Global perspectives on research co-production with communities: ontologies, epistemologies and methodologies

In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in community-engaged research conducted both inside and outside the academy. This interest raises critical ontological, epistemological, methodological, political and ethical issues that are associated with conducting rigorous research and maximising the benefits of research for communities. For many academics, the aims of working collaboratively and cooperatively with community-based partners, has supported a widespread push to commodify the services of higher education institutions and promote closer ties between universities, publics and industry.

This timely interdisciplinary conference, jointly organised by the University of Birmingham’s Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS) and the Melbourne Social Equity Institute will bring together world leading academics, practitioner and community researchers to focus on the opportunities and challenges of community engaged research. The conference will explore innovative models and methods adopted as part of community-based initiatives and university-community partnerships and will provide a platform to consider a range of theoretical, methodological and ethical issues in order to advance thinking and help enhance the impact of community engaged research projects.

The conference will be held at the University of Birmingham on 14 and 15 September 2017.  

It will feature two keynote speeches from renowned experts on community engagement:  

• Professor Angie Hart – Professor of Child, Family and Community Health, School of Health Sciences, University of Brighton
• Professor Teresa Cordova – Director of Great Cities Institute, University of Illinois at Chicago and also Professor of Urban Planning and Policy at the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs (CUPPA)

The conference will also feature invited plenaries, academic and practitioner panels, provocations and art-based activities, and a poster display on topics at the forefront of community-engaged research.  We welcome community-based practitioners and researchers, policy makers and academics from a range of disciplines including, anthropology, sociology, social policy, geography, linguistics, psychology, economics, business, medicine, demography, politics and development studies to submit panel proposals on innovative and varied aspects of research co-production with communities.

For further information about this conference please visit the IRiS website.