PCER Fund

• Who the fund is for

• Available funds
• Key dates

Who the fund is for

Any researcher or public engagement professional at the University of Oxford from any discipline or research area can apply as Principal Investigator (PI). PIs are accountable for the project.

As PI, you can submit applications with co-applicants. Co-applicants may be other staff members (e.g., researchers, DPhil students, teaching staff, public engagement professionals, museum staff) or external partners (e.g. representatives from patient and community groups, teachers, etc).

Both newcomers and those experienced in public engagement with research are encouraged to apply.

Eligibility requirements:

• A University cost centre is required to host an award. College-based activities are possible, but funds must be managed through a faculty or department.
• At least one applicant (either the PI or a co-applicant) must be a researcher at the University of Oxford.
• DPhils are welcome to apply but will need the support of their supervisor/PI. DPhil applicants should ensure that their supervisor/PI supports the project, agrees to hold the budget in the event of funds being awarded, and include their supervisor as a Co-Applicant in the application in IRAMS. Please contact [email protected] with any questions.

Available funds 

There is a total of £100,000 available for the 2024/2025 academic year. You can apply for up to £6,000 for your project. 

We aim to fund a balanced portfolio of projects from across the university. To manage this across the termly application deadlines, we reserve the right to hold funding in anticipation of receiving applications from a currently under-represented division.

Funds must be spent before the end of June in the financial year they are received. See ‘Key dates’ section for details of application and spending deadlines.

Key dates 

Applications can be submitted at any time while the fund is open, and will be reviewed in three termly application review windows.   

Michaelmas term 2024 

Application deadline 28 October 2024

Funding decisions* 3 December 2024

Evaluation workshop 8 January 2025

Spending deadline 30 June 2025

Final report deadline 1 September 2025

Hilary term 2025

Application deadline: noon on 20 January 2025 

Funding decisions* 25 February 2025

Evaluation workshop 26 March 2025

Spending deadline 30 June 2025

Final report deadline 1 September 2025

Trinity term 2025

Application deadline: noon on 19 May 2025

Funding decisions* 24 June 2025

Evaluation workshop 23 July 2025

Spending deadline 30 June 2026

Final report deadline 1 September 2026

*We aim to share budget codes with successful applicants within 6-8 weeks of announcing funding decisions. However, we cannot guarantee budget code timeframes as this process is not managed by the PCER Team. If there are any delays in getting your budget codes to you and your project is likely to suffer as a result, you may need to speak to your department about underwriting costs. This is particularly relevant to applicants applying in the Trinity term 2025 deadline who intend to spend funds in August and September 2025, ahead of the next financial year's budget codes being confirmed. The PCER Team will support PIs in liaising with departmental finance teams to plan for and manage spending during this period.

• What costs we’ll cover
• Application support
• How applications are assessed

What costs we’ll cover 

All funds requested should be spent on the development, delivery and evaluation of your project and justified in the budget section of your application.

The kinds of costs that can be applied for may include (but are not limited to):

• Equipment and materials costs*
• Reasonable travel costs in line with the University’s travel policy
• Venue and catering costs (e.g. for engagement workshops)
• Recognising and rewarding community contributors for their time and expenses
• Promoting or advertising engagement opportunities

*The University has equipment available to hire (free of charge) for engagement activities through the PERShare website, from cameras and microphones to gazebos and tables. We recommend exploring what is available before including costs for equipment in your application.

Application support 

When preparing your application, the following resources may be helpful:

• Frequently Asked Questions – ask a question and find answers
• Responsible Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Framework
• Participatory Research Oxford resources
• Further resources for planning public engagement with research activities on the PCER Fund padlet.

For support in planning your project and preparing your application, we suggest speaking to the Public Engagement Lead in your division:

• Humanities: Dr Victoria McGuinness (Head of Public Engagement)
• Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences: Dr Michaela Livingstone-Banks (Head of Public and Community Engagement with Research)
• Medical Sciences: Naomi Gibson (Public and Policy Engagement Facilitator)
• Social Sciences: Aileen Marshall-Brown (Head of Engagement)
• Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM): Dr Harriet Warburton (Head of Research and Impact Management)

How applications are assessed

Assessment criteria

Panels reviewing applications will consider whether a project:

1. Is meeting a need that is important to the groups involved, and is connected to applicant’s broader research (Q3 of application form)

Reviewers will consider questions like:

• Why is this project needed?
• Is the project addressing an important issue for the group(s) involved?
• Is this connected to the applicant’s broader research?

2. Could make a positive difference to the engaged group(s), the research and/or researchers  (Q4, 5, 6)  

Reviewers will consider questions like:  

• Is the project activity likely to improve the research?
• Will it make a positive difference for the group(s) involved, like learning new things, getting better at something, or changing how they think or act?
• Could this project help researchers gain more knowledge or skills?

3. Uses methods that are relevant and appropriate to the difference(s) the project aims to make and the engaged group(s) (Q7, 8)  

Reviewers will consider questions like:  

• Do the planned activities seem suitable for the group(s) involved?
• Is it clear how the activities could lead to the difference(s) the project aims to make?
• Do activities seem well planned, and achievable in the timeframe?
• Are engaged groups consulted throughout the project?
• Does the choice of engaged group(s) make sense to the project's difference(s) the project aims to make?

4. Is engaging responsibly with the group(s) involved (Q7, 8, 9)  

Reviewers will consider questions like:  

• Where applicable, does the applicant already know the group(s) involved? Have they talked to them to make sure they support the activity?
• Will applicants work ethically with group(s)? For example, will they explain what will happen with the information or data given by participants? Are they aware of any risks to participants and handling these carefully?
• Will the group(s) be paid or rewarded for their time, contributions, and expenses?
• Are the project activities inclusive and accessible, from recruitment to communication with the group(s)?
• Does the applicant consider equity and diversity?
• Does the applicant show respect for the group(s)’ specific context, culture, and power dynamics?

5. Will be able to know if they have made the difference(s) they aim to (Q10)  

Reviewers will consider questions like:  

• Do applicants have a plan to find out if they have made the difference(s) they aim to?
• Will they involve engaged group(s) in any evaluation of the activities and/or difference(s) made?

6. Could make a long-term difference on the engaged group(s) and/or research (Q11)  

Reviewers will consider questions like:  

• Could the project have a long-term effect on the engaged group(s)? Is there a plan to stay in touch with them about this work?
• Are there any materials from the activities, like resources or videos, that can be used in the future?
• Is there a chance the activities could continue after the funding ends?

7. Is achieving good value for money (Q12) 

The review panels 

Applications will be assessed against the criteria by members of two separate groups of reviewers, who will come together at a final recommendation meeting to help reach a decision on which projects to fund. These groups are: 

• Public & Community (P&C) Panel: community members external to the University who have experience engaging with research (more details about this panel and its activity on page 9 of PCER Fund call). 
• Internal reviewers: public engagement professionals across the University, including divisional PCER leads, Public Engagement Facilitators and researchers. 

You’ll hear from our team on the outcome of your application by email five weeks after the application deadline.

PCER Fund Awardees: 2024-25 Academic Year

We’re delighted to share details of the PCER Fund Awardees in the 2024-25 academic year.

In the Michaelmas 2024 and Hilary 2025 termly application windows, we received 42 applications with 18 selected for funding. The proposals covered a wide range of public and community engagement with research activities, representing multiple divisions and disciplines. Planned projects will take place in Oxford, across the UK, and internationally, demonstrating the diversity and impact of engagement work across the University. 

We were pleased to receive applications from researchers and public engagement professionals at various stages of their careers, reflecting a broad spectrum of experience and perspectives. 

Many thanks to everyone who applied and to our reviewers – both internal to the University and members of our external Public & Community Panel– who helped assess applications to decide the final projects to be funded. 

Many thanks to everyone who applied and to our reviewers – both internal to the University and members of our external Public & Community Panel – who helped assess applications to decide the final projects to be funded.

You can read summaries of the funded projects below. Feeling inspired? Learn more about the PCER Fund and apply to one of our termly funding rounds!

Summary statistics

Funded projects 

Humanities Division

Arabic in Spanish: Thinking, Knowing, and Belonging at the Edges of Europe.

