About SCYPHeR
South Yorkshire Children and Young People’s Health Research (SCYPHeR) aims to build collaboration between institutions across South Yorkshire and embed high-quality research and practice in the region.
SCYPHeR represents a different approach to working across institutions. By strengthening connections between child health researchers at the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University, and Sheffield Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, we are integrating expertise from across the institutions and developing a strategic, joined up approach to working together.
South Yorkshire has some of the highest deprivation rates and health inequalities in the country. Establishing a network with the single aim of improving child health in our region is enabling us to continue to prioritise work which impacts the health of young people in our area.
Mission Statement
- Building capacity for child health research in the region
- Cross-fertilisation of research ideas and collaborations across institutions and departments
- Building a critical mass of child health researchers
- Increasing our agility to apply for larger research grants
- Empowering the next generation of child health researchers
Our partners
Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust
Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust (SCH) is one of only three dedicated children’s hospital trusts in the UK; and the only one providing a full range of physical, mental health, community and acute services for the children and young people (CYP) of South Yorkshire and beyond as well as a range of specialised services for patients from across the UK and in some cases from overseas.
The Trust (celebrating it’s 150th birthday in 2026!), is committed to being a leader in the field of training and research in children’s healthcare and we continue to deliver a strong portfolio of research and product innovation. SCH offers a range of services, teams and facilities to support the delivery and management of research and innovation. Our Clinical Research Facility was the first of its kind in the UK when it opened its doors in 2008 and its recently refurbished rooms offer first-class facilities for paediatric research with a large multi-disciplinary team dedicated to supporting the delivery of projects across a wide portfolio of clinical specialties. With a history of collaborations across academic and industry sectors, including hosting the country’s only paediatric focussed NIHR Healthtech Research Centre, SCH provides a rich and supportive research environment. Research and Innovation are flourishing in Sheffield and as a Trust SCH has fruitful collaborative relationships with both local Universities and in 2024 launched the South Yorkshire Children and Young Person’s Health Research Network (SCYPHeR).
The infrastructure and facilities available at our Trust to support research and innovation will grow substantially with the opening of the new National Centre of Child Health Technology (NCCHT) in early 2026, bringing together research leaders from academia, industry and health to develop world-leading research and advanced technologies to address the biggest challenges and unmet needs in children’s and young people’s healthcare. A key enabler of this is our five-year Research and Innovation Strategy, which includes commitments to: (a) advancing equality, diversity and inclusion in the workforce and research we deliver, (b) building research capacity for non-medical clinical academics and (c) growing the number of Nursing, Clinical Scientist and Allied Health Professional (AHP) research fellowships based at our Trust. We are determined to grow our cadre of junior researchers and build a thriving, inclusive research culture. Supporting early career researchers is a key component of this ambition and working with SCYPHeR will see this vision become reality with the development of a Doctoral Training Programme made possible with investment from The Children’s Hospital Charity.
Children and Young People's Alliance
The Children and Young People’s Alliance (CYPA) brings together partners from across all sectors (health services, community services, housing, police, education, voluntary organisations, faith-based leaders) to address areas of local and national priority, with the aim to improve health outcomes, reduce inequalities and create equity of service provision for children and young people aged 0-25 years.
Since the establishment of the CYP Alliance in July 2021, we have created a space where there is system wide membership. The CYPA is inclusive of all partners to drive a movement for change where children and young people’s health and wider social determinates are given the attention they deserve in an adult focused world. This opens up great opportunities for a collaborative approach to shared evaluation and research, exchanging ideas across professions and organisations, learning new skills and supports access to funding for the benefit of South Yorkshires children, young people and families. The CYPA is also working towards supporting YP to participate in supporting research and evaluation processes.
Upcoming Events
