Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity are proud to announce a new Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with University of Chichester, marking a major milestone for both organisations.
Significant funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has been secured for the two-year project; where a KTP Associate will be employed by the University to undertake evidence-based assessment and create new frameworks within the charity to transform how early intervention services are evaluated and improved for children with cerebral palsy, chromosome abnormalities and rare genetic disorders.
Glenys Creese, CEO of Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity, said:
“We are thrilled at not only the opportunity to work with the University of Chichester and develop strong links with the professionals who have so much knowledge to share but it is also an exciting opportunity to strengthen the work of the Charity and ensure that all services offered are done to the absolute best possible standard.”
The partnership sees Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity partner with the University of Chichester’s School of Law, Business and Psychology to further the work done by the charity. Led by Dr Benjamin Sharpe, the project will help to develop the charity’s internal capacity to independently assess service impact and understand comprehensive family experiences.
The charity supports over 100 children per week through specialist services including physiotherapy/ conductive education, music therapy, speech and language therapy, rebound therapy, swimming sessions and outreach home play. All services are provided free of charge to families.
The innovative project will examine child outcomes, as well as the experience of the family unit - including economic challenges faced by families of children with additional needs. This will help to create sustainable capabilities for transforming the outcomes for children under five and their families across the southeast of England, demonstrating the impact of the services provided by Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity.
Dr Benjamin Sharpe, KTP Knowledge Lead, said:
“We’re incredibly excited to begin this transformative partnership with Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity. This KTP will allow us to transfer our research expertise to help the charity develop robust evidence-based frameworks for measuring the real impact of their vital services. What makes this project particularly meaningful is that we’re building the charity’s own capacity to generate ongoing evidence that will strengthen their funding applications, improve their services, and ultimately help more children with motor learning impairments reach their full potential.”
