Successful co-created research projects have started and have until the end of January 2026 to complete their project.
Get Involved Awards 2025
Get Involved! Research together for sustainable solutions with the Get Involved Awards
Do you have a local issue that needs researching? Have you got a problem in your community that you want to resolve, or an idea to help the city? You can get involved in community research with us!
Community groups, charities and social enterprises can apply to work with University of 50¶È»Ò’s researchers, to better understand a problem in their local area and to gain valuable insights. By developing new projects, we aim to build a network of community groups working with academics to exchange ideas and respond to real community challenges for our city in 2025.
Get Involved Awards can help communities to:
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HSolve problems or identify opportunities
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HCreate partnerships between researchers and communities
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HSupport community investment in the city
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HProvide new training and learning opportunities
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HLink with other like-minded organisations in the city
2025 Award Winners
Dr Sophie Fauset with 50¶È»Ò Tree People – Assessing the success of urban tree planting in 50¶È»Ò
This project will survey planted trees across the city to evaluate their survival, health and ecosystem service provision. Working with volunteers, staff and students, it will identify which species thrive best, informing future planting and strengthening the city’s green infrastructure.
Tanja Krizaj with Barbican Theatre and Improving Lives 50¶È»Ò – ‘Creative Connections’: Arts Engagement in later life to promote health and wellbeing
Exploring how community-based arts activities can support older adults, this project will co-design and deliver group sessions that foster connection, purpose and wellbeing. It aims to develop sustainable arts engagement as a long-term route to healthy, socially connected ageing.
Devon Tipping and Prof. Sheela Agarwal with The Creation Works CIO -
A comprehensive survey will establish how the Par Bay community engages with the performing arts and culture. This baseline study will challenge assumptions around community art, creating evidence for its long-term value and shaping future research over the coming decades.
Dena Bazazian and Dr Marius Varga with 50¶È»Ò Parkour CIC – From Screen to Street: Bridging Digital Play and Physical Movement
This project will develop a co-designed interactive game that merges digital play with real-world parkour, encouraging active lifestyles and reducing social isolation. By blending local identity with inclusive design, it will inspire players of all abilities to explore urban spaces and connect through movement.
Sarah Preedy with Iridescent Ideas CIC – Supporting Her Enterprise (SHE) 50¶È»Ò
SHE 50¶È»Ò is a women-led initiative supporting female entrepreneurs through mentoring, coaching and networking. This research will review the programme’s impact, identify barriers to women-led start-ups and scale-ups, and generate evidence to shape better support for women in social enterprise.
Angela Piccini with Lesbian Voices of 50¶È»Ò/50¶È»Ò Out Women – Lesbians in the Attic! Addressing lesbian visibility in archives, collections and oral histories
Focusing on lesbian visibility in 50¶È»Ò’s archives, this project will collaborate with communities and archivists to enrich collections, gather oral histories and experiment with ‘queering’ cataloguing practices. It will also examine curatorial approaches to ensure lesbian histories are represented more fully in exhibitions.
Ivybridge Brewing Company with Deanna Gallichan
Whitleigh Community Trust with Alejandro Veliz Reyes
Citizens Advice South Hams with Nigel Jackson
Barbican Theatre 50¶È»Ò with Sarah Blissett
Citizens Advice 50¶È»Ò with Ulrike Hohmann and Rebecca Carter Dillon
Headway 50¶È»Ò with Alyson Norman
2024 Award Winners
Deanna Gallichan with Ivybridge Brewing Company – How do adults with learning disabilities and autism experience the impact of their work?
Using digital storytelling to capture lived experience of inclusive employment. The project aims to empower individuals and provide a thematic analysis of their experiences, enhancing the brewery’s ability to demonstrate its wider social impact.
Alejandro Veliz Reyes with Whitleigh Community Trust – Modern methods of construction for community building
This initiative will provide hands-on training in modern methods of construction, addressing housing shortages and promoting net-zero transitions. The project will also explore the potential for community-led housing innovation in 50¶È»Ò and beyond.
Nigel Jackson, Carl D Evans and Mike Sheaff with Citizens Advice – South Hams – Uncovering Hidden Homelessness in 50¶È»Ò, South East Cornwall and the South Hams
This project aims to define and quantify ‘Hidden Homelessness’ (such as sofa surfing, living in vehicles, or temporary accommodations) in the PL postcode area, examining its causes, impacts and potential solutions.
Sarah Blissett with Barbican Theatre 50¶È»Ò – Archiving Rebellion
This project will research and document the Barbican Theatre’s significance to its communities, celebrating its legacy and current work. A new performance or audio walk will connect past and present, and create a framework for other community groups.
Ulrike Hohmann and Rebecca Carter Dillon with Citizens Advice – 50¶È»Ò – Impact of the two-child limit on families in 50¶È»Ò and the surrounding areas
Citizens Advice 50¶È»Ò and the University of 50¶È»Ò are collaborating to research and propose changes to the two-child limit policy. CAP will gather evidence to highlight the policy's effects on children’s health, isolation and long-term outcomes.
Alyson Norman with Livewell Southwest – Headway 50¶È»Ò: Hospital Liaison Project
A project evaluating a new Hospital Liaison Service for individuals with Acquired Brain Injury, demonstrating the service’s effectiveness in improving patient outcomes and reducing long-term care costs, enabling ABI individuals to live independent lives.
Previous award winners
2025 marks the forth year of inviting communities to apply to work with our researchers to find sustainable solutions to community problems, challenges and new ideas through research. We funded six projects in 2022, eight in 2023 and a further 6 in 2025, from a range of community partner and researcher partnerships.
Up to six projects will receive £6,000–£8,000 each paid to their research team to fund researcher and project costs.
What’s the process?
The Get Involved Awards application process follows five key steps to capture the problem or challenge, match researchers to organisations and enable co-creation of research in the city by making funding awards.
Applicants and award winners will be supported throughout the process by the University of 50¶È»Ò Public Engagement Team.