PI: Erica Feild-Marchello 

Department: Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages

Funds awarded: Michaelmas term 2024

Echoing multilingual poetry of twelfth-century al-Andalus (Arabic for Iberia, now Spain and Portugal), today many musicians in Spain mix regional varieties of Spanish and Arabic in popular music, from rap to flamenco (Reynolds 2021). They draw connections between contemporary and medieval practices to voice claims about history, identities, borders, and belonging (Calderwood 2023). However, research also shows that today in Spain ideas about Arabic frequently associate its speakers with religious, cultural, and racial difference and engage Islamophobic discourse (Ready 2018). This can inform political decisions (McDonald 2021).

This project contends that knowledge of historical relationships between Arabic and Spanish helps us understand the stakes of multilingual practices today, and vice versa. Uniting analysis of medieval and early modern uses and discussions of Arabic in Spain (Perceval 1986; Menocal 1987; García-Arenal and Rodríguez Mediano 2017) with meetings of Arabic and Spanish in nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first century cultural productions, we aim to:

A. Center engagements with Arabic and Spanish as sites of socio-political work

B. Co-create events and didactic materials (city-walk guides) foregrounding Arabic’s significance in Spanish culture and discourse

C. Facilitate public-facing conversations about ideas regarding Arabic and belonging in Spain

D. Collaborate with local organizations, develop future research agendas

Reframing Laziness: Voices of Lived Experience

PI: Katrien Devolder

Department: Uheiro Oxford Institute

Funds awarded: Hilary term 2025

This project brings together people who have experienced laziness stigma to share their stories, shape public understanding, and inform impactful research. It is part of our broader research aiming to reduce widespread societal harm (e.g. burnouts through overwork, low self-esteem when failing to meet expectations, and impeded access to healthcare and employment) resulting from misconceptions about ‘laziness’. Through two co-designed workshops, participants from groups often unjustly labelled as ‘lazy’ (due to chronic health conditions, homelessness, unemployment, or ethnicity) will explore how these stereotypes impact their lives and develop ways to increase public awareness about harmful misconceptions. Using a hybrid format offering both in-person and online participation, we will create an inclusive space where participants can collaborate in ways that work best for them. The project will culminate in a public event at the Westgate Shopping Centre and the Oxfordshire Country Library (or a similar space), where participants can share their stories and insights with the wider community. Through interactive displays and informal conversations, we'll engage shopping centre visitors in discussions about how laziness stereotypes adversely affect people's lives. This accessible, public-facing approach aims to challenge widespread misconceptions and stimulate broader societal change. Results will inform our wider research on laziness. 

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Climate Justice Education: from the lab to the courtroom to the classroom 

PI: Helen Johnson

Department: Earth Sciences

Funds awarded: Hilary term 2025

The Climate Justice Education project harnesses Oxford’s interdisciplinary strengths to produce educational materials and engagement activities related to climate justice. The project will be rooted in the University’s research in climate science, climate law, and the connection between the two.  

This public and community engagement project would be part of the Right Here Right Now global summit on climate change and human rights, which Oxford is hosting in partnership with UN Human Rights in June 2025. The summit will include both an academic plenary and a local programme of events showcasing the University’s climate-related research.

The Oxford Climate Research Network (OCRN) would use this funding to develop and deliver multimedia educational resources on the theme of climate justice, including both a short documentary and an original artwork. These materials will illustrate Oxford’s research into how extreme weather can be attributed to climate change (climate attribution) and how this science can be used in the courtroom to hold corporations and governments to account for their role in the climate crisis (climate litigation).

This project reflects a unique collaboration between scientists, media producers, artists and educators, with a clear plan to disseminate the educational materials in Oxfordshire and through global partnerships.

Quantum Unveiled: Stories from the International Year of Quantum

PI: Helen Johnson

Department: Physics

Funds awarded: Hilary term 2025

The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (2025) offers a unique opportunity to enhance the Department of Physics' Long-running public engagement programme with a thematic focus on quantum science. This year-long initiative will introduce activities such as virtual lab tours with interactive features and bi-monthly blogs, while engaging existing networks and attracting new audiences. Collaboration across Physics, Materials, and Computer Science will amplify interdisciplinary perspectives, addressing public curiosity about quantum science and its real-world

applications, like cybersecurity. The project aims to humanise quantum research by sharing personal stories and making complex concepts accessible. Targeting the local physics-curious public, including teenagers, and a broader audience, it will raise awareness of physics’ impact on everyday life and boost public confidence in quantum technologies. A key part of the project is developing researcher skills through training and creating a toolkit of resources to build capacity for future engagement. By leveraging the International Year of Quantum, this initiative will strengthen engagement, inspire understanding, and ensure lasting impact beyond 2025.

Designing Social Media with Trans Communities: Understanding Challenges & Envisioning Community-Centred Solutions 

PI: Tala Ross

Department: Computer Science

Funds awarded: Hilary term 2025

Trans people (anybody who moves across/beyond binary and imposed gender, including but not limited to transgender and nonbinary people) can find vital support on social media, yet these platforms can simultaneously expose them to many harms and challenges. While significant research has characterised social media’s role in supporting trans communities and the challenges they face on social media, limited research has explored approaches to addressing these challenges, and no research has centred trans people’s perspectives in the design process. Thus, to understand the designs that trans people envision to support them and address these challenges, we will conduct a series of participatory design workshops with trans people in the UK.

The workshops will combine traditional participatory design activities with zine making, drawing on the existing use of zine making in participatory social science research to support creativity and freedom of expression in the research process. Zines are a grassroots tool for sharing information, that are made by and for communities, and have a rich tradition of use in queer and trans communities. Thus, zine making is an especially beneficial method for facilitating trans people to explore and express their ideas for designs that support them and their community.

Medical Sciences Division

Developing resources to involve PPI representatives in research on communication in medical care: A co-design project

PI: Rebecca Anderson-Kittow 

Department: Primary Care Health Sciences

Funds awarded: Michaelmas term 2024

This project aims to co-design training and guidelines to enable patient and public involvement (PPI) in research on communication in medical care.

 

Conversation analysis (CA) is a well-established research method that uses recordings of real medical encounters to study communication with an equal focus on input from clinicians, patients and any accompanying family members or friends. A common practice in CA is holding closed group ‘data sessions’ in which researchers are provided with detailed transcripts and played brief pseudonymised clips from the recordings that illustrate the research problem, and invited to share their observations. Although the nature of these observations are very technical, attending data sessions allows non-experts to gradually learn through experience and if organised appropriately, can provide a platform to support meaningful contributions from individuals with a range of expertise and experience.

 

We will:

1. Recruit people with lived experience of seeking medical care for themselves or others to co-design training to enable PPI contributors to take part in data sessions
2. Identify the barriers and co-design guidance for researchers wanting to involve PPI contributors in their data sessions
3. Gather feedback on this training and guidance
4. Work with PPI contributors to disseminate the training and guidance

 

Making it personal: using theatre to explore the implications of genomics for pregnancy planning after having a child with a serious genetic condition.

PI: Alison Kay

Department: Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

Funds awarded: Michaelmas term 2025

‘Making it personal’ uses theatre as a creative medium for engagement to explore the implications (benefits, limitations, perceptions) of a new genomic test aiming to personalize pregnancy recurrence risks for parents of children with serious genetic conditions. Theatre creates a unique opportunity to “set the scene” on a personal level, depicting individual experiences and combining emotional with rational responses. This is particularly useful for talking about perceptions of risk because we know these differ greatly between people. This participatory theatre project aims to generate new knowledge and inform best practice in clinical conversations.

We propose a three-stage approach. We will start by co-producing a script about a couple considering their reproductive options and whether to take a test. This could be reassuring about their future risk but would reveal one of them was the parent-of-origin of the genetic cause of their child’s condition. In stage two, we will stage the script as live theatre (c.40 minutes) to an audience of c.30 participants, followed by an open audience discussion to workshop alternative conversations to those presented in the play. In stage 3, the post-performance group discussion will be analyzed by the engagement team and findings shared in a reflective journal article.

Oxford’s South Asian community engagement programme

 

PI: Clare McKay 

Department: Psychiatry

Funds awarded: Michaelmas term 2024

Our project aims to build a sustained and mutually beneficial relationship between Oxford’s dementia and mental health researchers in Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (OH BRC) and our local South Asian community. Following productive initial meetings with community leaders from the Asian Cultural Centre, Oxford City Council and Oxford Community Action designed to foster engagement and trust, we have begun social get-togethers around a theme of brain health.

We believe this project differs in two important ways from most attempts at relationships with minority ethnic communities. Firstly, we are a large collaboration of researchers and PPIE professionals, enabling us to share the significant workload associated with such initiatives. Secondly, we have the breadth of collaborators required to bring benefits to the community in terms of signposting services and assisting with access.

Regular get-togethers provide an informal forum for researchers to engage people in their work and nurture interest in involvement, or participation, in research studies.

Research to Action: Engaging with men and boys for gender equality

PI: Jennifer Roest 

Department: Nuffield Department of Population Health

Funds awarded: Michaelmas term 2025

In recent years there has been increased acknowledgment of the importance of engaging with young men and boys to tackle male violence and gender inequality in the UK. My research suggests a need for improved engagement between researchers, frontline practitioners, and young people to better understand and address challenges inhibiting progress in this area. Issues such as how to counter the onslaught of online misogyny and culture of misinformation experienced by young people, and how to approach work with young men with compassion and empathy whilst also protecting the interests of those most harmed by gender inequality and violence. In collaboration with Beyond Equality (B.E.) – an NGO engaging with boys and men for gender equality, and Milly Farrell – Public Engagement Manager (Ethox), this project will provide an online platform bringing together researchers and frontline practitioners (e.g. youth workers, social workers, youth offending officers, health practitioners, teachers, and coaches) to exchange knowledge on the topics of online misogyny, misinformation, and compassionate approaches in work with men/ boys. We will establish a lasting community of practice between stakeholders involved. We will also hold a participatory workshop with young people to ensure priorities and approaches in research and practice for addressing these issues with boys/ young men reflect views and experiences of young people themselves. 

 

Community Co-creation for Food and Climate Digital Interactive with Manchester Museum (part of the larger SHIFT project, Sustainable and Healthy Interventions to the Food System, which runs until October 2026)

PI: Lucy Yates 

Department: Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences

Funds awarded: Michaelmas term 2024

We are facing an unprecedented climate crisis. The food system contributes c.25% - 30% to global GHG emissions. Recent research has shown foods which cause the largest negative environmental impacts are also associated with increased risks of some cancers and cardiovascular disease. Those in the lowest SES groups are disproportionately likely to be affected by dietary-related health inequalities and the negative impacts of climate change. However, public understanding and mobilisation around the impact of what we eat on the climate and our health is still lacking.

Working with Manchester Museum, we will develop a digital interactive to engage their audiences in playful and interesting ways to understand the environmental impact of their diets and how food systems research might play a part in moving the UK towards more healthy and sustainable diets. Using their innovative Top Floor (an environmental action and social justice hub), we’re applying for funding to run an initial consultation and a workshop to share our research and co-create content and engaging approaches for the digital interactive with under-reached communities.

This project will empower communities with information and tools to make better informed choices about personal consumption, whilst also promoting an understanding of food systems change.

The proposals covered a wide range of public and community engagement with research activities,representingmultiple divisions and disciplines. Planned projects will take place in Oxford, across the UK, and internationally, demonstrating the diversity and impact of engagement work across the University. 

Animating the GELLE Framework, to engage practitioners and policy makers with complex research findings 

PI: Claire Blacklock

Department: Tropical Medicine

Funds awarded: Hilary term 2025

Researchers and Community Engagement professionals in Oxford (Health Systems Collaborative, Oxford University, UK) and Nairobi (KEMRI-WELLCOME Research Programme, Kenya) are partnering with RAW Pictures to produce an animation to engage policy makers and healthcare practitioners with the more complex findings of our research, which are deemed timely and relevant by stakeholders.

The GELLE Framework was produced from data collected in the Pathways Study to explain how the relational workplace (e.g. the connections, values, norms, and culture) is formed, reproduced and transformed in healthcare, and how this can influence staff wellbeing, professional development and patient care. In the course of the Pathways Study researchers spent 81 hours observing staff working in neonatal care and maternity in two hospitals in Kenya, interviewed 62 staff and conducted 135 questionnaires. From these data abstracted theory was developed to form the GELLE Framework.

