Peer research in action
An interactive exploration of recent projects across the UK
Welcome to The Young Foundation's interactive map and overview of just some of the amazing peer research projects that have been taking place recently around the UK.
This map was created as part of Hive: creative minds, participatory research, the Young Foundation's first peer research conference in March 2022. It brings together video and audio reflections from peer researchers with examples of their work including reports, posters and infographics.
You can explore the map which gives you a summary of different projects and, where available, a hyperlink to their work. You will also find hyperlinks in bold through this page. We include three short summaries of some of the policy areas where peer research is being used.
If you have a project you'd like to add to the map, please get in touch using the contact details at the end.
Being a peer researcher
So what is it like to be a peer researcher? This video from Groundswell tells you more.
Groundswell is a UK charity which believes the solutions to ending homelessness come from people who have lived experience. All their volunteers have lived experience and are integral to the delivery of Groundswell’s peer research and health advocacy services.
Peer researchers receive training to conduct interviews, analyse data and develop digital skills including featuring in podcasts to present the findings of research and share their experiences.
You can also listen to a short audio piece by Groundswell peer researcher Stephan Morrison in which he reflects on his experience.
Map of projects
You can navigate the map by zooming in or out of specific areas. Each dot represents a recent peer research project. Some projects are regional, national or cover more than one location. In these instances you will find the pin where the lead organisation is based or in the centre of the region.
On the top right of the map you will see a filter symbol. This allows you to filter the projects by theme to find those you are most interested in.
At the moment, the map only shows UK and Ireland projects that we have connected with through Hive. We'll be expanding this over the coming months and hope to make this a "living map" of peer research activity.
PR App
Youth
One of the biggest areas of peer research in the UK is of studies designed and carried out by young people. They range from national networks to the hyper-local and are giving young people a voice on a wide range of issues that matter to them.
Visualisation of findings relating to mental health in the North West. Produced by Finty Royle as part of the National Lottery Community Fund's Youth-Led Peer Research Network (publishing 28th March 2022).
Just some of the areas include climate change through the eyes of women in the global South and of young people hoping to influence the G7 summit , to employment and education, and shaping funding decisions for the National Lottery Community Fund in England and Wales.
Youth peer researchers are also tackling some of the hardest topics facing young people today, including serious youth violence , sexual violence, and racism .
Most youth peer researchers undertake their roles in a voluntary or part-time capacity - alongside study or other work commitments. The government's Kickstart Scheme provided an alternative route for young people in 2021 and 2022.
The Young Foundation partnered with The Youth Futures Foundation and the Mohn Westlake Foundation to employ 22 young people at long-term risk of unemployment as "Kickstart peer researchers", working 25 hours a week for six months. The first cohort of 14 young people carried out research on a range of topics including barriers to employment, financial literacy and online racism.
Reports produced by The Young Foundation Kickstart peer researchers
Getting paid for doing work that I care about with every fibre of my being was amazing. I was able to listen to other people’s struggles within society and give people a platform to have their voices heard. It’s been a life-changing experience. Empowering other young people has helped me on my journey of self-empowerment". Elly McDade, Kickstart Peer Researcher
Health
Participatory research in health often goes under the banner of Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) or "service user" involvement but peer research methods are an important route to gaining insights in an area of huge inequalities.
The Wellcome Trust has used a peer research methodology to understand how young people can play a bigger role in health and science research in the future. The peer research team summarised their project into three posters.
Future Weavers: The Methodology, Findings and Recommendations from a Wellcome Trust study into youth involvement in health and science research
Organisations like Groundswell also focus on addressing housing and health inequalities and have been producing insights using peer research since long before the pandemic.
The McPin Foundation , which exists to transform mental health research by putting the lived experience of people affected by mental health problems at the heart of research methods and the research agenda, is also leading the way in peer and participatory research. Experts by experience form a core part of their project teams and they conduct research on issues connected to mental health including employment, peer support, young people and through to digital and virtual reality interventions. They have also published a range of thought-provoking blogs and papers on peer research as an approach.
Unsurprisingly, the last two years have also seen several peer research projects which explore the impact of Covid-19 on different groups. This includes the experiences of South Asian women in London, to those of young people in Manchester and Scotland .
A group of public sector and community organisations in Bradford worked with communities including refugees, asylum seekers and women from South Asian groups who are often under-served in terms of their health needs and were particularly vulnerable to the effects of Covid-19.
Eight peer researchers were involved, with four conducting 24 interviews with local people to understand how they looked after their health - and the health of others - during the pandemic.
Their findings have been summarised in this poster.
The peer researchers themselves also reported positive experiences of the project, appreciating the opportunity to engage members of their community and learn more about issues that affect them.
Young peer researchers and Youth Advisors from the We're All Right project also created a colourful and engaging resource at the beginning of the first lockdown.
We're All Right is a youth and survivor led participation project facilitated by the Association for Young People's Health. Together, they are developing a rights-based approach to working with young people affected by sexual violence.
The aim of the resource was to share some of the wisdom that comes from living through and recovering from trauma in order to support other young people who may have been experiencing it for the first time.
On a similar topic to We're All Right, Small Steps is a youth participatory action research project that has trained six young women aged between 17-26 with lived experience to conduct peer research on young people’s experiences of seeking justice and support in relation to sexual violence and trafficking in Albania. Although known to be problematic and in many cases retraumatising, young victim’s encounters with the criminal justice system have never been systematically documented in Albania. This is a serious problem because, without evidence, it is difficult to hold professionals accountable and advocate for change. Small Steps addresses this gap with the aim to promote more youth-friendly and victim-centred services in Albania.
The young researchers created the two collages here to visualise young people’s experiences of seeking justice and support in relation to sexual violence and trafficking. The first illustrates how young victims feel and key problems they face. The second focuses on recovery strategies and messages of hope in the aftermath of abuse.
The project is facilitated in collaboration by ‘ Different and Equal ’ in Albania and the ‘ Safer Young Lives Research Centre ’ at the University of Bedfordshire in the United Kingdom. The project started in July 2020 and will end in September 2022. It is funded by Porticus Foundation.
The team would like to officially recognise the six young researchers and thirteen research participants who are the key players in this project but who, for confidentiality reasons, cannot be named. Without their hard work, skill, expertise and ambition, the project would not be possible. Furthermore, credit goes to the two highly experienced, skilled and deeply caring facilitators, Ana Lila and Valbona Lenja.
Community life
Peer research is also helping to shape everyday life in our communities.
One area where it is gaining traction is to inform regeneration and urban development plans. In Thamesmead , an area of Greenwich in East London, peer researchers are informing a major regeneration programme that is looking at how 'nature-based solutions' can transform this huge 1960s estate.
On the opposite side of the River Thames, in Barking Riverside, peer research informed the development of a community vision for this major new development.
"Thames Futures" is a partnership between Barking Riverside Ltd, The Young Foundation and community members which began in 2019. Over the course of a year, a team of local Community Researchers spoke to over 400 residents about the hopes and dreams that people have for the area. The research created a Community Vision. This is being used to ensure that decisions made about the development at Barking Riverside have a positive social impact for everyone living, working and growing up in Thames Ward.
So far Barking Riverside has made over 50 project proposals that will help the Community Vision become a reality. In February 2022 a team of researchers will head out into Thames Ward to find out how things are shaping up against the Community Vision and to ask what more can be done.
The project was the winner of the Community-led Placemaking category at the Planning Awards in 2021.
Alongside research aiming to renew, regenerate and build new communities, there is plenty of peer research happening on the issues that affect the every day life of our cities, towns and villages. For example, in East London, Toynbee Hall have conducted participatory research on topics as diverse as renting as a young Londoner, education in the city, experiences of poverty, and safety in Tower Hamlets.
Toynbee Hall research reports
Beyond a place-based approach, there are organisations carrying out peer research with people often on the margins of society. These include those with lived experience of the criminal justice system, older people living with dementia , and care leavers .
