To mark the 15-year anniversary of DECIPHer’s launch, we invited colleagues and collaborators to celebrate in SPARK.
The celebration, held on 21st January 2025, brought together 100 guests from academia, public health practice, the third sector, the public and Welsh Government. It provided an opportunity to listen to talks from DECIPHer staff and collaborators, to reflect on DECIPHer’s journey and to connect (or reconnect) with DECIPHer associates.
Some highlights from the event line-up:
Professor Simon Murphy caught us up with DECIPHer’s historical development, from its 2009 UKCRC-funded cross-college partnership with Swansea and Bristol Universities to its current Health and Care Research Wales-funded partnership with Public Health Wales.
Professor Ashley Adamson shared her reflections from the Scientific Advisory Board, noting that pre-DECIPHer, ‘There was a need to move beyond simply producing better and more evidence‘. Developing the public health research workforce, embracing multidisciplinarity and forming collaborations were priorities. She noted DECIPHer’s successes in these fields, concluding with the tagline ’15 and Flourishing’.
Doctor Julie Bishop identified three key ingredients of DECIPHer’s success: Investing time in building partnerships with policy and practice; focusing on impact and a transdisciplinary approach that extends beyond academia.
Sophie Jones, along with ALPHA members Elanna Fox, Huw Clements and Cerys Owen, gave the lowdown on how ALPHA works along with an engaging explainer video. The members then talked enthusiastically about their experiences of ALPHA the many ways becoming members has benefitted them, from boosting their confidence to shaping their career paths.
Doctor Chris Roberts reflected on his 15 years of research collaboration with DECIPHer, highlighting evaluations of a series of complex policy interventions in Wales, including The National Exercise Referral Scheme (NERS), primary school free breakfast provision and DECIPHer’s impact on tobacco policy in Wales. He also highlighted the significant progress of The School Health Research Network (SHRN); citing its many successes ten years after the initial pilot work.
Professor Tom Hall shared his take on DECIPHer’s top five contributions to the University and the Social Sciences: financial (bids, funding); teaching; adding to the Research Excellence Framework (REF); capacity building (career progression) and contributing to wider society (promoting civic duty).
Finally, Professor Graham Moore discussed moving forward with DECIPHer – what a new phase of funding might look like and potential future changes. He also focused on what will remain – including international partnerships such as FLOURISH and IMPACT Salud; sharing methodological innovation through research-led teaching and focussing on areas of current research strengths such as mental health, substance use, violence and sexual health.
The event ended with a poem by Professor Damian Walford Davies – a fitting end to an enjoyable celebration:
D @ 15:
DECIPHer: I’ve always read it
as a pun –announcing how you crack the code
of wicked problems
in your complex systems’
labyrinths;but also how you intercede
in budding lives
and blossoming relations,
ensuring no child’s just a cipher
(null, nix, nada, zero, zip, or zilch) –all the data coming down
to something we might
on your birthday
justly class as love.
The event brochure can be downloaded here:
