Influence social change with your research by building relationships

As researchers and practitioners, we aim for our research to have a positive impact on society. However, research does not always have an immediate or direct impact, especially when stakeholders have competing interests. The priorities of government, public, private and third-sector organisations, members of the public and minority groups can all be in conflict. 

Our report into Police Scotland’s carriage and administration of naloxone as an emergency first aid measure to potential opioid overdose cases is a good illustration of the importance of involving and building relationships with a range of stakeholders to produce impactful research, while maintaining academic integrity. Below we outline four key features that helped our research in the face of considerable barriers. 

Capitalising on existing relationships

In our research, we built on established relationships with officers in Police Scotland. Research is more likely to be impactful if we can build on collaborations we have already established with stakeholders. These may be relationships that we have nurtured through conferences, working in the field, previous research projects or consultations. 

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Having these pre-established relationships gives us an insight into the cultures and organisations we want to explore through our contacts’ “insider” perspective. When exploring sensitive or controversial topics within an organisation, having trusting relationships with insiders is invaluable. We often rely on gatekeepers to disseminate recruitment information, make practical arrangements for data collection, or to advocate for our research within their organisation.

Interdisciplinary working

Our research team involved staff from a range of practice and academic disciplines: criminology and policing, public health, psychology, mental-health nursing and social work. Bringing together academics from a range of disciplines offers diverse expertise and insights. 

Interdisciplinary research can bring challenges, such as robust discussion on interpretation of findings and research priorities. However, it allows for the phenomena to be viewed through multiple lenses, bringing a range of rich and holistic perspectives on research approaches and findings. This is particularly valuable when the phenomena we are exploring is socially complex and multi-faceted, like our evaluation into police carriage of naloxone. 

Involving people and communities

While the focus of our research was police officers’ experiences, we saw the importance of including the views of people with experience of drug use and family members affected by drug related deaths. 

Seeking the views of people with lived experience gives us alternative insight into a specific phenomenon. Involving people with lived or living experience is essential if we want our research to be democratic, inclusive and respectful of the rights of all stakeholders. 

This is particularly important when stakeholders are socially underrepresented, minoritised or stigmatised groups, whose voices are often missing or not sought in research. Including the views of people with substance use experience adds an authenticity and authority to research that is difficult to disregard. 

Set up an expert steering committee

Our research steering committee included a range of experts and influential people, representing key organisations who had an invested interest in the research. These included members from governmental bodies, people with experience of using drugs or family members, international academic experts, police leadership and people working for specialist drug services. 

Having an inter-professional steering committee is invaluable for guidance and accountability. It can provide insight into the real-time changes and priorities happening within organisations. It also provides an additional layer of authority to the research outputs. 

Lessons learned

The initiative that we evaluated in our research: police carriage of naloxone, was met with opposition from some sectors of the police force. Consequently, some officers were resistant about participating in our research. 

Despite the challenges that we faced, our research had the support of key people in the police force who made our research possible. This was only possible through established trusting professional relationships, balanced carefully to ensure academic rigour and independence. Once our research report had been published, stakeholders took an active role in promoting our research to advance the initiative. 

Our report was difficult to ignore, given the expertise of the interdisciplinary team, the authenticity provided by the voices of lived experience and the authority of the expert steering committee. The findings of our research were used to change policing practice in Scotland and inform similar practice internationally. To date, naloxone has been used by police officers in Scotland over 570 times to reverse the effects of a drug overdose. We believe that the four features that we have highlighted can be applied to a range of research studies to facilitate real-world impact.

Peter Hillen is a lecturer in health and social care and Inga Heyman is an associate professor at Edinburgh Napier University. The university is shortlisted in the Research Project of the Year: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences category in the 2024 THE Awards. A full list of nominees can be found here. The awards will be presented at a ceremony in Birmingham on 28 November 2024.

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