Research curious? Find out how to get started in the VCFSE sector.
There is ever-increasing pressure for the voluntary sector to understand, produce, or participate in research. This can mean everything from collecting and analysing your own data, to helping design research projects – and a lot of other things in between!
While research can help improve services, strengthen funding bids or evidence impact, it can seem overwhelming at first. Join us for this hour-long session where we’ll explore key concepts and practical tips for people who are ‘research-curious’ in the VCFSE sector.
We will look at the three ways you can interact with research:
- As a consumer of research: primary and secondary sources; finding and using data; grey literature and academic literature
- As a producer of research: doing your own research; gathering and understanding insight; carrying out evaluations; quantitative vs qualitative data collection and analysis
- As a commissioner of research: writing a project brief for others
It will help you define what you want out of research – and how to engage with opportunities.
The session will be led by Catherine Leyshon, Director of Quay Research – a small consultancy that exists to provide affordable research and evaluation to the voluntary sector. Catherine has over 30 years’ experience as a researcher, with much of her work being conducted for, with, and on behalf of the voluntary sector. Her recent projects include work across Cornwall, Somerset, North Somerset, and Lancashire and South Cumbria.
This session is aimed at anyone with an interest in this area working in Somerset, whether you’ve previously been involved in a research project (such as a university-led project, Somerset’s Research Engagement Network programme, or the Health Determinants Research Collaboration) or not.
