It's that time of year again, when the Co(l)laboratory programme, facilitated by the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent, is seeking new research and PhD proposals from local organisations. If you work for and represent a community organisation, in fields like medicine or education, and think you know how best communities in Nottinghamshire can be progressed, Co(l)laboratory wants to hear from you.
If you're unaware of Co(l)laboratory it's an exciting £5.1 million project, supported by research England, delivered by our city's two primary universities and pushing the boundaries of academia, and what it can achieve. Bringing together local people and community organisations, the project aims to deliver locally relevant, challenge-based research, guided by the insights and priorities of Nottinghamshire communities.
The project team are currently seeking proposals for both 3 year PhD projects and 10 week research placements from a wide range of partners representing organisations operating in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. This includes, but isn't limited to, NHS bodies, City or County Council departments and smaller organisations like charities, schools and community interest groups. The key criterion is that the organisation's work focuses on the local community.
In the 2023 Co(l)laboratory cohort, teacher Hannah Burrows started a PhD project titled ‘Diversifying Child Friendly Nottingham: Perspectives from Primary School-Aged Children’, with the children's' services wing of Nottingham City Council acting as a community partner. Hannah told LeftLion last year that the project was a fantastic opportunity to apply her direct experience to academia, and make a difference to the community while doing so:
This project specifically advertised for somebody who was used to working with children, and it sounded perfect for me. I thought oh, wow, you can do the nitty gritty of working with children and working with families, but there's also maybe an opportunity here for something that approaches it from a different angle, through a different lens
There's a whole host of other benefits and opportunities if your community organisation participates in a research placement too. These include -
- Renumeration for all official gatherings during the PhD or placement.
- Joining a growing network of professionals from local organisations, sharing knowledge and best practice for each other's benefit.
- Accessing world class researcher training and resources, like CPD (continuing professional development) sessions focused on the challenges faced by community organisations, and associate access to partner universities.
- Specifically addressing challenges important to your organisation, and the communities you're aiming to serve via the research project or PhD.
If this is an opportunity that would interest you and your organisation, it's mandatory to attend at least one support activity for researchers and community partners. From 14 May 2025 Co(l)laboratory will be running four information webinars. This will be a chance to learn more about how the research projects work, and what the expectations are of different project partners.
For this upcoming, 2025-2026 cohort, Co(l)laboratory will be funding 10 PhD projects and 5 research placements. If you think that your organisation, and the issues that matter to it, could be a vital part of this, you can find out more about the upcoming support activities, and how to propose a PhD Project or Research Placement at the Co(l)laboratory website below, as well as sign up to the Co(l)laboratory newsletter to keep up with the latest news.
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