The aim of this programme was to design and prototype new types of knowledge products for Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) to make research more useful for practice.

AHPs comprise 12 distinct health professions (including physiotherapists, podiatrists and dietitians) who provide essential diagnoses, treatments and rehabilitation in health and social care. AHP practice should be informed by best research evidence; however, traditional research outputs, such as journal articles, are often not accessible and useful for practitioners.

This programme brought together AHP practitioners and researchers with experts from a variety of creative fields (e.g. artists, designers, creative writers, technologists) in a series of interactive workshops. Using the Design Council’s ‘double diamond’ methodology, the programme worked to collaboratively define what ‘useful’ research knowledge should look like and develop new approaches for presenting research in useful ways. Bringing together practitioners and researchers from diverse fields, who do not normally work with one another, generated novel, creative solutions that reach beyond traditional dissemination methods prevalent in evidence-based healthcare. The programme activities fostered sustainable and productive relationships between AHP practitioners, researchers and creative experts, aiming to lead to proposals for collaborative projects and establish an ongoing agenda for promoting new types of knowledge products for AHP practice.

To mark 10 years of SUII, we designed a series of posters and collaborated with Woods Noble Video to produce videos showcasing some programmes supported by SUII between 2012 and 2022. Click on the image above for a full view of the poster created for this programme.

Visit our Insights page to find out more about the 10 Years of SUII.