Co-producing a new community engagement in research programme
What did we do:
In 2021, The Social Innovation Partnership (TSIP) and the British Science Association (BSA) co-produced a new programme around community engagement in research. Funded by UKRI, the purpose of this work was to:
Develop a pilot programme to test innovative methods of shifting power dynamics so that researchers/scientists and communities are in a position where they share power and decision making and are comfortable working with each other.
Take an outcomes-led approach focusing on research with key stakeholders and across the sector (and afield) to ensure nuanced and unique insight feeding the design process.
Learn from other sectors, locally, nationally and internationally, to take learnings from different community engagement approaches and shape them into a programme relevant for public engagement in research.
What emerged was a new place-based model focused on ensuring communities can set the research agenda.
Why did we do it:
Research and innovation are two words which can often mean different things to different people. Their purpose and perception can often be misconstrued as sitting outside of the reality of communities, despite having the potential to inform, influence, and improve the lives of people who experience social disadvantages. Traditional approaches to research have often led to researchers being perceived as external and foreign, leading to mistrust preventing productive conversations about what is needed and relevant to the public's day to day lives.
We strongly believe that re-distributing power and increasing participation in research can create an ecosystem in which the value of community is embedded into the research process, where they have influence over what is researched and how it is researched, and where research is ultimately improved and leads to better innovation. Part of this process was also to shift mindsets of both communities towards research, demystifying and reframing this concept as a tool to help improve their health and their community, as well as to shift mindsets of researchers about the value of community input beyond the research data collection.
How did we do it:
TSIP and the British Science Association were interested in learning about other sectors’ approach to community engagement, and how insights could inform the design of a new programme. We involved 21 community members across all four nations within the co-design process, and had individual conversations with each of them ahead of time to create a safe space and gather initial reflections on the topic. We also spoke to 5 key BSA community stakeholders involved in their other research programmes, 9 community engagement organisations, and 15 academics and Public Engagement specialists. We conducted a literature review and compiled key learnings in a report.
Following this initial engagement, we developed a Theory of Change with key stakeholders and ran 6 co-design workshops. These workshops began with a reflection on initial findings, including what good research looks like and what equity in research means, we discussed initial options to determine the pilot’s focus, evaluated them against the outcomes we want to achieve, and developed a strawman model to be piloted.
WHAT WERE THE OUTCOMES:
The pilot enabled the British Science Association to test a new way of doing engaged research which leads to increased community agency in the research and innovation system. Specifically, this work impacted:
How communities and researchers build research agendas together.
The value of communities conducting (or leading) and taking part in research themselves as a way to build knowledge, relevance and buy-in to the R&I sector.
Effective ways of shifting power by adapting research approaches and agendas to communities’ realities (rather than the other way around).
A way of recognising the value, skills and knowledge of different stakeholders during a research process.
The quality of research designs and questions when co-produced.
The usefulness and relevance of research which has had community input from its inception through to the dissemination.
The community-led research pilot is currently running in Reading and Slough - read more here.
WHAT DID WE LEARN:
Take the time to build relationships, especially when trust has broken down before. That means leaving space in workshops and running separate sessions specifically for socialising. It also means ensuring everybody has had a chance to understand why they are showing up to a session – and the benefit to them.
Track everything – co-design processes build on each workshop, and this process needs to be captured as part of the evidence base for working in this way, ensuring a transparent and truly community led process.
Being involved from the start is something that communities want in research and most other things when they are directly impacting their lives, moving away from consultation as much as possible.