'The book's a conversation starter': a realist exploration of the salutogenic potential of reading for pleasure.

Reading for Wellbeing (RfW) is a pilot initiative, aimed at improving mental health and well-being through supporting access and increasing opportunities to read for pleasure. RfW was implemented across six North-East local authorities in England and employed Community Reading Workers to support access to books and reading for targeted populations. The current study used realist methodology to understand context, potential mechanisms of action, acceptability and reported outcomes.

Co-production in local government: process, codification and capacity building of new knowledge in collective reflection spaces. Workshops findings from a UK mixed methods study.

Background: Co-production of research evidence is valued by local government to improve effective decision-making about public services in times of austerity. However, underlying structural issues of power (so-called 'dark shadows of co-production') challenge this ambition with limited evidence on how to embed research use sustainably. In this paper we reflect on mechanisms for increasing co-production in local government.