Our Projects and Activities

We are actively involved in a number of projects, and frequently host activities and events, including trainings, workshops, Discovery Sessions, and showcases. Learn more about our current and past projects, and how to get involved.

Events

We regularly host a number of events that explore various aspects of participation in research. These include those primarily geared towards staff and students, but also public events of potential interest to anyone. All events exist to promote and advocate for best practice in participatory research. Alongside our own, we also collaborate with our PiPs and the Participatory Research Network on their activities.

Explore the interconnections between Heritage, Participation, and Research...

In our discovery sessions we explore how Heritage Collections can be used to facilitate participatory research in a variety of fields. In these co-produced sessions, researchers and community members come together with collects teams to produce a one-off mini exhibition involving some part of the collections. The doors are then opened to all, to come together to hear from our impromptu co-curators about their selected materials, to share ideas and stories, and to think about new ways of approaching participatory research.

In previous sessions we have asked how classified adverts in gay magazines might be used in mental health research and discussed ways in which the art collections (including "Charlie" the horse statue) might facilitate work with young people. The Heritage Collections are vast - with plenty of room to explore.

Keep up to date with our goings on via our:

 

In the foreground a large artwork shows ballet dancers performing. In the background two people are in conversation about the artwork.
In our Generation Scotland event, young people involved in research selected artworks that represented "loneliness and social interaction in the digital age". Here we see one of our fabulous co-curators talking about their selection with a research attendee.
© Neil Hanna Photography

Learn about amazing participatory projects and try your hand as a participant...

Our showcases spotlight best practice in participatory research. Our invited speaker-facilitators join us from Edinburgh and farther afield to introduce us to their innovative work in all areas of participation. With a combination of lightning talks and demonstrations, we like to get hands on -  with attendees offered the chance to learn about the project by trying their hand as a participant (where possible!). 

If you are considering incorporating participatory methods into your research, are seeking inspiration, or are exploring ways of participating, then showcases are for you.

Would you like us to showcase your work? Get in touch.

Keep up to date with our goings on via our:

An illustration of Bryan Yazell's "flash fiction" project. The image introduces Flash Fiction as his primary method, showing his three steps of 1. collaborating with teachers, 2. designing new teaching methods incorporating the project outcomes, and 3. sharing the outcomes of the project publicly.
Bryan Yazell from the University of Southern Denmark joined us in 2024 to showcase his work in which he studies climate anxiety through the medium of "flash fiction". Along with a fantastic lightning talk, we were invited to try our own hands at a bit of speed writing.

Credit: Alice Haskell Art

Meet and connect with other researchers and work together to make involvement better...

The University's Participatory Research Network hosts both public and internal events. In addition to our regular coffee mornings across the University, the network hosts training workshops, planning meetings, and informational sessions.

If you would like to be kept informed of forthcoming network activities, you can join the Teams channel:

Join the Participatory Research Network Teams Channel

 

Two people talking at an event.
© Neil Hanna Photography

Field Guides

The Outwith Field Guides series is one of our outputs. These translate our learning from our partnership work into a format that is readily usable by anyone involved in participatory research; whether as professional researcher, engagement officer, administrative support, community collaborator, or simply an interested third party.

They are designed as Field Guides; they are not exhaustive how-to manuals; the diversity of Participatory Research doesn't allow for step-by-step and linear toolkits. Instead, they are intended to help you situate yourself, and your project, in the wider landscape, and move forward within a range of topics.

Our Field Guides are publicly accessable, published Open Access on the Edinburgh Diamond platform.

Cover image for "A Field Guide to Working with Creatives". The cover image shows line drawn footsteps with field guide scribbles and notes, surrounded by Library branding.
Our first Field Guide, created with the Binks Hub and co-produced with a large number of creatives and researchers, considers the increasingly commonplace collaborations between research projects and creative practitioners. The guide helps readers to navigate these, touching upon finances, language, and other ways ensuring that the work is as ethical and fruitful as possible.

DOI: ED.9781836451648

 

Further Information

Keep up to date with our projects via our:

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