Peer & Community Research in Tower Hamlets: Strengthening Local Voices in Policy and Practice
Harnessing Collective Power: A Cross-sector System for Peer and Community Research in Tower Hamlets
A new Peer and Community Researcher (P&CR) report shares findings from a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project carried out with 12 local peer and community researchers in Tower Hamlets as part of the Tower Hamlets HDRC. The project set out to understand how community-led research can meaningfully shape local policy, and what is needed to build a stronger, more sustainable ecosystem for this work.
The P&CRs explored their experiences of working across local organisations and found several barriers that limit the impact of community knowledge on decision-making. These included limited collaboration between sectors, underfunded or inconsistent training opportunities, a lack of community involvement in setting research priorities, and a continued reliance on traditional research methods rather than approaches communities themselves value. Another persistent issue highlighted was inconsistent or delayed payment practices, which directly affects the accessibility and fairness of community-research roles.
The report offers a set of concrete recommendations to strengthen community-led research in Tower Hamlets:
- developing shared values and principles for working with peer and community researchers
- establishing a funded, borough-wide coordinating function
- ensuring fair and timely compensation
- building more structured training, progression routes and professional support for residents who contribute to research.
This work directly supports the mission of the Tower Hamlets HDRC, which aims to widen participation in research, embed community perspectives in policy development, and ensure local people shape the questions, methods, and outcomes that matter most to them.
The findings highlight where systems and structures need to evolve, and they provide a roadmap for how the HDRC, the local authority , academic partners, and the voluntary sector can work together to create lasting change.
By elevating community expertise, the report reinforces the HDRC’s commitment to inclusive, locally driven research that strengthens decision-making and improves the health and wellbeing of Tower Hamlets residents.
Download the full report: Harnessing Collective Power [PDF 3,264KB]
Researchers
Facilitation Team:
- Megan Clinch (Reader in Anthropology of Public Health at Queen Mary University of London)
- Sara Paparini (Senior Lecturer in Public Health and Equity at Queen Mary University of London)
- Xia Lin (Independent researcher)
- Bethan Mobey (Independent Researcher)
Peer and Community Researcher Team:
- Amani Rahman
- Lily Islam
- Loubna Bijdiguen
- Phil Samba
- Shazna Begum
- Shazna Hussain
- Tanjida Rahman
- Yesmin Begum