Developing a co-production community of practice
Co-production in research is a way of working where everyone involved has more equal power and influence. People involved can include members of the public, people from community groups, health professionals and both community and university-based researchers.
Ideally, co-production is about involving people at every stage in a project and enabling them to be part of decision-making. It’s seen as a way of improving the relevance, usefulness and quality of research. It can help develop research projects with groups of people who don’t normally engage with traditional studies.
It’s therefore becoming more and more popular. But as it’s an emerging field there isn’t an established community of practice to develop skills, share best practices and ways of working.
Project aims
We want to bring community and university-based researchers together into a co-production community of practice. As part of this, we will develop training and support materials for community researchers working with universities.
The community will help build capacity and a supportive network for people working in co-production, wherever they’re based.
What we hope to achieve
We hope the community of practice will enable university-based researchers to build equitable and productive partnerships with community organisations, and community-based researchers to access more training, development opportunities and support.
Enhancing and supporting relationships between community and university-based researchers could help to diversify the research workforce. It could help promote inclusive, respectful and mutually beneficial research practices.
It should also help those in community researcher roles to develop their career, including through well-established pathways for academic study.
A community of practice in this area could help the health and care system reduce health inequalities and diversify the range of groups who participate in research.
Lead collaborators
- Helen Thomas-Hughes, University of Bristol
- Anna Pease, University of Bristol
ARC West Staff
Dr Michelle Farr
Senior Research Fellow, Qualitative Research
Mari-Rose Kennedy
Senior Research Associate
Dr Andy Gibson
Patient and Public Involvement Lead
Dr Helen Watts
Research Associate
Sarah Donald
Research AssociatePartners on this project
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is internationally renowned and one of the very best in the UK, due to its outstanding teaching and research, its superb facilities and highly talented students and staff. Its students thrive in a rich academic environment which is informed by world-leading research. It hosts the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research.
University of the West of England (UWE Bristol)
UWE Bristol is one of Britain's largest universities with a consistent reputation for high graduate employment, quality in teaching and growth in research. It is at the heart of dynamic partnerships that deliver real impact in the world. UWE hosts the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, the largest academic centre for multi-disciplinary robotics research in the UK.