Putting it into Practice

Abstract: This paper describes the lessons learnt from working with community leaders before attempting to engage different sectors of the public in research. The research institution in this study worked with four distinct communities within San Diego, USA. The researchers first carried out a literature review to gain some knowledge about the different communities. They then worked with leaders from community-based organisations, before carrying out focus groups with community members. Finally, they undertook joint projects with each of the four communities. This approach revealed that each community had different attitudes and levels of awareness of research, and very different preferences for methods of communication and engagement. It helped researchers to tailor their approach to meet the needs of each community, and to be more creative and flexible in building relationships with community members.

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Categories: journal article
service users and carers
researchers
research commissioners
relevant to all service users
lessons from direct experience of involvement
recruiting people to be actively involved in research
members of the public
staff in research organisations

Date Entered: 2014/08/20

Date Edited: 2014/08/20