Supporting the voluntary community and social enterprise paid workforce: an action research study
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN16670024 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN16670024 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | NIHR159286 |
- Submission date
- 17/03/2025
- Registration date
- 26/03/2025
- Last edited
- 25/03/2025
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Overall study status
- Ongoing
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise organisations (VCSEs), including charities and community groups, deliver health and wellbeing services. Three percent of the UK workforce (950,000 people) are VCSE employees. Some are health and wellbeing staff (we call these VCSE staff) who deliver support to service users. Examples include Link Workers, Peer Support Recovery Workers, Welfare Advice Officers and Community Befrienders. VCSE staff report feeling unsupported and consequently leave their jobs. A fifth of VCSEs face worsening staff retention, and 43% report recruitment challenges. This is detrimental for service users who face disruptions to their care. Professional Support, e.g., supervision and mentoring, has improved retention amongst NHS staff. However, there is a lack of research on implementing Professional Support for VCSE staff that considers the unique VCSE context. This study addresses this. Given this, the aim of the study is to explore which Professional Support interventions can be implemented to enable VCSE staff to feel sufficiently supported to stay in their role delivering health and wellbeing services.
Who can participate?
Staff working in Voluntary Sector organisations in South and West Yorkshire, UK
What does the study involve?
The researchers will use a multi-case action research design to implement Professional Support with six VCSE organisations based in two Integrated Care Board areas. They will:
1. Explore VCSEs’ experiences of implementing Professional Support by conducting a staff questionnaire and stakeholder interviews.
2. Calculate the costs of delivering different types of Professional Support, e.g., staff time to develop, deliver and attend support.
3. Support stakeholders to co-design the implementation of locally appropriate Professional Support strategies e.g., creating a supervision programme.
4. Evaluate the impact of Professional Support through follow-up questionnaires and interviews.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Benefits include having the opportunity to engage in Professional Support. Risks include the time commitment to participate.
Where is the study run from?
University of Sheffield (UK)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
November 2024 to April 2027
Who is funding the study?
National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Services and Delivery Research (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Dr Alexis Foster, alexis.foster@sheffield.ac.uk
Contact information
Public, Scientific, Principal Investigator
University of Sheffield
Sheffield
S8 8GH
United Kingdom
 ORCID ID |
0000-0002-7978-2791 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +44 (0)7835042009 |
| alexis.foster@sheffield.ac.uk |
Study information
| Study design | Multi-case action research study |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Observational |
| Secondary study design | Multi-case action research study |
| Study setting(s) | Charity/Voluntary sector |
| Study type | Other |
| Participant information sheet | Not available in web format. Please contact Dr Alexis Foster (alexis.foster@sheffield.ac.uk) |
| Scientific title | Implementing professional support for the voluntary sector paid workforce: a multi-case action research study |
| Study objectives | Implementing additional Professional Support improves retention rates for Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise organisations (VCSE) staff. |
| Ethics approval(s) |
Submitted 14/03/2025, University of Sheffield Ethics Committee (Division of Medicine and Population Health, Sheffield, S10 2RX, United Kingdom; -; medschoolethics@sheffield.ac.uk), ref: 066247 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Professional support for the voluntary sector paid workforce |
| Intervention | The interventions will be co-designed with stakeholders but examples include a new supervision programme or a peer support group A multi-case action research with four elements over 30 months: WP1: engage Experts by Experience including VCSE staff, managers and service users throughout the study to provide input. WP2: conduct a mapping review to identify Professional Support that has been implemented in similar health and care workforce roles e.g., counsellors to inform learning for the VCSE workforce. WP3: use a multi-case action research design to implement Professional Support with six VCSE organisations based in two Integrated Care Board areas: 1. Explore VCSEs’ experiences of implementing Professional Support by conducting a staff questionnaire and stakeholder interviews. 2. Calculate the costs of delivering different types of Professional Support e.g., staff time to develop, deliver and attend support. 3. Support stakeholders to co-design the implementation of locally appropriate Professional Support strategies e.g., creating a supervision programme. 4. Evaluate the impact of Professional Support through follow-up questionnaires and interviews. WP4: involve Experts by Experience in designing outputs including a Professional Support toolkit and training resource. |
| Intervention type | Not Specified |
| Primary outcome measure | How supported staff feel at work, measured by questionnaire at baseline and 15 months later |
| Secondary outcome measures | Intention to leave role within next 12 months, measured using a questionnaire at baseline and 15 months later |
| Overall study start date | 01/11/2024 |
| Completion date | 30/04/2027 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Employee |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Lower age limit | 18 Years |
| Upper age limit | 100 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 500 |
| Key inclusion criteria | Working for a VCSE organisation delivering health and wellbeing related activities in West or South Yorkshire, UK |
| Key exclusion criteria | 1. People not working for VCSEs in South and West Yorkshire 2. Aged under 18 years 3. People without the capacity to consent |
| Date of first enrolment | 14/04/2025 |
| Date of final enrolment | 01/09/2025 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- England
- United Kingdom
Study participating centres
Westgate House
Westgate
Halifax
HX1 1PW
United Kingdom
Moorhead Way
Bramley
Rotherham
S66 1YY
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
University/education
Western Bank
Sheffield
S8 8GH
England
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 (0)7835042009 |
|---|---|
| smph-resgovernance@sheffield.ac.uk | |
| Website | https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/05krs5044 |
Funders
Funder type
Government
Government organisation / National government
- Alternative name(s)
- National Institute for Health Research, NIHR Research, NIHRresearch, NIHR - National Institute for Health Research, NIHR (The National Institute for Health and Care Research), NIHR
- Location
- United Kingdom
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 30/04/2027 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Not expected to be made available |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Planned publication in a peer reviewed paper alongside practice-based dissemination including a training resource and toolkit. |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during the study are not expected to be made available due to concerns about participant anonymity |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protocol file | version 1.0 | 23/03/2025 | 25/03/2025 | No | No |
Additional files
Editorial Notes
17/03/2025: Study's existence confirmed by the NIHR.
