BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The aim of BRIDGE was to develop and pilot and 6-month peer mentoring scheme for early career researchers (ECRs) in the context of global mental health. We wanted to connect UK-based ECRs with ECRs from South Africa and Brazil to facilitate reciprocal knowledge exchange and horizontal learning as well as fostering new collaborations and aiding the development of new skills.

Designed and delivered a bespoke half-day workshop to 30 ECRs from the UK, Brazil, and South Africa. 

Supported 15 peer mentoring pairs to actively engage in a 6-month peer mentoring relationship, who were matched based on their career stage, research interests, and goals for the programme.

Supported these relationships with monthly check-ins via email to share resources such as podcasts, values-based activities, and papers, as well as hosting an online networking session at 3-months to create longer-term collaborations.

BRIDGE would not have been possible without the funding provided by the MHR Incubator, as well as their support.

The funding enabled us to be able to afford the time and skills of a qualified and highly experienced coach to develop and deliver a bespoke workshop, with a focus on topics and skills that were directly relevant to the specifics of the scheme. Without this funding, we would not have been able to afford this expertise or level of personalisation, which would have likely negatively impacted the effectiveness of the scheme.

It was an ambitious project to complete within the scope of the seed fund, and for two ECRs to take on. The MHR Incubator team made sure that they were available to support us by attending team meetings, helping us to develop recruitment materials, hosting the application forms, and managing the logistical aspects of hosting an online workshop. We would not have been able to undertake this scheme without them.