Table 2 Recommendations to support and enable research within local government

• Embed strategic level appointments within the public team to work with the Director of Public Health to champion the research agenda and value of research and build links to existing research infrastructure. This could include joint appointments across higher education institutions and the local authority

• Embed researchers within the local authority to (I) aid the delivery of meaningful evidence within local authorities (II) help staff to work with existing data (III) upskill staff through short courses and one-to-one tutoring (e.g. evidence synthesis; rapid reviews) (IV) facilitate the generation of local research and evaluation by supporting local authority staff (V) expand links across teams within the local authority and (VI) support the local authority to develop partnerships with higher education institutions working on common projects and or funding bids

• Create an open data repository platform to bring together local authority public health, social care, and other local authority research evidence to eliminate duplication to create holistic approaches for tackling population health needs. Encourage local authority staff to use the platform to generate research questions and ideas of relevance to local authority and engage the embedded researcher(s) and strategic research lead to explore potential links to academics in higher education institutions