The GELLE Framework is intended to help foster more positive relational workplaces through reflection and targeted strategic innovation. However, an introductory animation for practitioners and policy makers would help to frame the research findings and make the framework more accessible to busy professionals. Audio-visual animation produced by RAW Pictures will enable creative communication of research findings in a concise and engaging form.

Co-adapting Online Support and Intervention (OSI) for preadolescent children with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) 

PI: Chloe Chessel

Department: Experimental Psychology

Funds awarded: Hilary term 2025

This project aims to co-adapt a brief online therapist supported, parent-led Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) intervention that is currently designed for preadolescent children with anxiety problems so that it is suitable for preadolescent children with OCD. This co-adaptation work involves conducting workshops/individual consultations with parents of children (aged 5 – 14 years old) with lived experience of OCD/OCD symptoms, children (aged 5 – 14 years old) with lived experience of OCD/OCD symptoms, and clinicians to ensure that the final intervention is suitable for end-users. The funding from this application will be used to involve parents from traditionally under-served groups to ensure that their views and experiences are central to the co-adapted intervention. This is essential to ensure that the co-adapted intervention is suitable for a diverse range of intended end-users. Once the co-adapted intervention is developed and is deemed acceptable to parents, clinicians, and children involved in the co-adaptation, then a feasibility randomised controlled trial comparing the co-adapted intervention to usual treatment will be conducted in up to six routine clinical services. This project will underpin future work that ultimately aims to increase access to CBT for preadolescent children with OCD.

Designing a Clinical Trial on Hormone Replacement Therapy and Metabolic dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MSALD)

PI: Jiawen Dong

Department: Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism (OCDEM)

Funds awarded: Hilary term 2025

MASLD, a common chronic liver disease which is linked with liver cancer and higher mortality in its later stages, is twice as common in women after the menopause (1). Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may limit or prevent the development in MASLD after the menopause, but existing research is very scarce (2).

By conducting public engagement activities, this project aims to inform the design and conduct of a clinical trial studying the effect of HRT on MASLD by:

• Designing effective recruitment strategies
• Informing the design of an acceptable study protocol for postmenopausal participants. Selecting appropriate secondary outcomes
• Selecting an appropriate time period for follow-up
• Discussing the appropriate level of time commitment and compensation for study participants

This project will ensure that the clinical trial assessing the impact of HRT on MASLD is important and relevant to postmenopausal people, improve retention and recruitment rates and support the successful completion of the study overall. This results from this trial will contribute to establishing the highest quality clinical evidence demonstrating the effects of HRT on the liver.

Building capacity for, and guiding the trajectory of, future participatory autism research: addressing issues of diversity and inclusion. 

PI: Connor Keating

Department: Experimental Psychology

Funds awarded: Hilary term 2025

Autism research typically involves narrow groups of lived experience experts and participants –primarily from the UK and the US–neglecting voices from diverse backgrounds. Building on our previous successes engaging global autism communities, we will establish a diverse, international panel of lived experience experts (autistic people/their family members/caregivers) spanning the 10 countries in our autism research network (Australia/Austria/Belgium/Brazil/Hong Kong/Japan/New Zealand/UAE/UK/US). 

Next, we will work with this panel of lived experience experts, the National Autistic Society (NAS), and Embracing Complexity, throughout all research stages, to determine autism community research priorities across the globe. Together, we will

• co-develop surveys and focus group materials
• identify effective recruitment channels for under-represented groups
• recruit diverse participants for our study
• conduct focus groups (with lived experience experts as facilitators)
• co-produce accessible summaries of findings.

Through this, we will determine shared and differing research priorities globally, enabling future research to be tailored to, and deliver meaningful benefits for, the autism communities it serves, ultimately improving quality of life. This project will create lasting change: by establishing an international panel of lived experience experts and expanding our participant database–and making these accessible to researchers worldwide–we will foster greater inclusion of under-represented communities as both contributors and participants in autism research.

