Case studies
Looking for inspiration? Our public and community engagement projects at Oxford vary widely and connect with people locally, nationally, and internationally. Here are a few stories to help you explore the ways public and community engagement with research can make a difference.
Gardens, Libraries and Museums
Participatory Decolonisation Research
Pitt Rivers Museum
Dr Lennon Mhishi, with funding from Research England, convened artists, researchers, curators, and public participants. They discussed objects from the Pitt Rivers Museum to re-think their contexts, use, labelling, and display.
Meat the Future
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
The “Meat the Future” exhibition, developed with the LEAP project, showcased the effects of meat and dairy production. It provided evidence and tools for decision-makers to promote sustainable diets. The exhibition also included a roadshow to help people understand their meat-eating habits.
Humanities
Diseases of Modern Life – Professor Sally Shuttleworth, English Faculty
Victorian Light Night
The “Victorian Light Night” event, organised by The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH) and the Diseases of Modern Life project, featured a building projection and sound show at Oxford’s Radcliffe Infirmary. It connected humanities research with families and young people, attracting 2,500 attendees. Researchers and artists co-created a video projection focusing on Victorian concerns about technology and communication.
Finding Our Way: Space, Reclamation, and the Afro-Caribbean Experience in Oxford
Professor Maria del Pilar Blanco, Medieval and Modern Languages Faculty
This project, led by Professor Maria del Pilar Blanco, brings together scholars from Oxford University, Oxford Brookes University, and Euton Daley of Unlock the Chains Theatre Collective. It aims to reclaim Afro-Caribbean history in Oxford through performance, storytelling, and workshops. The project includes live performances and a digital, interactive map.
Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences
Zooniverse
Professor Chris Lintott, Dept of Physics, and many others
Zooniverse, an online citizen science platform established by Oxford researchers, involves millions in genuine research. It has 98 active projects impacting various disciplines, from disaster response to discovering new exoplanets.
The Unbias Project
Professor Marina Jirotka, Dept of Computer Sciences
Led by Professor Marina Jirotka, this project co-produced a ‘fairness toolkit’ with young people to support their understanding of online environments. It raised awareness among online providers about young users’ concerns and rights. The group also developed responsible research and innovation practices for AI, big data, and robotics.
Medical Sciences
Football on the brain
Professor Heidi Johansen-Berg’s group, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging
Professor Heidi Johansen-Berg’s group, funded by the Wellcome Enriching Engagement scheme, helps players improve their game and fans improve their lifestyle. Neuroscience researchers and football enthusiasts learn from each other about how the brain impacts fitness and technique.
Drama as a community engagement strategy for malaria in rural Cambodia
MORU Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit
In rural Cambodia, traditional Khmer dramas were used to raise awareness about malaria. These stories, using comedy and music, effectively conveyed messages about the disease to communities with lower literacy rates.
Social Sciences
Global Parenting Initiative
Professor Lucie Cluver, Dr Jamie Lachman, Dr Isang Awah et al, Dept of Social Policy and Intervention
The Global Parenting Initiative, led by Professor Lucie Cluver and colleagues, developed resources to reduce child abuse globally. It reached 210 million people in 198 countries, providing resources in over 30 languages.
Supporting online justice and designing for inclusion
Prof Linda Mulcahy and Dr Anna Tsalapatanis (now UCL), Law Faculty
During the pandemic, many court hearings moved online, raising concerns about access to justice. Researchers produced video guides to support people who are neurodiverse, sight or hearing impaired, colour vision deficient, differently abled, signers, and non-native English users. They also created a design toolkit for community legal advice workers.
Participatory Research
Co-PACT Experience-based investigation and co-design of approaches to prevent and reduce Mental Health Act use
Professor Kam Bhiu and Dr Roisin Mooney, Psychiatry
Developing photovoice (creative photography based method) as a policy research tool and co-design systems to improve the experiences of those detained under the MHA and reduce ethnic inequalities of MHA use.
The Refugee Economics Programme
Professor Alex Betts, International Development
The Refugee Economies Programme, based at the University of Oxford, undertakes research on the economic lives of refugees. Through primary data collection, they explore the conditions under which refugees can become self-sufficient and make positive economic contributions to their host states and societies. They collect original qualitative and quantitative data, and often draw upon a range of participatory methods, including working with refugee researchers.
Diversity and the British String Quartet
Dr Joanna Bullivant and Professor Samantha Dieckmann, Faculty of Music
This project explored diversity in classical music through collaboration between the Villiers Quartet, young people and researchers from the University of Oxford. Young people interpreted existing music and also composed their own pieces, which were performed at a symposium.
The Decolonisation and the Anti-Imperial Materialities Project
Lennon Mhishi, Sociology/Pitt Rivers
The Decolonisation and Anti-Imperial Materialities Project at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford involves artists and participatory research to rethink the museum's history and materials, aiming to open space for new histories.
RoboTIPS: Responsible Robotics for the Digital Economy
Marina Jirotka, Computer Sciences
Developing Responsible Robots for the Digital Economy – involvement of publics as part of experiential research set up to explore a mock ‘accident investigation’ with the aim of creating an ‘ethical black box’ alongside other stakeholders.