Support for UCL's MASc in Creative Health
Congratulations to our first dissertation success!
The National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH) partners with University College London's (UCL) Master’s (MASc) programme in Creative Health to support students doing their master’s thesis in this field. In the first cohort, Katherine Liddell worked on a project to help NCCH understand how partnerships with business and the development of sustainable funding models could help to support creative health approaches.
Katherine explained why she felt the topic was so important;
“I chose the dissertation topic because having listened to many Lived Experience participants as part of the UCL MASc Creative Health and the one thing that stood out was funding. Many small social enterprises or charities do fantastic work helping people who really need it. However, because they often do not have capacity to measure or evaluate, and have this circular existence of applying for funding grants, receiving a small amount for a short period of time, give their intervention, apply again, hopefully receive again and on and on. This is not sustainable and the system could work better with more understanding and better frameworks, collaboration and less siloed-thinking. There needs to be a sustainable approach to funding to facilitate scalability and transferability of these interventions”
Katherine submitted the finished research project in Autumn last year, and we’re pleased to say she passed with flying colours! She has put together a short version of the findings, which will be useful for those working in creative health, as well as private sector organisations who might be keen to be more involved. You can read the report here.
On the research process Katherine said;
“Doing the dissertation was the first major piece of research I had done. I found it exciting and illuminating to do and am now trying to implement the recommendations to test the hypothesis that a complex interdisciplinary systems approach could provide more sustainable outcomes.”
At NCCH we have really enjoyed hosting Katherine as a dissertation student and we have benefitted from her knowledge and research findings in our regular catch-ups. We are watching her next steps with interest as she works to embed the approach in practice.
