Researchers have been encouraged to move beyond simply involving people in studies and give communities genuine power to shape research.
The call came during an ARC KSS Research Week 2026 session led by Dr Bernadette Egan, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Surrey and Research Methodology Lead for ARC KSS, and Tara Cahill-Powell, Community Researcher with Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Surrey, and Reigate & Banstead Borough Council.
The speakers showed how participatory research can make studies more inclusive, relevant and useful by involving people as active partners. This includes sharing decisions from the earliest stages - choosing priorities and designing the study - through to interpreting findings and deciding how results should be shared.
Bernadette said: “Participatory research is about more than inviting people into a process that has already been designed. It means sharing decisions from the start, valuing different types of knowledge and creating the conditions for people to shape research in a meaningful way.”
The session also explored creative approaches such as storytelling, photovoice and community mapping, which can help overcome barriers and include people whose voices are not always heard in research.
Tara said: “People and communities understand the issues affecting their lives. When that knowledge is listened to and acted on, research can ask better questions, reach a wider range of people and produce findings that are more useful in the real world.”
Speakers stressed that meaningful participation needs more than a creative method. It depends on trust, sufficient time, accessible ways to take part and fair recognition of people’s contributions. Above all, it requires researchers to listen, act on what they hear and share power throughout the process.
Missed the session? Watch it here or download the presentation.
