In this, our 5th annual Salvesen Lecture, Professor Holly Joseph and Dr Alice Mpofu-Coles speak about their participatory research working with local communities to better understand how community-led, co-produced research can change our perceptions of “what works”. Holly talks about how including the experiences and views of parents, teachers and community members in developing initiatives aimed at promoting a love of reading in young children and their families has improved quality, uptake and life experience. Alice presents a broader view of community-led research and why it matters.
Overall, this work has made clear that all communities are varied, complex and unique and any programme or initiative must be developed with those who will in theory benefit from it, if it is to have any chance of sustained success.
