Lancaster University is taking part in an innovative project to make research more accessible for communities currently underrepresented within health and social care.

The Participatory Arts in Health and Care Research (PAIR) project aims to better involve the public in research with the help of £125,000 from The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The 12-month development project’s lead organisation is Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust and the lead researcher is from University of Manchester, who is jointly leading the project with Made by Mortals from Manchester. Lancaster University researchers, together with these colleagues, bring NIHR representation from the Applied Research Collaboration North West Coast, Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester, Clinical Research Network North West Coast, Clinical Research Network Greater Manchester, the Research Support Service.

Made By Mortals is a participatory arts organisation which supports research teams by building a community around research projects made up of professional artists, health and social care practitioners, and members of the public with the relevant lived experience.

Lancaster University Division of Health Research researchers Dr Emma Halliday, Dr Hazel Morbey, and Paula Wheeler are co-applicants of the PAIR project and together bring NIHR and North West region-wide roles and networks through which the PAIR Consortium will be developed.

Dr Hazel Morbey from Lancaster University said: “Research teams benefit from Made By Mortals approach as they get the opportunity to strengthen the health and wellbeing of the communities they are aiming to serve through the research process itself. They also get lots more imaginative and creative ways to communicate their research findings – in films, audio, theatre, and workshops - made by the communities the research is aimed at and in their authentic voices.”

Paul Hine, CEO of Made By Mortals, said: “The community groups we support hold knowledge in the form of lived experience that can make a substantial impact on helping others through research. The people we work with want to use their experience and creativity to inform and challenge local and national health and social care policy, strategy, and practice.

“The team behind the PAIR project come from different disciplines within Health, Social Care, Education, and the Arts. Collectively we believe it is possible that all stakeholders, including researchers, practitioners, commissioners, policymakers, and underrepresented communities, can co-produce a research project on an equitable and recognisably mutually beneficial basis. PAIR is our opportunity to come together and make this belief a reality so others can benefit from what we have found.”

This initial 12-month research project aims to strengthen relationships between community organisations, people involved in research, researchers, and users of research, through participatory arts. This will be used to develop a NIHR Programme Grant application, to show how innovative participatory arts can be used in public involvement, to inform and benefit a collection of health and care research studies.

Dr Paul Clarkson, Lead Researcher on the PAIR project from the Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Ultimately, this research will help ensure that there is a direct benefit to people and their communities from being involved in research utilising participatory arts.”

The research team are pleased to be involving local voluntary sector partners in this project from Lancaster, Blackpool, Burnley, and Ashton. They are keen to hear from fellow researchers across Lancaster University who might be interested in exploring the value, benefits, and fun that creative, participatory methods can bring to their public involvement and engagement activities.

Contact Made by Mortals for more information here: https://www.madebymortals.org/contact-us/