New research project aiming to help charity workers stay in their roles

Now, Leeds Beckett is working with Sheffield University to carry out research into what can be done to support charity workers and encourage them to stay in their roles. The project is being funded by a grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

Dr Louise Warwick-Booth from the Centre for Health Promotion in the School of Health at Leeds Beckett said: "We want to find new ways to support charity workers through the challenges they face. We are going to look at what support is needed and discuss this with the charities.

"We will be asking charity workers to fill out a specially designed survey to find out what they want, as well as speaking to their managers and the service users. We will be working with six charities to provide support for their workers including setting up a coaching programme."

Dr Alexis Foster from Sheffield University said: "We are excited to be supporting charities with this work because keeping the charity workforce is a priority for the sector."

After working with the charities and carrying out the surveys, the next step will be to explore the impact of the new support that is put in place and to find out if the workers feel better supported, and therefore less likely to leave their jobs.

During the research, Dr Warwick-Booth and her team will be working with a service user group and a separate charity worker group. The groups will provide advice on the study and help the team understand the findings and co-design resources.

The whole project will run for 30 months.