RViR Mentoring

Raising Voices in Research Mentoring

RViR Mentoring is project by the National Institute Health Research Applied Research Collaborative Wessex (NHIR ARC Wessex). The focus of Raising Voices in Research Mentoring is to increase VCSE and communities’ knowledge of research and to understand what mental health related research communities want to see. It aims to bring together all the successful elements of previous phases of RViR.

6 VCSEs were recruited to deliver 2 workshops with their community members to discuss their perceptions of mental health research and share their mental health research priorities. Based on their insights they were matched with a researcher who has expertise in at least one of the areas community members are interested in. These partnerships worked together through a series of monthly meetings to exchange knowledge and ideas to either:

• develop a new research proposal based on the community’s mental health research priorities and the researcher’s area of expertise

OR

• adapt an existing research proposal/opportunity based on the community’s needs and priorities.

RViR Mentoring commenced in April 2025 and will run until March 2026.