Community Group: Green Hive

Researchers: Louise Senior, Social Scientist (Independent Researcher)

Location: Nairn, Inverness-shire

Developing research skills amongst volunteers to conduct a peer-led qualitative study into the impacts of volunteering in the community

Simon Noble, Community lead at Greenhive, said: 

It’s given us an immense set of outputs, which the organisation has been able to communicate with other organisations, partners, potential funders and so on, in terms of being able to demonstrate the impact of work with volunteers. It's also illustrated challenges, and the importance of having some sort of professional support to make sure it all happens. It drew out the challenge of time as well. We now have a better understanding of the processes of our work.

Phase 1 community-led research project:

Green Hive, an environmental charity in Nairn, was keen to understand more about the impact they were making locally. In phase 1, they worked with independent researcher Louise Senior to create a series of case studies and stories to capture the experiences of volunteers in their work towards a Net Zero Nairn.

By working with a researcher, they were able to directly train their volunteers in research skills, supporting them to become peer researchers who could design and deliver their own qualitative study of the volunteer experience.

The findings were shared at a showcase event, in a report to the charity’s Trustees, and have been embedded in the practice of the organisation.

Capacity Building Project

The project used the capacity building grant in Phase 2 to enable the co-creation of a draft research plan and strategy, so that they can sustain their own community-led research in-house.

This stemmed from a desire amongst several volunteers and community members to start additional research projects, whilst also acknowledging the time, consideration and support required to do community-led research sustainably and ethically.

The draft research plan and strategy, co-developed by volunteers, senior members of the organisation and the researcher, was used to support funding bids for future action and research projects.

Research impacts

Greenhive has acknowledged the benefits of collaborating with a researcher to increase the confidence amongst volunteers in carrying out their own research, as well as providing an evidence base which the organisation has been able to utilise in other aspects of their work, including attracting additional funding, reflecting on organisational processes and strategies, and communicating their impact with other stakeholders.

Working with an external researcher gave a supportive structure to this work and illustrated the various considerations that would need to be made for any future peer-led research projects.