Community research
Developing the role of community research in Portsmouth
Background
Following a joint bid by Portsmouth City Council, HIVE Portsmouth and the University of Portsmouth, a potential £5m investment will enable more research which aims to tackle health inequalities and improve health outcomes for residents.
The funding will establish NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Portsmouth; a partnership combining local government, community sector and academic expertise to develop and deliver local research that can support decision-making in the city. The funding is due to be received from January 2025 for five years following the successful completion of a development year during 2024.
The research generated will focus on the building blocks of health, for example, factors such as housing, education, air quality and access to green spaces, which impact on the health and wellbeing of communities and can create inequalities across the city. It will help to inform evidence-based decisions, with better knowledge of how changes will affect different members of the community.
Developing community researchers
During our HDRC development year, the partners have been developing a network of community researchers.
What are community researchers?Developing the role of community research in Portsmouth
Community researchers are members of a community who are given training to conduct research in their own community. Community researchers benefit from local knowledge and understanding. They have the potential to reach communities that might otherwise not be included in research.
“We see this as an opportunity to change how our city uses research, to challenge the perception that research is something academics do and is distant from the communities that we serve. We want research to be done with and not done to communities.” – James Hill, Director of Housing, Neighbourhoods and Building Services at Portsmouth City Council.
Below you can learn about the community research carried out as part of the ‘Sandbox’ project.
Cultural understanding of faith-based needs and practices at a time of mourning
Understanding suicide risk (and potential supports) for local young people
The challenges with access to respite care for families with children with special educational needs
Next steps
“We have learned the value of working with community researchers as they are embedded with the participants of the research and have a sharper focus when understanding the needs of their communities. As a HDRC, we are keen to further develop community researchers and offer them other opportunities for research that is meaningful for their community” – Dr Nikki Fairchild (HDRC Academic Lead, University of Portsmouth)
Building on the success of the Sandbox project, Dr Nikki Fairchild is completing a small research project into the experiences of the community researchers. This will include their training, development as a researcher, and also the experiences of undertaking their research projects in order to better understand what worked well and what further support, training or development they might benefit from.. This will inform the ways we work with community researchers and communities moving forwards.