In the morning, the project leads met at Vincent’s Club in central Oxford to discuss the main objectives for MHID and plans for collaboration moving forward. This was particularly relevant as we consider our plans to bid once more for the next iteration of the Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre.

In the afternoon, the entire team joined us for lunch and the focus of the meeting shifted towards the achievements of the past three years. Each of the projects shared a short update on their work, celebrated individual achievement of staff who will be leaving, and highlighted on-going plans for the project’s development.

The WISDOM schools research network celebrated the growing numbers of schools which have joined the network and introduced the new network manager Miriam Carter-Fraser. Their on-going goal will be to maintain and expand the network’s geographic reach and diversity. Their priorities in terms of collaboration will be to find more research projects aimed at primary schools and also those which address the long-term goals of the theme as a whole.

The AnDY Clinic noted that their service has accepted over 390 referrals, directly supported over 250 young people and that their treatment has had an 86% completion rate. They were particularly proud to have managed this high quality treatment including assessments and interventions despite being at a 64% staffing capacity and dealing with other challenges.

The Parent Carer Research Network recently marked its one year anniversary and has been enjoying a successful collaboration with the mental health charity the Charlie Waller Trust. Their aims for the future include focusing on under-represented groups of parents and carers, and developing resources to support inclusion including a “Jargon Buster” of common research terms, and a myth-busting video campaign.

The INSiGHTS team discussed their field work successes in Manchester and Cornwall, and their reflections on the role of listening as a form of care. They explained how they have sought to develop valuable relationships with marginalised young people through a range of settings.

Partner projects over at the University of Liverpool and at the Universities of Bradford and York provided insights into their collaborations and shared their experiences. The Liverpool team highlighted their work investigating mental health inequalities in early childhood development. The team at Bradford and York discussed their work in Public Involvement, and how the new Bradford Mental Health Leaders Award aims to enhance mental health research and address challenges faced by children and young people in the district.

The AIM team leaders joined by video reflecting on the wonderful work by the team creating a library of digital measures and several published papers. They are looking into a sustainable future for the platform and still have a number of papers under review.

The Supporting Early Minds team celebrated their achievements including their growing network of research ready sites, their on-going projects including the Developing Child UK Research Priority Setting Exercise and their co-developed research. They are looking into the longer-term sustainability for the site, such as possibly creating joint posts through linking to other networks.

The final session of the day looked to the future and the next phase for MHID. We discussed how to strengthen our collaborations, including how best to keep in touch with departing colleagues. We have found some wonderful partnerships over the past years and as we think about our next application, we know that there is still a lot of potential to further blossom and grow.