Notts’ Voice in Research
Valuing Community Knowledge and Experience
Valuable, meaningful knowledge doesn’t just come from Universities. It also exists in our communities through those who live and breath real-world issues, and those who work to support our communities. Co(l)laboratory is working to ensure that local knowledge and expertise plays a direct role in shaping the research we fund.
What is the Notts’ Voice in Research initiative?
Notts’ Voice in Research is a Co(l)laboratory initiative that seeks to understand some of the complex challenges that are important to our local communities and how research from our local universities should be shaped to address these. Through Notts Voice in Research events, we aim to:
- Work with Nottingham and Nottinghamshire residents, local civic and community professionals/community leaders etc., who have knowledge, insight, and experience of our diverse local communities.
- Collaborate with participants in our workshops to develop an informed understanding of what the Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire communities’ priorities are and how these intersect and overlap.
- Use these mutually agreed priorities to direct the development of up to 15 new research projects that will be funded and delivered by the Co(l)laboratory research programme, starting in April 2026.
How does it work?
There are 3 main events in the Notts’ Voice in Research agenda each year, all of which are open to local community members and community professionals.
By taking part, you’ll be able to see the whole process through, from the early stages of idea exploration through to the decision making where final projects are chosen and awarded funding.
Month | Activity | Purpose |
March-April | Community Priority Workshops | A series of 3, weekly workshops where you the community identify the people, places, and issues which should be the focus of our next year's research. |
June | Research Co-Creation Workshop | An afternoon networking event. Meet Nottingham academics and community-focused organisations developing new research together. Help them better understand what our communities need. |
October | Project Selection Panel | An afternoon session with the Co(l)laboratory team. Contribute to discussions about new community-centred research proposals. Help us decide which projects will be funded to begin the following April. |
Who are we looking for?
- Do you want to contribute to positive, meaningful change to the lives of local people?
- Are you a Nottingham or Nottinghamshire resident who plays active role in any local community groups, networks, or forums?
- Do you have an in-depth understanding and/or first-hand experience of specific issues that affect Nottingham and/or Nottinghamshire communities?
- Do you work with members of one or more local communities through the services you deliver at work (NHS, other healthcare, local council, schools, charities, voluntary organisations, etc.)?
If any of the above points describe you, then you’re exactly who we’re looking for!
Ideally, you will be able to commit to attending all 3 Community Priority Workshops, and would be interested in the Co-Creation Workshop and Selection Panel later in the year. We know that these events take place over a relatively long stretch of time, so we only ask you to sign up for Community Priority Workshops initially. We will then keep in touch with you too confirm your availability later in the year for our other events.
NOTE: You will not be eligible to take part in the latest round of events if you were involved last year. This is to ensure that more people have the chance to participate and that we’re able to explore of as many different aspects of life and community as possible.
What do you get?
- You will receive a payment of £50 per event that you attend, to compensate you for your time and efforts.
- You will join a group of like-minded, passionate, and motivated individuals who want to see more people and organisations in Nottingham work together to make positive change for our communities.
- You will have the opportunity to help shape real university research projects which are set to begin in April 2026.
- You will be given exclusive access to Co(l)laboratory’s pioneering research skills workshop series, developed specifically for local professionals working in community and civic settings. The series is designed equip you with leading research skills and techniques that you can use to address challenges in your own organisations, and to support your own future ambitions.
An overview of Notts Voice in Research 2024
Who was involved?
We worked with members of local organisations such as the NHS, Self Help Nottingham, Nottingham Scouts, Refugee Roots, Nottinghamshire Police, ChalleNGe, The Carousel, and other individual community members.
Which communities priorities were identified?
Our 2024 participants helped us identify 16 priority areas covering topics such access and inclusion in the local economy, the role of physical community hubs, access to support services and more.
Each priority area was broken down into a series of more specific points that gave more nuanced detail about the different people, places, and issues that were discussed by participants.
What research projects were created and funded?
After sharing details of the community’s research priorities, teams of research academics and community organisations submitted 22 proposals for new research projects. Of these, x10 3-year-long PhD research projects and x6 10-week-long Research Placement projects were funded. These projects are set to begin in April 2025.
The graphic below gives a simple overview of which community priorities these 16 projects are trying to address. To explore the outcomes of Notts’ Voice in Research 2024, download the PDF summary at the link above. You can also explore our research pages to learn more about our current research projects.
