Friday 15 September 2023
Co(l)laboratory Concludes Research Co-Creation and Engages Notts Communities for Research Development
On the 4th of September 2023, we successfully concluded our second call for community partners and researchers to help us develop our next cycle of PhD projects in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire communities. This research initiative, united researchers, community-focused organisations, and residents from Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
A central mission of our program is to facilitate collaboration between Nottingham academics and a diverse array of potential partners from local community-focused organisations to co-create new PhD research projects that tackle challenges pertinent to the communities in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Events leading up to the end of this second call included a series of Information webinars, Co-Creation workshops and community events across Nottinghamshire introducing Co(l)laboratory’s online crowdsourcing platform, Notts Voice in Research to Nottinghamshire Residents.
The main objective of Co(l)laboratory’s research initiative is to develop PhD projects that yield evidence-based outcomes, enabling them to have a direct, relevant, and substantial impact on Nottinghamshire communities. This research process adopts a collaborative strategy referred to as community-engaged research, which is rooted in the requirements of local communities and is consistently shaped by individuals who possess firsthand experience with the challenges under consideration.
As part of the research process, the team organised a series of online webinar sessions in June and July to provide more information about Co(l)laboratory, including what being a partner on a Co(l)laboratory PhD research project entails and allowing participants to ask questions they may have had regarding the program. Additionally, Co(l)laboratory’s interactive event, the Co-Creation Workshops, brought together Nottingham academics and individuals from locally focused community organisations. The objective of these workshops was to foster a connection between academia and the community, explore potential partnerships, shared values and support and resources to establish common ground in idea generation and to initiate the development of research project proposals. These events took place over three sessions on the 19th of July, the 15th of August, and the 4th of September 2023. The events saw the active participation of more than 60 academics from Nottingham Trent University, the University of Nottingham, and community-focused organisations based in Nottingham.
Dr Matthew Young, Co(l)laboratory Doctoral Programme Manager, had this to say regarding the Co-Creation Workshops that took place over the summer:
Co(l)lab’s co-creation workshops are part of such an exciting and important process for our programme, and it’s very encouraging to see so many researchers and local community organisations coming together with a desire to tackle local challenges. The sheer breadth of research project ideas that start developing at this stage are truly impressive and are a testament to the dedication of those involved to creating meaningful change for Notts communities
While our PhD research Co-Creation workshops took place, the team took Co(l)laboratory’s crowdsourcing initiative, Notts Voice in Research, to Nottinghamshire communities, enabling citizens to share their valuable ideas and experiences on issues that matter most to them on the virtual platform powered by Crowdicity to actively participate in the PhD research projects being developed, in their local communities. The team’s first stop was at Riverside Festival, one of the East Midlands’ biggest summer festivals, with thousands of visitors from August 4 to 6, at the Victoria Embankment in Nottingham. Visitors at the Festival had the opportunity to interact with the team and asked questions on the objective of the Notts Voice in Research campaign and how that impacted local communities. The campaign’s next community event was at the Idlewells Shopping Centre in Sutton-In-Ashfield, the largest town in the district of Ashfield. Shoppers at the centre took the time to interact with our team and took home some of our campaign flyers with scannable QR codes onto the Crowdicity platform and the Notts Voice in Research initiative stated on them. The team then concluded the Notts Voice in Research campaign trail in Hucknall, at the High Street. These events gave us confidence in seeing how successful it was with boosting our brand identity to those within Nottinghamshire. We heard from numerous Nottinghamshire residents throughout the summer who shared a variety of concerns with us, many showing potential in becoming PhD research projects in the future.
Reflecting on the events that took place over the summer, Co(l)laboratory Community Engagement and Communications Coordinator, Alex Nkrumah, had this to say:
Our core mission is to create research projects centered on the priorities and lived experiences of Nottinghamshire residents. We believe that the Notts Voice in Research platform will empower community members by providing them with a platform to actively participate in the research projects we are developing in their local area. We are extremely grateful to the people of Nottingham for welcoming us into their communities and taking part in our our activities.
