PHIRST South Bank: putting people at the heart of public health evidence
London South Bank University (LSBU) will continue to play a major national role in shaping public health evidence after the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) announced £15 million of new funding for its PHIRST (Public Health Intervention Responsive Studies Teams) programme.
As host of PHIRST South Bank, LSBU will now deliver 10 new evaluations of locally led public health interventions, each shaped not only by academic expertise but by the lived experience of communities across the UK.
For LSBU, the renewed funding is recognition of its leadership in embedding the public directly into research design, delivery and interpretation. PHIRST South Bank’s approach ensures that public health evidence is not only rigorous, but genuinely reflective of the people and places it aims to serve.
Shaping evidence through genuine public collaboration
“Public involvement isn’t an extra step for us, it’s fundamental,” says Professor Susie Sykes, Chief Investigator of PHIRST South Bank. “Our contributors shape evaluations from the start. Their insights strengthen the evidence, challenge our assumptions and make sure our work speaks to real‑world experiences.”
Public contributors are always recruited from wherever the team is doing the evaluation, as local insight is crucial to the evaluation process. They come to the programme from many backgrounds — youth workers, carers, disability advocates, people with lived experience of addiction or mental health issues and residents who simply want to support local change.
“Public involvement isn’t an extra step for us, it’s fundamental. Our contributors shape evaluations from the start."
Ben, for example, first became involved after working for a charity supporting young people affected by violence. “I was offered the opportunity to feed into an evaluation addressing serious youth violence,” he says. “When opportunities come to feed into local government actions, I think it’s important that young people take the opportunity.”
For Kerry, who was contacted by her local council to take part in a project evaluating how public health roles in local councils help create healthier neighbourhoods, the chance to participate carried personal significance: “From a disability point of view, it was a big yes from me.”
Contributors describe a process designed around flexibility, accessibility and respect. Meetings are arranged to fit around work, study and caring commitments and participants are reimbursed, trained and supported throughout.
Ben recalled: “I was working and studying at the time and thought it might be difficult, but the team were so accommodating. They made sure I could still contribute meaningfully.”
The atmosphere, contributors agree, is welcoming and empowering. Jemma, who contributed to a project on mental health among 16- to 24-year-olds, remembers feeling nervous at first, “but everyone was so friendly… I felt very welcome, very respected and my voice was definitely valued.”
That sense of value goes far beyond courtesy. Public contributors routinely shape the direction of evaluations, including asking questions that researchers may not have considered. As Kerry puts it: “Whenever I’m asking a question, it always seems to be one they’ve never come across before.”
For James, who had experience of gambling harms, the strength of PHIRST South Bank lies in how academic and lived experience come together: “The project brought together people from the academic world with people with lived experience…our experiences were seen with the same weight as the academic evidence.”
“The best thing is being part of something bigger than yourself and having real‑world impact.”
Professor Sykes says this is exactly why public involvement is so essential. “Our contributors raise points we wouldn’t have reached alone. They help us ensure our evaluations have real impact. We simply couldn’t do the work without them.”
The benefits flow both ways. Many contributors describe increased confidence, new skills and even career shifts that began with PHIRST involvement. As Elli, who worked on a project evaluating young people’s mental health, explains: “I learnt so much… it completely changed my career path. I’m really enjoying what I’m doing now because of what I had there.”
And for some, the motivation is much broader: “The best thing is being part of something bigger than yourself and having real‑world impact,” adds Jemma.
With NIHR’s renewed investment, LSBU’s PHIRST team will continue to evaluate interventions that shape everyday life, from youth violence prevention to urban planning, physical activity access, gambling‑related harms, disability inclusion and more.
The next five years present a major opportunity to build even stronger evidence for policies that improve population health and reduce inequalities.