National Health Service

The NHS in Scotland is committed to developing evidence based culture and research is a key mechanism for the ongoing development of that evidence base. As such the SOFMH is committed to promoting and supporting research and evaluation across the Forensic Network. This commitment is multi-disciplinary in focus and goes beyond the NHS, encompassing the wide range of Forensic Network partner agencies. SOFMH can support the promotion of research in two ways. One is to provide a specific research network as a central point of contact for interested researchers, disseminating information on recent research findings and providing specific opportunities for wider dissemination such as the 2009 conference "Forging the Future". The second area of SOFMH focus will be on the provision of high quality teaching and continuous professional development, specific to research within a forensic setting. The school is able to do this both through the exceptionally high level of research expertise contained within the Forensic Network, but also the partnership agreements in place with prestigious Scottish higher education institutions, University of Edinburgh, Glasgow Caledonian University and University of Stirling. The School intends to provide its research specific training in a number of formats from short courses on specific methodological or analytical techniques; to a Masters in Forensic Mental Health Research. For further information on the SOFMH programme or to express an interest in Forensic Mental Health Research in general please contact Jamie Pitcairn, Forensic Network Research and Development Manager.