AHRC Connected Communities programme, January 2016, University of Lincoln, Heritage Network

1. AHRC Connected Communities programme, January 2016, University of Lincoln, Heritage Network Prof George McKay, Media, UEA george.mckay@uea.ac.uk

2. AHRC Theme/Programme Leadership Fellows (2012-18) • Connected Communities: Profs George McKay (UEA) andKeri Facer (Bristol) • Translating Cultures: Prof Charles Forsdick (Liverpool) • Care for the Future:Prof Andrew Thompson (Exeter) • Science in Culture: Prof Barry C. Smith (London) • Digital Transformations:Prof Andrew Prescott (Glasgow) • AHRC Commons: Dr Richard Clay (Birmingham)

3. How to keep informed and to contribute 1. Website: http://connected-communities.org 2. Jiscmail: CCRESEARCHERS@JISCMAIL.AC.UK3. Twitter: @ahrcconnect

4. Connected Communities is a cross-Council Programme being led by the AHRC in partnership with the EPSRC, ESRC, MRC and NERC and a range of other organisations to understand the changing nature of communities in their historical and cultural contexts and the value of communities in sustaining and enhancing our future quality of life.

5. ‘Community’ • Definition of ‘community partner’ deliberately (we think, helpfully) open • Co-design and co-production of research questions, and community-led research: from KT through KE to co-production • Prof Rick Rylance, at a CC London Showcase: ‘In 5-10 years, research will be produced between organisations.’

6. Scale of the programme to date • Well over 300 awards, ranging from £30k to £1.5m, totalling around £40m • Across these funded projects, academics are working with over 500 unique community partners

7. … and over 70 scoping studies

9. Project categories

10. Research for Community Heritage In 2012 21 universities funded to explore partnerships with community groups interested in applying to the HeritageLottery Fund’s ‘All Our Stories’ programme. Universities were encouraged to hold open days, to reach out to community groups in their towns, cities and regions and give specialist input to groups developing a bid to the HLF. Soon after a second phase of the project began when groups which had been successful in their HLF bids joined together with AHRC funded researchers to undertake collaborative projects. The initiative was responsible for collaborations spanning a wide range of community and academic interests, from music, the environment, history, archaeology, health, multimedia, oral history, archives, transport and many more, through some 150 projects, across all regions of the UK. Then: the Network!

11. Creating a community of scholars • ECRs • Highlight notices for CDAs, Research Networks • Annual programme-wide gatherings or activities for award holders and public engagement: showcases, residential summits, festival, conference • Follow-on funding mechanisms • Large cross-institution project teams • Responsive and flexible • Legacy projects • Book series

12. Some recent / current funding calls and activities • Disconnection / CohesionResearch Development Workshop March 2014—October 2015 awarding decisions made. Announcements imminent • Changing the Future Research Landscape? ECRs conference, UEA March 2016 • Communities and Utopia, London and nationwide festival, June. Part of Utopia500 events • Reggae as Transatlantic Musical Community research network 2016-17 (UEA/Liverpool/London) • Leadership Fellows’‘Biscuit Fund’/ Catalyst Fund 2016-18 very small grants

13. Utopia 500 and Connected Communities • April, Jazz Utopia conference, Birmingham • May, City Utopias events, University of Bristol • June, CC Community Futures and Utopias nationwide festival • June, Utopia Fair, Somerset House, London, • September, Utopian Dreamers, • Activists and Experimenters • conference/gathering, UEA

14. Some thoughts about the programme’s distinctiveness … • 1. A distinctive contribution to arts and humanities inflected participatory and collaborative research • - methods / methodologies / approaches • - practices of collaboration with (cultural) organisations • 2. heritage partnerships • 3. Creative citizenship • - cultural / creative economy / regeneration: DiY, everyday • 4. Social innovation (participatory citizenship)

15. Collaboration and opportunity • Leadership Fellows’‘Biscuit Fund’ small funds—call for 2x applications in 2016 and 2017 (June and December). £3000 max, not for PIs! • Changing the Future Research Landscape ECRs conference, UEA Norwich, 22-23 March 2016. Free event (travel and accommodation covered) including training and networking. See CC website. Deadline 2 February. Possible ECR funding opportunity related to event also. • We are interested in discussing further funding for continuation of CC Heritage Network. Profile across the programme. • NEW Leadership Fellows to be appointed over this year by AHRC in each of its three priority areas : Languages, Design, HERITAGE

18. Festival as temporary (cultural) community, ones working with recently, currently

19. An early Connected Communities project

20. A growing body of work under the programme is exploring the temporal dimension to communities, while other clusters of projects are exploring issues such as cultural value in community contexts and ‘community and performance’. • Another strand of research is exploring the potential for arts and humanities to support approaches to engagement with communities as active participants in the research process, through the creative arts and media, narratives, crafts and by enhancing consideration of issues such as ethics, power and voice.

