About Us
What is Co(l)laboratory?
Co(l)laboratory (pronounced co-laboratory) is a pioneering new programme supported by Nottingham Trent University, the University of Nottingham, and the Universities for Nottingham partnership. The programme aims to bring together researchers, community-focused organisations, and local citizens to deliver meaningful change for the people of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
An eight-year-long, £5.1m project, funded by the Research England Development Fund, Co(l)laboratory will engage local citizens, organisations, and communities in setting the agenda for research at their local universities, conducting those research projects, and empowering communities to lead local change.
Over the next eight years, Co(l)laboratory will train 50 Ph.D. students, deliver 30 community events, provide 25 paid ‘Citizen Scientist’ research placements, support 15 community projects, and produce a national blueprint for how to support Ph.D. candidates to develop as future civic leaders.
Research With and For the Community
Co(l)laboratory puts community knowledge and experience at the core of research. All of our research projects are developed through creative collaborations between academic researchers and partners across local, community-focused organisations, with wider input from local citizens. Through these partnerships, we aim to create new research projects that are based on the needs and priorities of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire citizens.
To bring our collaborative research projects to life, Co(l)laboratory seeks out unique individuals with comprehensive, community experience and a genuine drive for creating positive change. Through our competency-based recruitment model, we aim to attract candidates who are distinct from the typical researcher profile, and who can use their professional or community-centered background and related skills to produce meaningful research outcomes.
Civic Leaders Grounded in Research
To facilitate lasting change for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, Co(l)laboratory is creating a first-of-its-kind training and development programme which aims to support our research candidates in becoming future civic leaders. In partnership with the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE), Co(l)laboratory will be exploring our community-engaged researchers can become our local problem-solving leaders of the future, by taking the benefits of their PhD and research experience back into their roles in the Notts community.
Co(l)laboratory’s extensive training and development programme will also open up research skills training to local citizens and organisations, sharing research skills and knowledge directly with more people working to better our communities.
Connected and Responsive Research
A vital part of our community-led research agenda is ensuring that our research remains connected to the communities that it seeks to serve. To support this goal, Co(l)laboratory will incorporate a broad variety of events throughout the lifetime of the program. These events will be designed to provide an opportunity for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire communities to engage directly with our researchers, to learn about our work and to help us critically reflect on what we achieve. These events will ensure that our research remains responsive to the real-world needs of our communities.
Leadership and Governance
The UfN Co(l)laboratory Research Hub project is led by Co-Principal Investigators Dr Rebekah Smith McGloin, Director of the Doctoral School and Research Operations at Nottingham Trent University, and Professor Jeremy Gregory, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Nottingham.
Strategic oversight and governance are provided by the Universities for Nottingham Project Management Board and the Co(l)laboratory Advisory Board, both of which comprise leaders in higher education and leaders of local and national community organisations.
