Norfolk Community Foundation has developed a community research resources bank to support Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations to learn about and participate in community research, which we hope will help to broaden and diversify participation in research.

Over the past year, Norfolk Community Foundation has been working with a range of community organisations to carry out different types of community research. This includes enabling organisations to participate in the Research and Engagement Network (REN) and Community Voices programmes funded through the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board, running our own ‘focus group funds’ and co-ordinating a UKRI-funded Community Research Network.

From conversations with VCSE partners, we know that it can be difficult to find relevant resources to support community research, particularly as a small organisation with limited resources. We also recognise that resources designed primarily for academics may be less relevant or disproportionate to the type of community research being carried out.