By Steve Scott, Public Engagement Lead, and Hannah King, Senior Programme Manager (Public Engagement), UK Research and Innovation
The Community Led Research Pilot (CLRP) was an exciting pilot based in Reading and Slough, that put communities at the heart of the research process. This initiative was funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and co-created with the British Science Association, the University of Reading and communities that were new to or traditionally underrepresented in research. The pilot is part of the funded work in UKRI’s community research portfolio.
In this guest blog, Hannah King and Steve Scott from UKRI provide reflections on the pilot.
What happens when we connect the lived experience and knowledge of communities with traditional academic knowledge?
Community-led research hopes to fulfil the mantra, nothing about us without us, when exploring topics of people and place. This approach can highlight the alignment of research interests and needs, both for those within the communities and those working in traditional research settings.
However, innovations informed by people’s lived experiences can seem distant from those led by more conventional forms of research analysis. So, what are those gaps and how can we bring together diverse expertise? And how do we work in an equitable way through bringing these two worlds together? The CLRP hoped to find out.
Funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the pilot was delivered with the British Science Association, University of Reading, and a group of community representatives and community researchers. The Social Innovation Partnership (TSIP) delivered an initial co-design project that explored approaches to enabling equitable partnerships between communities and academic researchers.
The pilot builds on years of work in this field, including bringing together:
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UKRI community research portfolio: researcher-led and community-led funding which connects researchers and communities in equitable partnerships, and supports communities to lead their own research and establish conditions for collaborations
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British Science Association community engagement: supports science engagement by enabling community leaders and their communities to take control of how and in what form their science engagement is delivered
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University of Reading participatory action research combines academic knowledge with the lived experience and expertise of community members to promote epistemic justice and social change
Six groups based in Reading and Slough developed and delivered participatory research projects in collaboration with researchers from traditional academic settings:
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Research by TRIYBE revealed harmful chemicals in Black hair products, sparking conversations around identity and wellbeing, and providing community-informed alternatives
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Research by Reading Hongkongers found growing oriental crops in UK soil both enhanced flavour, and also strengthened cultural identity and wellbeing, connecting and rooting new immigrants through community gardening
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Research by Together As One saw young people become urban beekeepers helping to reconnect with nature, reduce stress, and build confidence, providing evidence that environmental action can be a powerful tool for mental wellbeing and social change
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Research by Slough Anti-Litter Society created an education programme grounded in behaviour change which led residents to tackle littering and influenced local policy with data-driven environmental action
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Research by Integrated Research and Development Centre (IRDC) found homemade compost more effective than shop-bought alternatives, and encouraged the Nepalese community in Reading to embrace sustainable gardening and healthier living through hands-on horticultural research
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Research by Engine Room and residents of Dee Park explored how sound shapes emotion and identity, creating public-facing archives that share research insights
Value of research by communities
Communities decided what they would study and explored what research means and was most valuable to them. We wanted people within the communities to be the agents where they could set the agenda, as a move away from communities being subjects. We trialled different ways of who made decisions around what to study to move from research ‘on’ communities to research ‘by’ and ‘with’ communities.
We prioritised keeping the perspectives and involvement of these groups of people central to the programme which resulted in the pilot creating valuable and impactful outcomes. There were benefits for people and places, but also unique outcomes for the existing research and innovation system.
1. Advancing knowledge
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New scientific knowledge for example understanding of harmful ingredients in commonly used hair products, and how sounds affect people, including those with neurodiversity
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New ‘action-based’ knowledge for example testing an education framework on sustainability for schools and faith groups, and how home composting and growing of oriental crops can contribute to sustainable gardening practices
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Non-extractive examples of analysis for example understanding cultural identity and belonging in new immigrants
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Trying out interventions for example reducing stress and improving emotional health for young people through beekeeping and environmental action
2. Capacity and skills in researchers and communities
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Researchers learnt how to do participatory research (inclusive co-design, building trust, socially relevant methods, addressing structural inequalities) and practised working across different research disciplines
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Communities learnt how to do traditional academic research (for example, capturing behaviour change related to litter through social action, integrating psychology to evidence how environmental action positively impacts mental health and wellbeing for young people and conducting scientific experiments on hair chemicals in laboratory settings)
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Communities learnt practical skills like gardening, composting, beekeeping, data collection, and creative practices, such as participatory video production
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Both groups built confidence in communication and how to lead this type of research
3. Improving lives
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Understanding need to deliver real world impact through shifting the power of the project towards communities (for example improving long term mental health and reducing referrals to services)
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Opening up research findings through generating community-owned data which can be used to influence local policy and practice
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Community cohesion and cultural heritage – building a sense of belonging within Reading and Slough, as well as different diaspora across the groups
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Improving mental health and wellbeing – through nature-based activities and social interaction in a range of settings
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Interdisciplinarity to address global challenges – from climate justice, to social and health equalities, to general wellbeing, through fusing creative practices with scientific curiosity and academic rigour
4. Learnings for funders and R&I organisations
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Demonstration of the value of community-led research
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Revealed complexities of attempting to shift power dynamics, including issues around overcoming systemic inequalities
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Showed need for continued focus on equity, longer-term support and lighter-touch processes
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Embedded learning programme was an essential component for building skills across sectors
The pilot also brought together perspectives of people in communities on how community-led research should be done (as outlined by the University of Reading in their Reflective Summary and Learnings) – which can be applied to public engagement more broadly as well.
Scaling up and digging deeper into the system
Community-led research reveals important ways in which the research and innovation system can work with the public – to avoid extraction and move towards more ethical and people-centred approaches. It’s important to keep community needs in mind through this process, continually reflecting on our learnings and approach.
There needs to be support for funders and research and innovation organisations to work together to embed and fund these ways of working. This means acting in an ethical and responsible manner is practice that is ‘must have’ rather than ‘nice to have’ – as outlined by the University of Reading in their blog What does ‘Good’ Ethical Practice look like?.
Community-led research needs to be brought into funding organisations, keeping in mind power dynamics at play and an inclusive approach. This includes further exploring how community-led research could better connect with the current research and innovation system.
Since CLRP, UKRI have invested more than £9 million over the next five years in Community Research Networks so communities can lead, direct and contribute to the research that matters to them. It is also developing plans to build regional capacity to deliver R&I for community impact. For UKRI staff, it is investing in learning and development in public engagement in order to embed this approach in priorities, programmes, policies and processes of the organisation.
As part of its ongoing delivery of The Ideas Fund, the British Science Association announced the award of a further £1.7m to 13 Evidence Building Grants in early 2025, and has since been working with community groups to explore the impact of community / researcher partnerships in more detail, leading to a recent publication, ‘Reimagining Research’.
The Ideas Fund have also made further funding available to strengthen the ‘field’ of community research, and are now co-designing the use of this funding with community partners across the UK. Alongside this, they continue to support the development of ‘infrastructure’ for community / researcher partnerships in each of the four geographical areas in which the Fund is based, for example continuing to support the Community Knowledge Matters Network in the Highlands and Islands.
The Participatory Action Research (PAR) team at University of Reading is committed to ethical, equitable community engagement and participation and research and innovation. The team continues to seek further funding to develop its work in this field and embed good practice in Reading and beyond. The University continues to reshape institutional systems and procedures in line with community-based practices.
Listening to communities
The value of this work has been realised by the many contributors to whom we are deeply grateful (full acknowledgements can be found in the Executive Summary report). Shifting to an approach that listens and collaborates with the public who fund our R&I will improve R&I outcomes and help make it fit for a changing future.