Despite widespread commitment to inclusive research, participants identified a number of persistent challenges: 

• Communities often experience research as extractive rather than mutually beneficial. 

• Power can remain concentrated within academic institutions and funding structures. 

• Community expertise is not always recognised as equal to academic expertise. 

• Accessibility is frequently treated as a compliance exercise rather than a design principle. 

• Relationships between communities and researchers can be short-term and transactional. 

• There are limited opportunities for researchers and communities to learn together as equals.  

The challenge was to create a learning experience that developed not only knowledge but also relationships, confidence and practical ways of working that could influence future research practice across Greater Manchester.  

Collaborate Out Loud designed and facilitated the Learning for Change Programme as a structured but highly relational learning journey. The programme was built around the pillars of the Respectful Research Charter and used a test-and-learn approach that encouraged participants to apply learning directly to their work.  

The programme brought together an equal mix of: 

• Researchers. 

• VCSE organisations. 

• Community leaders. 

• People with lived experience.  

Participants explored themes including: 

Respectful Beginnings 

Building trust, understanding community values and recognising community leadership from the outset of research.  

Power, Ethics and Shared Decision-Making 

Examining where power sits in research relationships and how decisions can be made more transparently and collaboratively.  

Accessibility and Inclusion 

Exploring how language, communication methods, engagement approaches and research processes can become genuinely accessible and inclusive.  

Stories of Change and Future Possibilities 

Using storytelling and reflection to understand impact, share learning and strengthen future partnerships.  

A distinctive feature of the programme was the focus on the spaces between the workshops. Participants were matched through a process of collaborative mentoring, creating reciprocal learning relationships between researchers and community participants. These relationships were supported through informal conversations, shared learning challenges, digital networking spaces and reflective activities.  

Creating Practical Tools for Change 

Rather than simply discussing respectful research, participants worked together to develop practical tools and resources that could support future practice. 

These included: 

• Power-Aware Partnership Agreements. 

• Shared Decision-Making Checklists. 

• Accessible Communication Resources. 

• Community Engagement Tools. 

• Ethical Practice Frameworks. 

• Communication Audits. 

• Digital Inclusion Guidance.  

The programme also led to the co-design and development of a comprehensive Learning for Change Reflection Journal, providing researchers and community organisations with a practical resource for exploring the principles of respectful research in their own contexts. The journal uses reflective prompts, creative exercises and practical questions to support ongoing learning around community leadership, accessibility, ethics, power sharing and sustainable partnerships.  

The programme produced significant shifts in attitudes, confidence and practice. 

Building Trust and Relationships 

Participants consistently identified relationship building as one of the most valuable elements of the programme. Many formed connections that extended beyond the formal cohort and led to new conversations, collaborations and partnership opportunities.  

Shifting Understanding of Community Leadership 

Participants reported a move away from seeing research priorities as being primarily determined by researchers and funders. Instead, there was growing recognition that communities should help shape research priorities from the beginning.  

Greater Awareness of Power 

Researchers and community members alike developed a deeper understanding of how power operates within research relationships and the importance of making these dynamics visible and discussable.  

Improved Understanding of Accessibility 

Participants moved beyond viewing accessibility as a matter of language or physical access and began to see it as a relational and cultural practice built on trust, flexibility and responsiveness.  

Stronger Community Research Capacity 

Community organisations developed greater confidence in their role within research, recognising the value of their relationships, networks and lived experience expertise. At the same time, researchers gained a greater appreciation of the importance of long-term community partnerships.  

“More than a series of workshops, Learning for Change created the conditions for trust, connection and collaboration. By bringing researchers and community leaders together in different ways, participants built relationships that extended beyond the sessions and sparked a shared commitment to continued learning and action.” 

Aneela McAvoy 

PCIE Lead, GM ARC 

The programme generated a number of important lessons. 

Trust Comes First 

The strongest learning was that trust is the foundation of respectful research. Meaningful collaboration only becomes possible when relationships are prioritised and communities feel genuinely valued and respected.  

Power Must Be Discussed 

Power differences exist in every research relationship. Ignoring them creates barriers; naming and discussing them creates opportunities for more equitable partnerships.  

Inclusion Is an Ongoing Practice 

Accessibility and inclusion cannot be solved through one-off adjustments. They require continuous reflection, adaptation and collaboration throughout the research journey.  

Stories Matter 

Participants consistently found storytelling and reflection more powerful than traditional approaches to evaluation. Stories helped make visible the changes in confidence, understanding and relationships that formal measures often miss.  

The Spaces Between Matter Most 

One of the strongest themes was that much of the real learning happened outside the workshops. Collaborative mentoring relationships, WhatsApp conversations, informal networking and weekly micro-challenges often created as much value as the formal learning sessions themselves.  

Creating a Legacy 

The programme was intentionally designed to leave behind more than learning. 

Alongside the development of practical tools, resources and the Learning for Change Journal, the programme created a growing network of researchers, community organisations and VCSE partners committed to working differently. Participants described the network itself as one of the programme’s most valuable outcomes, creating ongoing opportunities for collaboration and mutual support.  

The programme also established a model that can be adapted and scaled through future cohorts, creating a sustainable approach to capacity building and culture change around respectful research practice.  

The Learning for Change Programme demonstrated that respectful research is not simply a set of principles or a charter. It is a way of working that requires trust, shared power, meaningful relationships and a commitment to learning together.  

By bringing researchers, community organisations and people with lived experience together in a shared learning environment, the programme helped build confidence, challenge assumptions and create new partnerships. Most importantly, it provided practical tools, resources and networks that will continue to influence research practice across Greater Manchester long after the programme itself has ended.