Southwark Living – Participatory Data
Client Name Project Type Year Status Southwark Works Service User Evaluation Project Overview Southwark Living is an innovative pilot project exploring how residents can play a more meaningful role in
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Participatory Research
Client Name
Sedulous Collective
Project Type
Community Events
Year
2025/2026
Status
Live
Sedulous Systematic Review
Project Overview
Nuff Sed was born out of a simple but uncomfortable truth. Community organisations often do powerful work, but that work rarely shifts systems if it stays contained within a single neighbourhood, project or network. Real change demands something bigger. It requires a space where community members, researchers, public sector leaders and grassroots organisers can sit together, speak honestly and challenge the ways participatory research is currently done. In other words, enough talk behind closed doors and more collective action. Enough said.
In April 2025, Sedulous launched The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Participatory Research, a cross sector event series designed to spark exactly that kind of honest exchange. Each quarterly event explores a different theme sitting under the wider question of how research can work better for, and with, the communities it claims to represent. The structure is intentional. Every event features three speakers who each bring a different lens: a community voice with lived experience, an academic voice who understands research systems from the inside and a statutory voice who must translate learning into policy and practice. Together, they open up conversations that are often difficult but always necessary.
After the speaker contributions, the discussion becomes fully interactive. The audience is invited into a Q&A that breaks down the usual hierarchy of events, opening space for challenge, reflection and shared problem solving. What emerges is a meeting point where perspectives collide in constructive ways, and where honesty becomes a catalyst for better research and fairer systems.
Since the first session, attendance has grown steadily. More community members want to be heard. More researchers and public sector professionals are recognising the need to rethink how participation is designed and why it matters. As the series moves toward its final event in October 2026, Nuff Sed has become more than a platform. It is a growing network of people committed to reshaping the relationship between communities, institutions and knowledge production.
Why It Matters
Participatory research is often described as inclusive and community centred, yet many residents, organisations and researchers experience something very different in practice. The Nuff Sed series was created to address this gap by opening an honest space for cross sector dialogue and learning.
This matters because:
- Communities continue to feel unheard or misrepresented in research processes, despite being central to the issues under study. Nuff Sed creates a platform where lived experience is treated as expertise, not an add-on;
- Academics and statutory organisations face real constraints that are rarely discussed openly. The series gives professionals space to reflect on structural barriers, share challenges and develop more realistic, ethical approaches to community partnership;
- Silos limit progress. Without cross sector dialogue, communities, researchers and institutions often work in parallel rather than together. Nuff Sed brings these groups into the same room to explore shared goals and tensions;
- There is a need for more honest conversations about power. The event format allows speakers and audiences to examine where power is held, how it is used and what is required to build more equitable research practices;
- Growing attendance shows rising demand for this conversation. Each event draws more community members, practitioners and decision makers, signalling a collective appetite for change; and
- Systems change requires collective action. Nuff Sed supports the long-term aim of improving how research is designed, delivered and used by building a network committed to fairness, accountability and better outcomes.
The series matters because it focuses not only on dialogue but on driving better practice across sectors, helping to create research cultures that are more ethical, more transparent and more aligned with community priorities.
Key Event Objectives
- Create a cross sector space for honest dialogue between community members, academics and statutory professionals, allowing each group to reflect on participatory research from their own standpoint.
- Surface the practical, ethical and relational challenges that shape participatory research, including issues of power, accountability, representation and institutional constraints;
- Elevate lived experience as a central source of expertise, ensuring that community voices are not tokenised but positioned as equal contributors to the conversation;
- Strengthen understanding across sectors by encouraging researchers and public sector staff to hear directly from communities and by giving communities insight into how decisions and systems operate;
- Build a growing network of people committed to improving research practice, fostering connections that continue beyond the events and contribute to longer term systems change;
- Promote action focused learning by identifying practical steps institutions and practitioners can take to make participatory research more inclusive, ethical and meaningful; and
- Model a respectful and balanced event structure that demonstrates how difficult conversations can be facilitated safely, openly and without hierarchy.
Impact & Early Learning
Although still in its early stages, the Nuff Sed series is already demonstrating clear and measurable value. The events are shifting from individual conversations to a growing collective effort to improve the practice of participatory research.
Several early impacts stand out:
- Rising engagement and demand. Attendance has increased at every event, with both community members and professionals returning because they see the series as a useful and credible space for open discussion;
- A shared language is beginning to form. Across events, people from very different sectors are starting to use similar concepts and values when discussing participation, power and accountability. This emerging common ground is laying the foundation for more joined-up practice;
- Stronger relationships across sectors. The series has helped create new professional and community connections, with several attendees reporting that the conversations have led to follow up collaborations, invitations and knowledge exchange beyond the events themselves;
- Greater confidence to discuss difficult issues. Participants consistently share that Nuff Sed feels like a safe space to raise concerns about tokenism, ethics and research culture, issues that are often avoided elsewhere. This is helping shift the tone from polite agreement to honest reflection;
- A growing body of shared learning. With recordings, reels and written outputs capturing insights from each session, the series is building a cumulative resource that can inform practice long after each event ends; and
- Early shifts in practice. Some researchers, funders and community partners have already begun adapting their approaches, citing learning from Nuff Sed as a prompt to rethink engagement, adjust research methods or improve partnership structures.
The early impact is clear: Nuff Sed is strengthening understanding, building relationships and encouraging systems-level reflection that supports more ethical and grounded participatory research.
Partners & Funders
The Nuff Sed series began as a self-funded initiative, created from a commitment to build a cross sector space where honest, grounded conversations about participatory research could take place. Its growth has been made possible through the generosity, solidarity and encouragement of a number of partners who share the belief that these conversations matter.
We are deeply grateful to every speaker who has contributed their time, insight and lived or professional expertise. Their willingness to participate openly and generously has shaped the tone of the series and set a standard for thoughtful, balanced and courageous dialogue.
We also want to express our appreciation to the Hyde Group, whose sponsorship of the Old Laundry venue has provided the physical home for these events. The venue has played a meaningful role in creating a welcoming environment where community members, academics and statutory partners feel able to come together on equal footing.
Our thanks also go to Purdy Contracts, who has supported three events by sponsoring food and covering essential expenses. This contribution has helped ensure the events remain accessible and inclusive for community members attending.
While we continue to seek larger and longer term sponsorship to expand the series and strengthen its sustainability, we are sincerely grateful for the support received so far. Each contribution, whether financial or through expertise, has helped Nuff Sed grow into a trusted platform for learning and shared action.
Our Team
What’s Next
The systematic review will conclude later this year, delivering a clear evidence base on what makes research truly inclusive and community-centred. Our next milestone is to secure external funding that will move the project from insight to action: full development of the Sedulous Toolkit & Training Programme and a series of live pilots across multiple London boroughs. The funding will support co-design sessions with our co-researchers, production of user-ready templates and learning modules, and field-testing with community partners working on issues such as mental health, housing and food security. By the end of the pilot phase we aim to have a refined, shareable toolkit and accredited training offer that any organisation can adopt to embed equity and participation at the core of its research practice.
Get in Touch!
Ready to make a lasting impact? Connect with our team to explore how Sedulous Collective’s participatory research services can support your organisation’s goals. Whether you’re looking to shape community-focused policies, strengthen funding strategies or create evidence-based change within the voluntary and community sector, we’re here to help. Let’s work together to build a more inclusive, empowered future. Reach out to discuss how our adaptable methods can align with your mission and drive meaningful outcomes.
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