collaboration-readiness of a Mental Health Provider Collaborative in Birmingham, delivering results in a workshopHelped them "reach a consensus that we'd failed to achieve for probably 10 months"
- 2021Presentation to Nuffield Trust & consultants to inform development of Place-Based Partnerships in the NHS
- 2021EHMA Conference presentation and IHPO Seminar SeriesHow and why do inter-organisational collaborations drive performance improvements?
- 2021Blog: Building trust and faith — how can we make inter-organisational collaborations in healthcare a success?University of Birmingham
- Nov 2020EHMA Conference presentationAssessing the degrees and domains of integration in the English NHS
Continue exploring
Follow the realist approach from organisational partnerships into culture change and methodological innovation.
Culture
Reducing unprofessional behaviour in healthcare
Evidence for safer, more respectful NHS workplaces.
→ MethodsMaking programme theories more useful
Realist methods combined with behavioural science.
→ CollaborateDiscuss a systems research question
Get in touch about partnerships, implementation or evaluation.
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