OK Deb - Ive come back from skiing with a broken wrist, so it may take me a little while to finalise this!
All the best
Soo
Professor Soo Downe
Director
Midwifery Studies Research Unit
University of Central Lancashire
Preston PR1 2HE
Lancashire
England
+44 (0) 1772 893815
tel: 01772 893815
>>> Deborah Davis <[log in to unmask]> 02/15/08 11:58 pm >>>
Hi Jane and everyone on the list
I recently attended a research course here in Sydney and the director of HIV research gave a presentation on the way HIV researchers structure their international collaborations. They have a lot of funding provided by the US and they are all linked through a network of hubs. This provides a forum for discussion, sharing of resources etc but also assists with the conduct international multi centre trials. I was thinking during the presentation, how important it is that we start to connect in this way. So Jane, a great idea and a good beginning for this sort of international collaboration.
cheers
Deb
Deborah Davis
Principal Lecturer
School of Midwifery
Otago Polytechnic
Private Bag 1910
Dunedin
New Zealand
ph: (03) 477 3014
fax: (03) 474 8486
>>> Jane Sandall <[log in to unmask]> 02/16/08 1:49 AM >>>
----- Original Message -----
From: "Soo Downe" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 2:19 PM
Subject: Possible collaborative website re normal birth research: your views
please
Dear all
I m contact you following a visit to the exciting Choices and Challenges in
Childbirth network meeting in Beirut recently. The network involves
involved public health, medical, and midwifery researchers from the UK,
Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and Turkey. The specific interest of the
network at the moment is how to reduce interventions in normal childbirth.
It became clear as we were talking that the group did not know of many of
the other groups doing such work around the world - indeed, although I knew
some of the published papers from the network, I didn't know that they
existed as a coherent network either.
During the meeting, it was proposed that it might be helpful to set up a
simple website where all of us working in the area of normal birth could
link up whatever information we are happy to share about our projects and
plans, to makes sure that all our activities can be more coherent in future,
and that we are all put in touch with as many groups as possible. I have
offered to host this at UCLan, not as a UCLan project, but as a hub for all
of us.I have also discussed the idea with Frances Day-Stirk at the RCM, who,
as an alternative, would be happy to host the website in a link to the RCM
Campaign for Normal Birth.
If you would like to join in with this activity, please send me any
information or, preferably, hyperlinks that you want to, with at least the
following basic info:
Name
Contact details
Weblink to your work/group if possible
Projects you have completed that you think are relevant (with publication
details if possible)
Ongoing projects
Planned projects (if you are happy to share this information
If you have any preference for where the collaboration website should be
hosted:
UCLan
Royal College of Midwives Campaign for Normal Birth Website
Elsewhere (would entail someone else offering to manage the site)
This builds on the mapping exercise we did with the normal birth research
group a year or so ago, but we hope that this refinement will render the
information sent in more useful, and more available to everyone. I think it
would be useful for whoever agrees to host the site to aim to update it at
least every 2 months. If it takes off, we can build on its functionality
over time.
Those of you who are collaborating in the COST bid, this exercise will also
help us in constructing the next round of the bid. If the COST project is
successful, we may be able to build in some of the resources we would need
to increase the functionality of the site.
I look forward to hearing from you on this.
Please feel free to forward it to any colleagues in any discipline who you
think may also be interested.
Soo
Professor Soo Downe
Director
Midwifery Studies Research Unit
University of Central Lancashire
Preston PR1 2HE
Lancashire
England
+44 (0) 1772 893815
tel: 01772 893815
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