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Exploring Community Research at Barnwood Trust: Making Connections and Embracing Complexity

This presentation delves into the complexities of community research at Barnwood Trust, a charitable foundation focused on creating opportunities for disabled individuals and those with mental health problems in Gloucestershire. It covers grant giving, community building, and workshops, while addressing ethical concerns such as consent, representation, and the balance between "insider" and "outsider" perspectives.

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Exploring Community Research at Barnwood Trust: Making Connections and Embracing Complexity

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  1. The complexities of community research: messiness and making connections Dr Debby Watson and Dr Roz Warden 7th March 2017

  2. Introduction to Barnwood Trust A charitable foundation dedicated to creating the potential in Gloucestershire for disabled people and people with mental health problems to make the most of their lives • Grant giving (individuals, groups, organisations) • Welcomers team • Community building (ABCD) • Community spaces • Workshops programme

  3. Introduction to Barnwood Trust www.yourewelcome.to

  4. Research Aims Explore the impact, reach and process of the Trust’s activities across Gloucestershire • Differs from some studies (e.g. University based) in that the aims are tied in with broad aims for the organisation: to drive positive change for, and with, disabled people in Gloucestershire

  5. Research Methods

  6. Ethical Concerns (1)- Staff • Working as part of an organisation • Insider/outsider identity • Negotiating access • Building relationships • Not auditors and not HR • Colleagues as gatekeepers • Sequencing of methods

  7. Ethical Concerns (1)- Staff Similarities between community building and research… • Initial informal conversations • Personal identity and boundaries • Safeguarding • Who’s not being included • Time limitations and endings … but there are important differences too!

  8. Ethical Concerns (2)- Consent • Consent for broad range of participants, including disabled people • Consent in groups that fluctuate in size • Consent with people with fluctuating • conditions

  9. Ethical Concerns (2)- Consent • An ongoing process (Ramcharan and Cutliffe 2001) • How to balance ‘light touch’ with ethical approach? • Level of consent proportionate to level of involvement in research?

  10. Ethical Concerns (3)- Representation • Multiple audiences (Trustees, staff, research participants, policy makers and external organisations) • Multiple outputs (evaluation findings, organisational learning, community-orientated information) • Leaving the field • Bringing together information from different sources • Reciprocity • Not disrupting the work

  11. Conclusions • What does ‘in house’ research activity take from/give to the organisation and to wider community? • Advantages of being an ‘insider’ research team: access and time • Working at relationship building was key • Complex task and sensitive issues • How we disseminate the findings will be an important ethical issue: lot of learning, but how will it change the lives of those who have been involved?

  12. Any questions? debby.watson@barnwoodtrust.org roz.warden@barnwoodtrust.org

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