Engaging Communities Research Centre

A research and knowledge exchange centre working at the interface of social, community, health and occupational psychology.

About us

The Engaging Communities Research Centre (ECRC) brings together researchers conducting innovative and world-leading research and knowledge exchange at the interface of social, community, health, and occupational psychology.

Our work seeks to makes a difference to communities and society, by developing psychologically and community-informed solutions to contemporary social issues.

Our aim is to build a research and evidence base that details the ways in which our actions and experiences and our health and wellbeing are not just determined by our individual psychologies but also by the social structures and systems in which we live.
 
The work of ECRC spans different contexts and communities worldwide, and we have a strong reputation for developing meaningful community involvement and engagement approaches, including amplifying marginalised or silenced voices.

Our work is challenge-led, arising from our strong collaborative partnerships with communities, the voluntary and community sector, health organisations and structures, local government, and other key stakeholders. As a result, our research is informed, owned and used by our partners, feeding into collaborative research agendas, the development of interventions and solutions, and regional, national, and international policy agendas.

Our aim, then, is to apply our research to real-world challenges to maximise societal impact. To achieve this, our work seeks to understand the psychological processes involved in the following research strands.

Research strands and Services

Equity and Engagement in Research

Raising Voices in Research

The ECRC is the lead academic partner for Raising Voices in Research. This NHS REND-funded programme aims to support underserved communities to increase their engagement with health and social care research, through partnership with voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations who are engaged or embedded in, or led by those communities. The ECRC has led the programme evaluation, Researcher Development Training, has facilitated community and academic researcher collaboration sandpits, as well as supporting the broader project activities.

For more information, visit the Raising Voices in Research website.

Research Training to improve diversity, inclusion and participation in research

We have developed a series of training for community, academic and public researchers to aid the diversity and inclusion of applied research. The training has been co-produced with input from community representatives and builds on the findings from the Raising Voices in Research project. Training can be provided to groups and organisations. We can provide bespoke tailored workshops depending on your requirements.

Please contact us to discuss your training needs.

Imposter Participants in Qualitative Research

Maintaining the integrity of applied research is important to ensure the voices of individuals and communities are heard and not misrepresented. In recent years, a phenomenon of individuals falsely representing themselves in research has arisen. This research aims to understand the impact and drivers of this issue and create solutions to mitigate the problem.

Research methods and approaches to working with small, marginalised, unique or novel populations

Metrics-driven approaches to evaluation of work with small and/or marginalised populations can include quantitative data. However, given the nature of these populations, the effective measurement and analysis of such data can prove challenging in the context of inferential statistics. We are interested in ways in which we can analyse such data in the most informative way possible.

Social Connectedness

Social connectedness is the extent to which individuals and groups feel connected to, and supported by, the people, places and organisations around them. The presence, or not, of social connection is known to influence many aspects including individual and community health and wellbeing, social integration and engagement. Research currently undertaken by the ECRC in this area comprises:

Social influences and outcomes on mental health and wellbeing

Personality traits related to disorders such as schizophrenia, OCD, depression and anxiety affect an individual's social interactions through social withdrawal, anxiety in social situations, and social isolation, which in turn can help maintain poor wellbeing and negative life experiences. We are interested in how these factors are related to one another conceptually and methodologically. For example, we have recently published research into how sub-factors of schizotypy might relate to different types of loneliness using dominance analysis.

Volunteering and civic participation

In this work, we explore how psychologically meaningful social group memberships (e.g. to family, community, volunteering group) can be developed to help people feel socially connected (and less lonely), and what is needed improve this work. This ongoing work is connected to the Volunteering Research Hub, a collaborative partnership looking at ways to build sustainable communities.

Community interventions to alleviate loneliness

Loneliness is more than an individual phenomenon. It sits at the intersection of individuals, groups, communities, infrastructure and policies, and this makes it hard to know how these can translate into interventions that work. We are interested in complex and community-based interventions that can work in this space. For example, we recently evaluated a community transport initiative that looked to address loneliness in vulnerable older adult communities.

