Norfolk Community Foundation has developed a community research resources bank to support Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations to learn about and participate in community research, which we hope will help to broaden and diversify participation in research.
Over the past year, Norfolk Community Foundation has been working with a range of community organisations to carry out different types of community research. This includes enabling organisations to participate in the Research and Engagement Network (REN) and Community Voices programmes funded through the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board, running our own ‘focus group funds’ and co-ordinating a UKRI-funded Community Research Network.
From conversations with VCSE partners, we know that it can be difficult to find relevant resources to support community research, particularly as a small organisation with limited resources. We also recognise that resources designed primarily for academics may be less relevant or disproportionate to the type of community research being carried out.
We have produced a set of resources, designed for a VCSE audience, which focus on different aspects of community research. These reports aim to improve access to relevant and inclusive community research resources, to increase awareness of research amongst the diverse range of communities that NCF works, and to help involve new community organisations (and the people they work with) in research and grow their knowledge.
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Start your community research journey here by downloading our helpful guides
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What is community research and why should you do it?
A brief introduction to community research, including different research approaches and reasons for carrying out research.
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Designing your research project
What you may need to think about when developing a research project, including deciding your research questions, involving people, ethics, data management and more.
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Carrying out research
How to recruit research participants, gather and analyse your insights, and write up your findings.
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Further resources
Links and resources to learn more about community research.
Thank you to the National Institute for Health and Care Research for funding these reports.
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