A new series of essays published by the British Science Association (BSA) explores the power of community-engaged research, and the importance of bringing missing voices into the research process for the benefit of all.

The essays have been written as collaborations between researchers and community partners.

Each article speaks directly to the urgent challenges facing our society and the role of community-engaged research in shaping policies and driving change to improve impact.

Research has the power to transform lives, but too often the voices of those most affected by its outcome are missing from the conversation.

The BSA series Creating knowledge together: Exploring the power of community engaged research is a series of personal accounts, experiences and narratives which highlight the way that this is changing or should change in future.

The essays shine a light on a fairer, more community-led model of research that is disrupting the way things have long been done. In this community-engaged model, communities influence priorities, outcomes, or approaches. 

Yet community-engaged work is not without its challenges, and many of the essays also describe how they have overcome or challenged barriers, to achieve positive change. 

The essay series is supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as part of its mission to break down the barriers between research and society.

Subjects covered in the essay series include: the advancement of equity for Black communities through community research; the importance of listening to lived experience in health inequalities research; an exploration of the dynamic between scientists and communities; and how power between public research partners and communities can be fair and equitable.

Essay co-authors represent a wide range of lived experiences and community-rooted expertise. Many are grassroots organisers and practitioners working across areas such as health, climate justice, disability rights and racial equity. Others are based within academic institutions or national charities, working to bridge the gap between research and community impact. 

The essay series is published on the BSA’s website and available for all to access online from Wednesday 26 March 2025.

Hannah Russell, the BSA’s Chief Executive says:

These essays are born out of a commitment from all involved in this project to amplify voices often left out of traditional research spaces. We are deeply grateful for the support of our sponsors UKRI, without whom none of this would have been possible, as well as the communities and organisations who have partnered with us throughout this project.

Each of the essays within the collection are the product of a participatory process – the BSA designed the writing and editing process together with the authors and their communities, to share ideas, and to support people who had not written about their work in an essay format before.

Contributors from a range of diverse backgrounds have worked with the BSA to shape not just the content, but the very approach to this work. The result is an essay series which explores what meaningful co-production of research looks like, what this work achieves, and what needs to change to support it.

Read the essay series Creating knowledge together: Exploring the power of community-engaged research