Co-designing a paediatric anaemia detection device 

PI: Winok Lapidaire

Department: Cardiovascular Medicine

Funds awarded: Hilary term 2025

This project investigates the requirements and user needs of a novel non-invasive anaemia detection device intended for paediatric care through engagement with patients, parents, and clinicians. We will co-design the device hardware and software, and undertake a small clinical research study with these stakeholders. Our device, the Vascular Imaging Tool for the Auricle (VITA) works by shining light through the upper part of the ear to image blood flowing through small vessels. We have built an existing prototype, which can measure information about red blood cells and the health of small blood vessels. VITA is non-invasive, pain-free, quick and simple to use, making it highly suitable for paediatric use where invasive blood draws cause considerable patient distress and increased appointment times. We have collected proof of principle data from previously funded trials, but to date VITA has only been tested in adults. This PCER project aims to investigate how this device can be made suitable for clinical use in paediatric anaemia.

Promoting Inclusivity in Rehabilitation Research for People with Musculoskeletal Conditions 

PI: Cynthia Srikesavan

Department: NDORMS Botnar Institute for Musculoskeletal Sciences

Funds awarded: Hilary term 2025

Joint and muscle problems like arthritis and back pain are disabling and place a heavy burden on our healthcare system. These problems are common in Asian and Black communities, who are underserved in research on non-surgical, drug-free rehabilitation treatments like exercise, advice, and assistive devices that help reduce disability and improve quality of life. Therefore, it is essential for healthcare professionals to ensure these communities are well-represented, making rehabilitation research more relevant and impactful.

According to the 2021 Census by the Office for National Statistics, 15.4% of Oxford’s population is Asian, and 4.7% is Black. This project aims to build trust and relationships with these communities to better understand their culture, perspectives on rehabilitation research, and barriers to participation. We will create tailored educational toolkits to raise awareness and encourage involvement. To achieve this, we will engage with 20 gatekeepers including community leaders and key people, through meetings, consultations, and a workshop.

In the future, we plan to engage with more communities and collaborate with rehabilitation professionals to gain further insights. This will lay the foundation for our broader goal of improving inclusivity of various underserved groups such as homeless and socially marginalised people in rehabilitation research in Oxfordshire.

Social Sciences Division

Engaging the Black Radical Imagination: A creative exploration of reparative educational futures in Easton, Bristol

PI: Annabel Wilson 

Department: Education

Funds awarded: Michaelmas term 2024

This project develops culturally relevant innovative methodologies that meaningfully engage historically marginalised Black Bristolians in research. It invites former pupils of Easton primary schools to creatively reimagine a just education system in their city, producing a short film documenting participants' visions and the research process.

Bristol’s long history of racial and class-based inequality has produced unequal experiences of schooling for people in Easton - one of Bristol’s most ethnically diverse and economically deprived wards (Runnymede, 2017).

Often used as a site of extractive research and government intervention, deficit narratives of a community ‘needing to be fixed’ have been perpetuated. Inspired by French et al’s, (2020) Framework of Radical Healing in Communities of Color, this project aims to develop a deeply participatory approach, that counters extractive research practice, through centring conviviality methodologically.

Working alongside a local poet and filmmaker, we will facilitate a series of creative, joyful and communal workshops in which difficult memories of educational inequality are transformed into new visions for educational futures. Through these participatory workshops, we hope to engage more deeply with communities who are often labelled by academia and policy as ‘hard to reach’ but are in fact active, imaginative and knowledgeable in making their educational futures.

Explaining Peace: Enhancing public dialogue through archival research and media 

PI: Conor Kelly

Department: Politics and International Relations

Funds awarded: Hilary term 2025

In a context where public discussion of complex issues around the constitutional status of Northern Ireland is often framed in sensational headlines in print or tribal loyalties online, presenting a more nuanced and sophisticated analysis is challenging and time-consuming.

‘Writing Peace’ deploys the Quill software platform (www.quillproject.net) to analyse how key documents in the peace process were drafted and amended through a pain-staking process of negotiation and compromise. The project has created 15 digital collections of primary source material, published a model of the talks that led to the 1993 Downing Street Declaration, and is working on further visualisations to illuminate the road to the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. A new network of academics is utilising these resources for research and contributing to development of the platform’s analytical features. Additional funding to engage journalists (key knowledge intermediaries) would have a cascading effect, expanding our network through them to a wider range of stakeholders and the general public.

Our aim is to (1) enhance public dialogue around the conflict by making archival material and more sophisticated analysis available to those shaping how it is presented; (2) co-create new tools to make the resources of Quill accessible to a much wider audience.