Kirklees Areas of Research Interest
Kirklees has developed a series of Areas of Research Interest (ARIs). This page describes what ARIs are, why we wanted to develop some for Kirklees and how we went about doing so, before listing the ARIs that have been developed and explaining how people can share insights or research proposals with Kirklees Council that they believe to be relevant to the ARIs.
What ARIs are
Areas of Research Interest (ARIs) are themes or topics where research can help address real-world challenges, inform policy, and support local priorities. UK Government has been creating Areas of research interest documents for government departments since 2017 following the 2015 Nurse review of the UK Research Councils. They act as a bridge between academic expertise and the practical needs of places like Kirklees - helping to shape more effective, evidence-based, decision-making.
In partnership with the University of Huddersfield and Yorkshire Universities, Kirklees Council has identified ARIs to:
- Focus research efforts on issues that matter most to local communities.
- Strengthen collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.
- Unlock innovation that supports inclusive growth, sustainability, and wellbeing.
- Ensure public investment in research delivers meaningful local impact.
By aligning research with local priorities, ARIs help Kirklees become a more resilient, forward-thinking place - where knowledge drives progress.
How Kirklees' ARIs were created
The ARIs for Kirklees were developed through a structured, collaborative process involving multiple stakeholders across the district. The process began at the district's annual partnership event Picture of Kirklees in November 2024, which served as a launchpad for identifying research priorities across the district's four top-tier strategies: Health and Wellbeing, Inclusive Communities, Environment, and Economy.
Following this, the focus was narrowed to Health and Wellbeing and Communities, reflecting both the richness of content generated at the event and the available capacity to develop ARIs in depth. The ARI's further development was conducted through a series of four workshops held in March and April 2025 that involved:
- Theme creation and question generation: Participants worked in groups to identify key themes and draft initial research questions.
- Review and refinement: Validating, amending, and prioritising these questions. Feedback highlighted the need for clarity, actionability, and relevance to real-world service and community experiences.
- Academic input: Colleagues from the University of Huddersfield and Yorkshire Universities supported the process including by synthesising workshop outputs into strategic ARIs.
The draft ARIs were ultimately shared with the Kirklees Partnership Executive in May 2025 for discussion and endorsement.
Kirklees ARIs
Currently, ARIs have been developed for the themes of Health and Wellbeing and Communities. We hope in future to develop ARIs for other themes including Inclusive Economy and Environmental Sustainability.
Health and Wellbeing
How do different barriers (for instance, digital exclusion, language, transport) impact equitable access to health and care services across Kirklees, and how can they be effectively addressed?
What models of integrated, person-centred care can most effectively improve patient outcomes and experiences during key transitions, such as hospital discharge and end-of-life care?
How can planning, green space provision, and urban design be leveraged to reduce health inequalities and promote ageing well, active lifestyles, and mental wellbeing?
What skills, roles, and support structures will the health, care, and VCSE workforce need by 2040 to deliver high-quality, inclusive, and digitally enabled services?
How can Kirklees improve the sharing and integration of data across health, care, housing, and community sectors to enable better decision-making, early intervention, and tracking of health outcomes?
What are the most effective ways to tackle the connections between poor health, low-quality work, housing insecurity, and economic exclusion at a local level?
How can Kirklees act as a "living lab" for testing innovative, community-led health interventions that can be scaled or adapted across the borough?
What are the opportunities and barriers to embedding a 'Health in All Policies' approach across council departments and local partnerships, and what measurable impacts can it deliver?
Communities
How can trust and confidence be built and maintained between communities and specific public services (for instance, police, councils, health services) in Kirklees?
How do local patterns compare with national trends in community safety, and what can Kirklees learn from best practice elsewhere?
What successful models of community engagement and leadership (for instance, Community Voices, Community Champions) can be expanded or adapted to support community empowerment in Kirklees?
What are the most effective strategies for addressing digital exclusion in Kirklees, particularly for isolated or vulnerable groups?
How can local services better support positive pathways out of poverty, particularly through education, skills, and employment opportunities?
How can a systems mapping approach help identify service gaps, overlaps, and opportunities to improve community outcomes in Kirklees?
Sharing research and insights relevant to Kirklees' ARIs
If you have been involved in producing research whose findings you believe to be relevant to one or more of the Kirklees ARIs listed above we would love to hear from you. You do not have to be an academic or from a research institution but may have produced research through the work of a community group, think tank or other organisation.
How to share research and insights
You can share details of the research, a brief explanation of the findings and why you believe they are relevant using our simple online form.
Clock Completing this form takes around 10 minutes.
Share research and insightsAfter you have shared your research
The project team will review all submissions and may be in contact to discuss your work and potential contributions related to the ARIs.
Contacting Kirklees Council about potential research partnerships
If you have a proposal for a research project that looks at issues related to one of the ARI themes and hope to undertake research in Kirklees we would also be interested to hear from you. You can contact Kirklees Council about ARIs at: