Call for Partners for Community Cohesion Project
Dr Kieran Taylor, Lecturer in Education at QMU, & Dr. Khudejha Asghar, Honorary Lecturer in Public Health at QMU, are looking to identify potential community partners who would be interested in taking part in a research grant application funded by the UKRI.
The grant focuses on trust in policing and would explore perspectives on this issue and investigate it in relation to community cohesion.
The proposal is at an early stage but researchers hope to focus on identifying issues around trust in policing with three groups:
1) Older men, potentially living in areas of deprivation,
2) Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) adolescents and youth,
3) adult survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
Working in partnership with organisations that work directly with each of these key populations, the project seeks to create dialogue across generations and communities while identifying shared concerns, differences in experience, and opportunities for strengthening social cohesion.
Trust in policing remains a critical issue and features in political discourse frequently in relation to social cohesion. Experiences of policing are shaped by age, ethnicity, personal experiences and other diverse social factors.
Currently we have an identified partner in Edinburgh working with BAME youth and potential partners for work on SGBV. We are keen however to identify a partner working with older men.
We wish to learn from those with long-term perspectives and we hope to investigate themes around change within communities and understand shifts in relationships with public institutions.
The project will adopt a participatory approach and looks to work with the community groups (initially separately and then together should participants wish to be involved) for up to a year. The project would cover funding for activities, transport and renumerate participants for their time.
Our initial research questions are:
How do individuals and groups understand and experience crime and policing within their communities?
What experiences and factors affect trust or distrust in police and other public institutions?
How could existing or novel forms of support and action (structures, dialogues, behaviors) contribute to social cohesion within and between communities who may experience policing differently?
The project hopes to offer participants an engaging experience of taking part in research into an important social issue. For participating organisations, it will create opportunities for relationship-building and meaningful engagement. The project hopes to generate evidence for police, policy makers and community groups.
The research aims to ultimately foster dialogue and belonging between groups while also providing necessary research data into an important issue at the heart of current political debate.
For further information, and to register your interest, please contact Dr Taylor (Ktaylor1@qmu.ac.uk).