2024-25 Policy and Participatory Research Funding

Working with the Preservative Party, a diverse group of 14-24 year old volunteer youth curators at Leeds City Museum, we will produce a podcast ‘Whose power?’ to explore and evidence the possibilities and benefits of using the co-production of a podcast as a participatory method.

As young people who want to speak up, but who are restricted by their social, educational, economic and personal experiences (the majority of the group as now constituted are neurodivergent and/or live with mental health challenges) the podcast has shown itself to be a powerful tool for effective participation. Crucially, having experimented with this method and started to explore together its significant and previously unforeseen benefits, series 2 of the podcast ‘Whose power?’ will enable us to explore, evaluate and communicate the impact of this innovative method on the development of the group’s participatory research skills and their ability to communicate why podcasting specifically enables them to be key voices in advocating for more public and community involvement in museums and collections’ interpretation.

Using a case study approach, we are seeking to develop our knowledge of the podcast as both method and effective output to examine and articulate the complexity and benefits of participatory methods.

When children and young people are out of school for medical reasons, they become isolated from their friends and school. This project aims to increase understanding of learner isolation in partnership with children and young people who are users of the Leeds City Council Medical Needs Teaching Service (MNTS). Children and young people who use the MNTS will help to design and conduct the research. We will develop a series of principles for reducing learning isolation and share these with individuals interested in the education of learners with medical needs. We will also consider the best way to produce research in partnership with children and young people who may be isolated and prevented from meeting other people face-to-face.

This project meets Leeds City Council areas of research interest in ‘Health and Wellbeing - Integration of health and social care and community support in reducing health inequalities ‘, and Inclusive Growth. We will promote inclusive education practices enabling children to make academic progress while out of school. The project aims to address inequality in education by identifying ways to reduce learner isolation. It will generate economic and societal impact by supporting children with medical needs to thrive as they grow up, having the same opportunities as their peers who receive education at school.

People with learning disabilities are often excluded from research, and when they are involved, engagement can be tokenistic, poorly planned, under resourced and fail to change power dynamics. This research seeks to change this. Through a partnership with Purple Patch Arts and researchers with learning disabilities (the Purple Research Group), and consultations with academics, we will develop guidance and resources that support researchers to develop inclusive ways of working.

Two resource suites will be co-developed. Resource suite one will share practical guidance for undertaking participatory research with people with learning disabilities. Resource suite two addresses the lack of guidance on discussing research in accessible ways. This resource will provide accessible explanations of research terms and concepts, alongside arts-based and creative approaches to engaging people with learning disabilities in the research process. Together, these resources will upskill researchers and advocate for the active involvement of adults with learning disabilities in research.

The development of more inclusive research practices will empower people with learning disabilities to have their say in research across any discipline, resulting in a more inclusive research culture which tackles the social exclusion and inequalities experienced by this community.

Stroke affects 100,000 people every year in the UK. For many, it causes long-term disability, including difficulty with moving, thinking and communicating. People from South Asian backgrounds have a higher risk of stroke. Typically, the results are worse than for white British people. However, limited research has specifically explored their experiences and they are often under-represented in research, for reasons such as cultural and language barriers, or lack of trust.

In this project, we will find out how best we can work with South Asian people with lived experience of stroke (including those with difficulty thinking and communicating) and what to avoid. We will engage and work with a group of ten South Asian people with lived experience of stroke (supported by their carers). Between meetings, we will train and support members to test out different approaches, such as interviewing others within their community. This will inform a further, larger study, aiming to find out the most important research questions for South Asian people in the UK with lived experience of stroke.

We will discuss our findings with community groups, aiming to improve trust in research. Further research will aim to reduce inequalities and improving health and well-being.