This seminar on Social Value and Participatory Research Methods took place on Wednesday the 5th April 2017, 45 persons attended the seminar with a good mixture of internal and external people.
Get Talking – the power of participatory research. Penny Vincent (pictured above), Senior Lecturer for Community Engagement and Community Partnerships, kicked off the proceedings with a session covering how the University (led by CCU) developed a ‘Get Talking’ approach to community based participatory research. Drawing on local Stoke-on-Trent examples including Quality Streets, Appetite, VOICES City Centre Rough Sleepers and Street Activity project and Wayfinding project baseline evaluation. She showed how this research methodology can result in a shift of power to make short term change and longer term influence over decisions and developments.
Can I be bothered? presented by Janet Hetherington, a Senior Lecturer at the School of Creative Arts and Engineering. Janet didn’t have written slides but gave a very engaging presentation on her work with young people using community based participatory approaches, she tested participatory research methods she has used with children, including the throwing of a slightly deflated ball around the room! She also discussed the relevance of participatory research in the context of organisations working with children, young people and families – and questioned to what extent can it become part of ‘the system’?
The third part of the seminar, Creative Approaches to Social Value was presented by Nic Gratton, Senior Lecturer at the School of Creative Arts and Engineering. Nic explained how the Creative Communities Unit (CCU) has developed a creative approach to measuring social value and she outlined the pilot project for which this was used. The presentation covered some of the tools used, the findings from the research and unexpected impact of the research on the bidding process and the university. The model adopted creative consultation tools to help to engage communities in conversations about the Stoke-on-Trent’s bid to be City of Culture, and used these findings, along with interviews with members of the bidding team and an online survey to forecast the potential social value of Stoke-on-Trent being successful in their bid.
The presentation slides used for this seminar on Social Value and Participatory Research Methods can be seen/downloaded here.
CHAD is committed to carrying out research that is locally relevant and accessible. The purpose of our seminar series is to share local research with a wide audience in order to stimulate discussion and debate. This includes practitioners, service providers, voluntary and community groups and other academics – everyone is welcome.
Check out CHAD events calendar for future seminars and other events here.
