Seven ways to involve the public in your research

Cooking with biomass in low- and middle-income countries is a major cause of heart disease. To gain a more detailed understanding of this issue and implement improvements, Kingsley Boakye and his team are using photovoice. This participatory research method involves residents of Ghana's Ashanti region in documenting their experiences with indoor air pollution and its impact on their health. They do this through photography, group reflections and interviews, which give them a voice and a perspective on how to improve their daily lives.

Luca Hopman, Anushka Dasgupta, Marguerite van den Berg en Noortje van Amsterdam are collaborating with filmmaker Job van Aken on a short documentary that explores how artistic methods can be used for engaged research. The film serves as a conversation starter in community centres and debate centres for discussions about mould, damp and decay in social housing with residents, researchers, students, policymakers, housing associations and residents' organisations. The film is co-funded by the Vidi project Improvising Security: Subsistence in contemporary western Europe, the IOS Seed Fund and Huurders Netwerk Amsterdam (HNA).

The FLY project (Food-related Lifestyles in Youth) investigates how young people, particularly those following practical training programmes, can adopt more sustainable eating habits. A group of young people will work with researchers to determine the best format, method and target group for sharing the research results. During a series of co-creation sessions, the group will design a creative public activity. They will implement their idea with professional external guidance. In this way, the research results will be fed back to society through the voices of those who are central to the research, and a method will be designed that other researchers can also benefit from.

'Re-enchanting Rotterdam' is a collaborative project involving researchers from Utrecht in the fields of literary studies, geosciences, anthropology, gender studies and history. The common denominator is that they are all interested in how individuals, particularly those with a migrant background, build communities and find their place in a world in crisis. The project focuses on Rotterdam, a city where people, influences, cultures and stories from all over the world come together. These cultures and stories, together with insights from scientific research, are brought together in conversations about cooking and eating with asylum seekers who are temporarily living on cruise ships. Flore Janssen: ‘With start-up capital from Migration and Societal Change, we have built a supportive relationship with these participants: we now want to expand and deepen this public engagement project.’

Indigenous peoples in the Surinamese villages of Apetina and Sipaliwinisavanne (Sipa) are troubled by wild animals eating their crops. This leads to food insecurity and poses a challenge for nature conservation. Ronja Klippers: ‘During my PhD research, I collected interdisciplinary data in these communities to gain insight into the socio-ecological system. I now want to return to both villages to present and discuss my research results and to explore the next steps together based on local priorities. These activities are essential for co-creation and decolonial knowledge exchange.’

This project introduces primary school children to migration from a natural, historical and personal perspective. By viewing migration as a universal phenomenon that occurs among animals, humans and their own families, children gain a broader understanding of displacement and connectedness. They share migration stories from their own families in class, bringing along photographs, objects and memories. In collaboration with a graphic artist, these stories are transformed into illustrated works. The project concludes with a public exhibition that promotes empathy, intercultural understanding and community dialogue around migration.

Gene editing technologies offer promising possibilities for the treatment of rare genetic diseases in children. Eveline Ilcken: "At the UMCU, we are developing technologies that can help these children, but they do raise important ethical and social questions. To involve children and their parents in this discussion outside the laboratory and the clinic, we are working with artists, patients, parents and partners such as the WKZ Children's Council and Parents' Council to develop an interactive performance that will be staged at locations and events such as schools, theatres and festivals."