We held the launch event for On the Margins at Edinburgh Napier’s Sighthill Campus on 27^th November. It was wonderful to have so many colleagues and friends join us. Special shout out to the team from MORE (Migrants Organising for Rights and Empowerment) who came through from Glasgow and representatives from SHE Scotland, Spit It Out Project and the Young Women’s Movement.

Thank-you to Professor Gary Hutchison, Dean of the School of Applied Sciences who kicked off the launch, with a warm welcome. Dr Taulant Guma introduced the aims of the Network and talked about the importance of genuinely collaborative research. He was then joined by Yvonne Blake from MORE – a grassroots and migrant led organisation based in Glasgow, and together they discussed the realities of what collaborative research can look like, and how it can or should be played out for partner organisations and communities. The presentation focused on a collaborative ethnographic study with asylum seekers and refugees living in Glasgow. The study  documented the everyday experiences of housing during the Covid pandemic, with the aim of raising public awareness about poor and inadequate housing in the city and influencing asylum policies and housing provision for the better.

PhD candidate Regina Mosch (Queen Margaret University) and Bee Singh from Edinburgh based Spit It Out Project presented their collaboration which focused on creative practice/ experimental film and performance. Regina’s practice-based PhD research is concerned with representation of queer informed trauma and microaggressions and she has worked closely with Spit It Out to create collaborative videos and exhibitions.

Workshop

The presentations were followed with a workshop where we shared thoughts and experiences of collaborative research. It was great to hear the range of issues brought up and which led to further discussion. Some of the themes and headlines that came through in response to questions about what makes good collaborative research and authentic participation included: 

• Non-judgemental, non-discriminatory, intersectional, collaborative policies
• Mutual understanding, respect, and transparency
• “Impact” is critical – how to achieve and manage this collaboratively?
• Academia seems impenetrable for those who want to envisage equity and social justice
• Power relations within academia and within society; how academia cements classism and how to challenge it.
• Having participants involved in work afterwards – bringing them to policy meetings – supporting policy briefings.

Possibly the most galvanising comment was, “Social outcomes before academic outcomes” reminding us of the importance of being mindful of always placing the benefits for those we are working with in research projects at the heart of what we do.  We also used this padlet to gather and share potential collaborations that our members would like to share – please do

contribute and get involved via the link or the QR code below.

We would like to thank Jasmiina Milne who has been working with us on the On the Margins website and social media and who coordinated the Eventbrite for the launch. Jasmiina had a baby boy, Freddie in December. Congratulations!

Next event

Our next event will be held on 29^th January 2024. We are delighted to welcome Prof Sarah Banks from the University of Durham who will lead an online workshop titled: New ethics for new times? Challenges for participatory action research. Sarah’s research focuses on professional ethics, community development and community based participatory research, areas around which she has published and presented extensively. She is also co-convenor of the UK Participatory Research Network. Please do join us for what promises to be a great session and provocation for more discussion.

To join us for the webinar, please register here, or check out our website for more information. We are also on social media on Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin @onthemargins_uk

Thank-you for being part of the network. We are very excited to be up and running and enthused and heartened by the response we have had to getting involved. Please do encourage others and make sure to sign up to receive our monthly newsletters and updates about forthcoming events.

Best wishes from the On the Margins team and wishing you a Happy 2024!