What are the benefits of a knowledge exchange focussed partnership

Benefits for the organisations
  • Access to world-class knowledge, research, and expertise in academia
  • Ability to reach new audiences e.g. increased community engagement, generate significant cultural and economic outcomes, schools across the region
  • Enhanced social, cultural and economic outcomes through reaching 29 schools and over 2200 children and young people across the region
  • Increased the number of students working on Tackling the Blues to offer the programme to more schools
Benefits to higher education institutions
  • Increased institutional KE activity, research and impact
  • Working collaboratively with local community sports and arts organisations to deliver a place-based programme
  • Increased opportunities for research and dissemination
  • Enhanced understanding of student mental health and how mental health work-related learning can impact students’ mental health
  • Working collaboratively and sharing expertise within the institution across departments and faculties
Benefits to higher education students

• Enhanced student experience and increased opportunities to secure highly skilled work upon graduation
• Experience of working collaboratively with diverse sports and arts organisations on a real-world sport and arts mental health programme with children and young people
• Improved internal collaborations and working with institutional academic and support staff
• Opportunities to engage with research and dissemination for their own research projects and other curricular work
• Engaging with various stakeholders, including school staff, curators, community sports coaches, programme coordinators, research staff, academics, marketing and communications teams
• Increased mental health literacy and coping strategies to manage their own mental health and wellbeing during their time as students and beyond
• Development of skills to use sport and art-based approaches to address mental health concerns with the wider community

Benefits to children and young people, schools and their communities

• More schools offering the Tackling the Blues programme, tailored to identified mental health concerns and need
• New approaches to community and school-based programmes to address mental health through sport and the arts
• Improved children and young people’s mental health literacy and knowledge of where to seek further support when needed
• Enhancing teacher’s mental health literacy and knowledge of referral systems
• Increased number of student mentors delivering and facilitating each session to provide more support
• Support for schools in their whole school approach to mental health
• Improved engagement with the local community