21. Our large projects (£1.5m, over 3-5 years) • Large grants are typically consortia of different HEIs and community partners, with a set of themes / WPs / activities. They are shaped and funded via research development workshops. • Areas for large grants include: • creative economy (funded) • health and well-being (funded) • environment and sustainability (funded) • disconnection / diversity (development workshop March 2014—over 340 applications for 65 places).

22. A current project on More Than Human communities research: co-design with water ‘During our awkward, ungainly progress over the bogland, we encountered two seekers from the Water Company, on a quest for an underground leak from a water main. A serendipitous meeting and most appropriate. Two water “dreamings” or songlines intersecting - in time and in space. There is a need, I feel, to range laterally in our investigations of water relationships….’

23. ECR-focused project funded: Connecting Epistemologies • The research project involved workshops and the opportunity to take part in supported reflective practice to record your experience as an ECR with Connected Communities. We invited all of the ECRs who are, or have been, part of a Connected Communities project to come along to share their thoughts and ideas about our four research themes:  • The methods ECRs use in their work. • The ECR experience of the Connected Communities programme. • ECR identities. • The social and higher educational structures surrounding ECRs

24. … while at the same time Connected Communities is a continuation of multiple traditions and practices • Co-design (user-centred computing, engineering, workplace studies) • Participatory and Community Arts • Co-production (economics, services) • Patient Voice & Communities of Practice (medicine, public services) • Community development • Practice as Research • Action research (education, health. management) • Participatory Action Research (agriculture, environment, education) • History/Sociology/Literature from below/Cultural Studies (Williams/ Hoggart etc…) • Public philosophy & arts in public • As well as desk based, archival and empirical social sciences, arts and humanities research

25. What difference does Connected Communities make to academics? • Relationships: New academic relationships, cross disciplinary, can be fragile, learning with and from others. New relationships with community organisations (HLF and All our Stories) • Support and recognition: builds confidence, grant size and activities recognised by institutions (may already have been going on), supported to confront change in institutions • ECRs: Manageable funding, keeping hold of and bringing in new talent, strong relationships (with some issues), different identities (freelancer, disciplinarian, worker bee, entrepreneur) • Personal development and capacity building: New skills working with community, new research knowledge – where is this taking people? • Costs: Publication issues, takes longer, risks • Disrupting practices and processes: Ownership and management of publications • + funding, resources, ability to do research that might not otherwise be funded

26. What difference does Connected Communities make to partner organisations? • New relationships: With academics and with other community organisations • Credibility for community organisations: Implications for other funding • Greater recognition for existing work: Credibility of knowledge amongst other audiences • Ownership and control of research projects: Community Co-Is, real partnerships • Access to networks: Events and relationships • Opportunities for personal development: Skills, resources, training • Opportunities for reflection: time to ask big questions, uncover new ways of doing things • Creating new communities • Ongoing difficulties in relationships with HEIs • + funding, resources, ability to do research that might not otherwise be funded elsewhere

27. But the principle is • The research councils are very open to collaborative research processes, and peer reviewers are becoming more open • Responsive mode – always open, flag CC involvement, use CC approaches in the proposal. • Consider Network proposals to build relationships, then larger grant submissions afterwards

28. What are reviewers looking for…? • Engaged research is not just ‘anything goes’ - recognise the histories, traditions and expertise in engaged and collaborative research that already exists. • Involving the Arts and Humanities doesn’t just mean using them to ‘disseminate’ or ‘engage’ – they bring theoretical and conceptual resources as well • Recognise what has gone before and learn from it • CC website – www.connected-communities.org - has all current CC projects listed. Open search for topics, names or places. • Scoping studies remain important • Locate the work in the field • CC book series with Policy Press. Pulling together engaged and collaborative research, theory and practice. Open to proposals from non CC projects as well