Community Research in Tower Hamlets

A vital part of public and resident involvement in building an effective evidence base for decision making comes through the work of community researchers. This makes the support available for community researchers a crucial part of the infrastructure necessary for the HDRC to build.

In 2024 the HDRC commissioned the ‘Harnessing Collective Power’ report, which was officially launched at Toynbee Hall earlier this year. The report is a timely reminder of both the importance and richness of the knowledge created by community researchers and the barriers that exist to meaningful involvement in research for community members.

The full report - Peer and community research

The recommendations

The report made the following recommendations:

• An ‘Us’ Mentality: Adopting a collaborative mindset to ensure the research system is built on shared values. Challenging power dynamics, privilege, and norms, and promoting collaboration in Peer & Community research grounded in these updated values.
• Research Coordination: Supporting all stakeholders in collaborating on commissioning, fundraising, conducting, and implementing Peer & Community research through advocacy and strategic collaboration.
• Support Coordination: Ensuring that Peer & Community researchers receive adequate support, including timely and flexible payment methods, specialist advice on how payments impact welfare benefits, and opportunities for personal and career development. Coordinating training for P&C researchers, policymakers, universities, and community organisations, using training as a driver to address power dynamics and decolonise knowledge-making

The Community Research Steering Group

Building upon the recommendations made in the report the Tower Hamlets HDRC has convened a community research steering group in order to co-produce a support and co-ordination function for community researchers in Tower Hamlets. By working to share power around direction and decision making between community researchers, academics, the voluntary and community sector, and the local authority, the steering group aims to embody and model the culture change which community researchers themselves identified as vital to ensuring their work is supported and valued.

Up to this point the Steering Group has focused upon the way in which it operates. This has led to an increase in the community researcher representation and the appointment of a community researcher as co-chair. The steering group is now prioritising areas of work to be moving forward with. This work will be ongoing over the next year.

For more information, please contact sam.crosby@thcvs.org.uk.