Research into vulnerable communities, underpinned by findings from the ESRC funded project Exclusion Amid Inclusion, has outlined that extractive research can possibly contribute to the misunderstandings of communities while also stripping them of the opportunity to tell their own stories. This project supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation chose a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach that sought to not only learn more about the experience of newcomers in NI, but also identify the chief barriers to their inclusion and develop tangible benefits that will service grassroots organisations (and as a result, those newcomers they work with) now and in future.

The goal of this collaboration was to create an operational group of participants as co-owners of this project, developing tools and running them in the affected communities through their own organisational development and with group assistance. The final stage of the project resulted in the award of funds in response to each community based organisation (CBO) presenting a funding proposal, developed through member collaboration,, that tackled key areas of marginalisation, particularly of women, that were previously identified and prioritised during the sessions.

The project resulted in several important takeaways for policymakers and interested stakeholders, including other CBOs, funders, civil service, and researchers, and provided a framework that outlines how to discuss issues around newcomers in Northern Ireland:

• Issue: How we talk about minority communities matters

• Issue: Newcomer civil society organisations are starved of space

Next Steps: Mapping & Collaboration - This why attending the conference will allow you to share & shape ideas together. Creating space for collaborative partnership co-design planning.