Another example is a research project looking at how marginalised communities view and use community assets/spaces to support social connectedness. The aim of this research is to look at ways social connection can be improved, what can be done to bridge gaps between community assets and marginalised groups - are interventions needed that can help communities see community spaces as 'theirs' and improve their feelings of social connection?

Improving working lives – the Future of Work project

Work is the single most time-consuming aspect of most people's lives, providing a sense of purpose and agency over the adult lifespan. It should be an enriching experience and a force for good. Our Future of Work project encompasses three complementary areas that are compatible with the social connectedness research of the ECRC and centre around enhancing productivity by improving the lived experience of work for individuals and teams:

‘The New normal’ and the future of the office

The pandemic has irrevocably shifted many people’s perception of ‘good work’ and how they intend to integrate work within their holistic lives. Our research and consultancy focusses on helping organisations, teams and individuals successfully navigate the post-pandemic ‘new normal’ of dispersed and hybrid working. For example, our recent research with desk workers identified several performance risks associated with return to the office schemes. Our research insights help us build sustainable, positive and evidence-based solutions that enhance productivity and wellbeing. These can include reimagining leadership and the leader role, redesigning office spaces, promoting creativity and performance in dispersed teams, and driving performance through social connectedness.

Leading authentically

Authentic leadership and genuine work relationships are key performance drivers that strengthen social connectedness and foster collaboration. Our research is helping identify how leaders can develop authentic connections to create high performing teams.

Women in Leadership

Women face additional barriers to progression. Our Women in Leadership research focusses on understanding women’s lived experiences of leadership to better enable them to work and lead authentically.

Graduate employability

Developing employable graduates is a key imperative for universities, but employer concerns around the graduate skills gap persist. The focus of employability provision on the development of a generic set of transferable skills does little to improve social mobility and help young people find personally meaningful careers. Since 2018, we have been undertaking pedagogical research with undergraduate students to develop a holistic, identity-centred approach to employability that can transform student learning and reduce the graduate skills gap by developing meta-competencies better suited to fluid, protean careers.

Health and Wellbeing

Optimising Male Patients Surgical Treatment Decision-making in BPH

Dr Margaret Husted, Dr Debra Gray and Dr Sarah Golding in collaboration with Richard Hindley, Consultant Urological Surgeon (Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust)

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (enlarged prostate) is a condition affecting approx. 3 million men in the UK. For this project, we have been working with NHS partners and patients to understand existing provision, processes and patient experience of surgical treatment for the condition. The work is leading towards the development of an intervention for use in clinical consultations to support and improve men’s surgical treatment decision-making for this condition.

Take part

Do you suffer from BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia), or an enlarged prostate? We would like to hear from men with BPH who are willing to share their stories of how they chose their treatment and how it has affected their lives. Find out more and how you can take part.

Exploring pain memories and post-traumatic stress symptoms in people with Haemophilia

Dr Margaret Husted and Dr Lynn McKeague in collaboration with Dr Tamara Everington, Clinical Psychologist at Basingstoke Hospital (HHFT)

This research is adding to our understanding of chronic pain in people with Haemophilia, particularly the influence of pain memories and traumatic experiences, which can impact on individuals’ wellbeing, quality of life and treatment experience. The work is looking to generate knowledge and recommendations for practice with a goal of driving improvements in service delivery and care.

 

About us

Contact us

To find out more about our work and how you can work with us, contact the Convener, Dr Margaret Husted, Reader in Psychology and Chartered Health Psychologist.

Centre members

Academic staff:

Dr Kim Bradley-Cole, Chartered Occupational Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Psychology 

Dr Jordan Randell, Senior Lecturer in Psychology

Dr Rhiannon Jones, Senior Lecturer in Psychology

Prof. Debra Gray, Professor of Social Psychology (Kingston University), ECRC Co-Founder.

PhD researchers:

Paula Glover

Charlotte Hollands

Stewart Keating

Eleanor Phillips

Anna Wells

Explore more

Psychology research

Public engagement with Research