Overview
Area(s) of interest:
access to services| community development| education| employment| health| homelessness| housing| poverty| wellbeing
Additional information
Location: West Norfolk, England
England| West Norfolk
Mode of working: Hybrid
Hybrid
We can support both in-person and remote sessions. In-person sessions often work well as they can be incorporated into existing activities and trusted environments within our Health & Wellbeing Centre and community space in South Lynn. Remote can also work, as long as participants can access suitable equipment and support through our centres.
Research experience: Yes
Notes:
We have experience supporting and participating in research and evaluation activities focused on homelessness, poverty, health inequalities and community wellbeing. We use Outcome Stars to measure progress and outcomes across our services and regularly gather feedback from the people we support to inform service development. We are also a lead partner in the West Norfolk Community Research Hub, which aims to increase participation in research among communities that are often underrepresented. Through this work, we collaborate with research organisations, the NHS, local authorities and voluntary sector partners to help ensure people with lived experience can contribute to research. We were involved in the Take the Lead programme with HDR UK, which explored public involvement in health data research and helped increase understanding of how data can be used to improve health outcomes. More recently, we completed a Community Voices project focused on oral health in areas experiencing high levels of disadvantage, gathering insights from local people to better understand barriers to accessing oral healthcare and opportunities for improvement. We have supported engagement activities, focus groups, surveys and public involvement opportunities, helping researchers connect with individuals whose experiences can provide valuable insight into health, housing and social inequalities.
Type of involvement:
Ad-hoc Support| Co-Production
Notes:
We would ask researchers to recognise that meaningful engagement with people facing multiple disadvantages often requires flexibility, clear communication and sufficient time to build trust. Opportunities are most successful when they are accessible, inclusive and demonstrate how participants’ contributions will make a difference.
Availability:
Our core hours are Monday to Friday, 9-5 but we can occasionally support sessions outside these times where there is a clear benefit to participants. For example, we may be able to facilitate engagement through community events or family activities that take place at weekends.
Expenses:
Please offer reimbursement to participants for their time.
Our comments to researchers:
Researchers should provide clear information about the purpose of their project, what involvement will be required, the expected time commitment and how participants’ contributions will be used. Requests would be appreciated with sufficient notice, recognising that we sometimes have limited capacity/resources.
It would be really good if they could provide feedback on outcomes and ensure engagement is accessible, inclusive and meaningful.
