Community Engagement

Engaging with communities, charities, and businesses is at the core of our ethos. We are committed to support research co-design and participatory research drawing on the OU’s unique expertise and strengths in this area.

Our objective is to work with communities so that our research builds the power and capacity of local communities to sustain meaningful change.

Our Programme is steered by our Citizens Advisory Panel, which aims to give more voices across The Open University a say in our research. A notable hallmark of the advisory panel is its resolute commitment to engaged research, a principle that underscores the necessity for rigorous, responsive, and ethically conscious interactions with the public throughout the course of research activities.

We work with Citizens UK through our Community Organiser in Residence to bring about highest-quality community engagement throughout our research following best practice, driving societal impact and increasing capacity for community organising.