Community Health Economics Researcher

Use your research skills to build the economic case for community-based youth mental health support - and put your analysis in front of NHS commissioners.

The Research Volunteering programme through the Community Research Initiative gives YOU the power to take your research and classroom skills out into the community to create a positive social impact. Through our bite size projects, you’ll work with a group of interdisciplinary peers and organisational allies to tackle a project that will draw on your research skills. These projects are flexible and designed with students in mind to give you amazing experience to fuel your CV, explore new skills, and meet other likeminded students. Each opportunity is unique, make sure to check out our page for more information.

All about the organisation

Displaced CIC is a community-led organisation working with migrant and racialised young people and families across North Central London. Through peer-led programmes, participatory research, and workforce training, Displaced supports young peoples to build the emotional skills, confidence, and community connection they need to thrive.

A bit about the project

Displaced is developing a commissioning case to secure NHS funding for an early mental health intervention programme supporting young people on waiting lists for statutory services. To make that case credibly, Displaced needs to demonstrate not just that the programme works, but that it represents a cost-effective use of public resources. This project asks you to build that economic argument using Displaced's programme data and published literature on the costs of untreated adolescent mental health conditions to produce a clear, commissioner-ready cost modelling brief. 

What is the purpose of the project?

This project closes a specific gap in Displaced's evidence base. The organisation has strong participant outcome data and qualitative evidence. What it does not yet have is an economic framing that answers the question commissioners ask first: what does early intervention cost, and what is the cost of doing nothing? 

Your work will:

• Produce a cost-per-participant summary using programme data provided by Displaced.
• Review published UK evidence on the downstream costs of untreated adolescent mental health conditions, drawing on NHS reference costs and health economics literature.
• Identify comparable community-based programmes with published cost-effectiveness data to use as benchmarks.
• Build a simple, clearly caveated cost model comparing delivery costs against estimated costs of non-intervention.
• Produce a concise commissioner-ready briefing document with a headline indicative figure and transparent assumptions, suitable for appending to a funding proposal.
• Produce a short methodology note explaining how the model was built and what would strengthen it in future.

What can I expect from this opportunity?

• Work directly with real programme cost data and published NHS health economics sources.
• Build and present a cost model that will be used in live NHS commissioning conversations.
• Contribute to a polished briefing document that directly informs Displaced's funding strategy.
• Collaborate with Displaced's CEO and wider team.
• Develop your ability to translate technical economic analysis into plain language for a non-academic audience.
• Gain direct insight into how the VCSE sector engages with NHS commissioning processes.

How will my work on this project impact the community?

• Strengthen the evidence base Displaced needs to secure sustained NHS investment in community-based mental health support.
• Make the case for earlier, more accessible provision for migrant and racialised young people who are currently under-served by statutory services.
• Directly influence how a community-led organisation positions itself within NHS funding conversations.
• Contribute to a longer-term shift toward commissioning models that value community expertise and early intervention.