"Too often, people who face the harshest challenges are left out of the conversation. When these voices are missing from research, the solutions often miss the mark"

By Siobhan Lennon-Patience, Project coordinator Dorset REN 

In Dorset, we are challenging the way research is traditionally designed and delivered—by putting those most affected by health inequalities at the heart of it. Funded through NHS England’s Research Engagement Network (REN) programme, with additional funding from the NIHR Clinical Research Network Wessex (now the South Central Regional Research Delivery Network), this work brings together a partnership of organisations, including Bournemouth University and The PIER Partnership, NIHR regional Data and Analytics, The HealthBus Trust, The Lantern Trust, Help and Kindness, and Community Action Network (CAN). 

Too often, people who face the harshest challenges—like homelessness or insecure housing—are left out of conversations that directly impact them. Rigid research systems and formal engagement processes are not necessarily built for or with them. When these voices are missing from research, the solutions that emerge often miss the mark.

Our project seeks to change that. In Dorset, we're turning traditional research on its head—by ensuring the people most affected by health and social inequalities are not just participants, but leaders in shaping the questions, priorities, and practices of research.

Building From the Ground Up

Since September 2023, we’ve been working alongside trusted community partners and individuals with lived experience to develop new ways of engaging with research. This is about co-production: building something together. Through strong early partnerships the project began to explore what meaningful involvement looks like when communities are not just participants, but co-designers of the work itself. 

A Community-Named Project: “I Am More Than…”

One of the most powerful aspects of this project has been its name, chosen by those at its heart. “I Am More Than…” speaks to the rejection of reductive labels. It is a declaration by people with lived experience of homelessness and marginalisation, asserting their full humanity and complexity.

They are more than their housing status. More than their trauma. More than the assumptions others may place upon them.

Together, we’ve achieved some important milestones:

•           Co-production in action: We’ve built participatory approaches from the ground up, working directly with those with lived experience to ensure their voices are central—not peripheral.

•           Events led by lived experience: Our co-designed dissemination events, hosted by homeless communities themselves, are challenging assumptions and educating the wider research and engagement workforce on how to create more inclusive spaces.

•           Tracking equity in research: We developed a business case for - and are now building -  a county-wide dashboard that monitors who is participating in research—so we can identify and address gaps in representation across protected and underserved groups

Building Equity in Research Participation: Dorset’s Data-Led Approach

In an important step toward addressing inequities in research participation, Dorset REN is driving forward a project to systematically report diversity in access to research across Dorset. This collaborative initiative brought together key system stakeholders, including the Dorset Intelligence & Insight Service (DiiS) and NHS Trust Research & Development (R&D) leads, to develop a robust business case that supports meaningful, data-driven action.

The Dorset-wide data dashboard will enable

• Tracking of research participation by protected and other demographic characteristics

• Improved understanding of variation in access across settings and communities.

• More targeted, inclusive research planning to better meet population needs.

Ultimately, this project aims to establish a sustainable infrastructure to monitor how our portfolio aligns to population need, and equity of access to research. By understanding disparities, we can take focused action to address them. 

The Research Hub

Together, the partners are now working to develop a virtual Research Hub hosted by CAN. This space will provide a platform for learning, peer support, research collaboration, and connection between VCSOs and the wider research ecosystem. The goal is to:

• build capacity within VCSOs to have an active voice in research 

• to increase involvement 

• maximise the impact of minder-served communities in research

For the Research Community 

This work offers a valuable model for researchers and systems leaders committed to greater inclusion. It highlights how trust, time, and partnership must come before study recruitment, and how power-sharing creates more ethical, impactful research. Community groups have consistently shared that they want to be part of research, but on terms that honour their voice, values, and ability. 

The I am More Than... project is teaching us that inclusive research takes time and requires a purposeful focus.

For us, inclusive research means

• Navigating complexity - "embracing the messy"  

• Empowering inclusivity - "it doesn't just happen"  

• Embracing humanity in engagement - "relationship first task second"  

• Building trust through collaboration - "actions not words"  

• Communication as a catalyst for change - "it needs to make a difference" 

Looking Ahead

The next phase of our journey focuses on expansion, sharing, and sustainability. As the REN programme evolves and expectations around diversity and inclusion in research grow, the Dorset experience shows how those with lived experience, VCSOs, researchers, and systems can come together to build something stronger. Our future focus will be on collaboration with R&D teams to develop innovative approaches for recruitment for national studies. The hub could also provide opportunities to support the early design of local research studies.

To find out more click here. 

And here. 

For further information spatience@bournemouth.ac.uk