The AHRC's track record of innovation in relation to the role of Arts and Humanities in fostering mental health and wellbeing, nationally and internationally, is proven in the range and diversity of mental health-related themes and calls, including the Cultural Value Project, Connected Communities and the AHRC's contribution via GCRF-funded projects to the Global Mental Health agenda, which has principally been concerned with addressing inequities in mental health provision across the globe. Thanks in large part to the AHRC's leadership, the national case for the value of Arts and Humanities in enhancing mental health has now been effectively made, and the role of culture and the creative arts is firmly acknowledged in UKRI's cross-disciplinary agenda for mental health. Of the five cross-cutting themes identified in UKRI's mental health strategy, the first is 'effective intervention', enabling 'inclusive participation' and 'transferability, sustainability, scalability'. The key and pressing challenge now is to ensure a robust, evidence-based and research-informed approach that will enable Arts and Humanities research-based activities to be accessible to those who are experiencing them across the globe This project rises to that challenge by establishing an international network to explore which Arts and Humanities research-based activities are working for whom (when, why and where) and what is evidenced best practice for embedding Arts and Humanities research in mental health provision in different socio-cultural contexts. Led by an interdisciplinary Arts and Humanities team (English Literature/Intercultural Education/Applied Linguistics) specialising in high-impact Arts/Humanities research-based mental health provision, and drawing on expertise in Psychology. Health Sciences and Modern Languages and Cultures, as well as working in collaboration with external health partners and arts organisations, the project will focus on the successful implementation and embedding of Arts and Humanities research in the promotion of mental health and wellbeing, nationally and internationally. With a specific focus on equality and inclusion, and the special part Arts and Humanities research-based initiatives in Mental Health and Wellbeing have to play in overcoming health inequities and exclusions globally, the network is motivated by a 'trans-knowledging' agenda. Research evidence shows that high income countries have valuable lessons to learn from low-income ones, especially in embracing pluralism in respect of approaches to mental health and wellbeing. Three focused workshops - (i) strategic partnerships between Arts and Health providers (ii) inclusive practices in mental health care and (iii) alignment with existing community capacities - will bring together state-of-the-art knowledge and expertise with ongoing successful models of Arts and Humanities-based research in mental health from across the world. Building on the exceptionally strong track record in two UK cities (Liverpool and Glasgow) of innovative collaboration between arts and health, as well as on the interdisciplinary research team's experience of working locally and (inter)nationally on Arts/Humanities research for mental health, the series will emphasise: co-creating with stakeholders means for embedding research-based change; promoting joined-up planning of successful projects nationally and internationally; identifying what needs to be done in differentiating the benefits to mental health of distinct Arts/Humanities activities in different socio-cultural contexts. The short-term objective of this network is to establish what has already worked and what lessons can be learnt for the immediate priorities in the aftermath of Covid-19. The long-term objective is to position Arts and Humanities at the forefront of an inclusive vision of mental health provision and the AHRC in the vanguard of addressing the national and global mental health challenge in the future.

This study will assess the impact on mental health of restricted access to arts and culture in a specific city region, and track, enable and enhance the value of innovation in arts provision in mitigating associated harms. Liverpool has one of the richest concentrations of culture in the UK, boasting the largest clustering of museums and galleries outside London. Cultural capital is critical to the city region's economy, contributing c10% (Culture Liverpool,2019). The city also has a pioneering history of harnessing arts for mental health care through partnerships between culture and health providers. Building on the University of Liverpool's strong alliance with organisations across these sectors, this project brings together an interdisciplinary team of arts and mental health researchers to devise and conduct, in consultation with cultural and health bodies, two surveys. Survey 1 (online interviews) will target 20 arts organisations (10 civic institutions, 10 community arts programmes, representing 'elite' and 'popular' arts) to capture (i)the impact of COVID-19 on public access to arts provision (including those who usually access the arts through formal healthcare routes) and on audience/beneficiary change over time (legacy losses and potential gains) (ii)the success of alternative (e.g. online/digital) modes of provision by arts organisations in reaching and communicating with established and/or new audiences. Survey 2 (online questionnaire and supplementary online/telephone interviews) will target c300 arts' audiences/beneficiaries to capture (i)the impact on mental health of restricted/non-existent access to usual provision (ii)the perceived value and accessibility of alternative arts provision and the latter's impact on mental health/wellbeing.

There is strong evidence that natural environments within urban areas, such as parks, woodlands, lakes and beaches, have positive impacts on health. These urban green and blue spaces (UGBS) could be huge assets for protecting and equalising health if they were available, accessible, valued and well-used, particularly by less advantaged groups. The problem is that they are not. This is largely because the many policies, organisations and communities involved in designing, creating, managing, promoting, maintaining and using UGBS are disconnected. Also, the voices of less advantaged communities that UGBS could be helping most are either not heard or not persuasive. Perhaps as a consequence, those communities are much less likely to benefit from these spaces. We know that the UGBS we have are not the UGBS we need to make the best possible contribution to better and more equal health. GroundsWell aims to change that. We propose a new partnership - researchers working together with communities and those who currently create and control UGBS, to plan, design and manage it better so that it benefits everyone, especially those who need it most. The main research will take place in three cities - Belfast, Edinburgh and Liverpool. These have sufficient similarities (such as large and diverse low-income communities) but also distinct features (such as geography and culture) making them, collectively, an ideal laboratory. Each city already has policies and programmes in place to improve UGBS, but there is much room for improvement. GroundsWell will take a systems approach. This means understanding the multiple and interconnecting components of policy-making, practice, perception and people which together affect the presence, location, character and use of UGBS. It also means working to transform the system so that the components function together. To do this, GroundsWell will mix co-development of new theoretical frameworks, novel data science including simulation, health economics and policy analysis, but at its heart will be community engagement and partnership. We will develop and use meaningful community engagement, co-production and citizen science to understand the system, identify how and where it is broken, and co-create solutions. We anticipate interventions aimed at how the UGBS system operates, and small-scale interventions around actual spaces and their use. Data play an important part in understanding systems. GroundsWell will develop an accessible, trustworthy and policy-relevant system to collate, collect, house and share data on UGBS across the three cities. These data will be used to help the whole Consortium understand the UGBS there, identify possible interventions, and then assess whether they work, for whom and why, creating feedback loops to help us continually monitor, learn and adapt what we do. Novel simulation approaches will also be used to suggest interventions, and in particular what could be effective beyond the three cities. Health economics will suggest what would be best value for money. An important part of putting actions and solutions in place is understanding if they work (or not). Evaluation of our actions and the Consortium as a whole will be undertaken in partnership with our communities, drawing on the new data system we establish, and enabling them to directly see whether and how the process has benefited them. In particular, we will assess and share our impacts on health inequalities. We are realistic about the likely scale of our impacts. Small actions within existing UGBS and local communities are unlikely to affect population level health and inequalities within our funded period. That is why we are going to focus on improving the UGBS system as a whole, laying foundations for long-term benefits. We know that the use and enjoyment of UGBS is something that adults pass on to their children. If GroundsWell can improve and equalise the role of UGBS, it will achieve a lasting impact.