Research Collective: Finding the question

What is Research Collective?  

Research Collective brings together our Include Everyone and Open City Research Manifesto pledges. It’s a programme that’s all about supporting local communities to carry out research on their terms. Each of these projects has a strong focus around supporting local communities that experience racism to develop knowledge around topics related to health and wellbeing.  

Who will we work with in 2025-26?  

After recruiting over the summer and receiving applications on a huge range of topics, we’re delighted to confirm that we’ll be supporting the following individuals to be community researchers: 

• Ifrah Munin Omar is one of the organisers of Hooyo Community, a group that connects and supports local Somali women and mothers, as well as women from a range of backgrounds. Ifrah and the members of Hooyo are interested the relationship between fitness and physical and mental health, whilst getting active together through a series of basketball sessions.
• Rebecca leads Cushion, a voluntary organisation supporting Black women who experience harassment in the workplace. She would like to find a question around the effects of workplace bullying on the health, wellbeing and career progression of Black professional women.  
• Shabaana Mitha is part of a large network of Muslims in Bristol, and would like to explore and develop knowledge around dietary guidance for Muslim women experiencing health conditions like diabetes. Shabaana is interested in understanding how guidance can be not only effective, but also culturally relevant.
• Sayambrita Mukherjee works for Changes Bristol, a charity providing mental health support to people across the city. She is interested in understanding how shame links to mental wellbeing for women from South Asian backgrounds.  

Each community researcher is working with others from their community and identify a research question and come up with a plan for exploring it, using £2000 of funding and practical support from us. 

How will these projects be celebrated? 

Sayambrita will also be taking on an additional role in her capacity as a mixed media artist, alongside Bristol-based poet Shy Pen, to work with each researcher, codesigning an artwork that brings together and celebrates all four projects.  

What comes next?  

Watch this space to find out what’s next for Sayambrita, Shabaana, Rebecca and Ifrah once they have found their research questions, as well as the creative output. We’re also looking forward to sharing some insights and reflections from Alex and Lily, who were our first Research Collective cohort in the new year, as they look back on their projects.