Family Wellbeing: Families Forum for Social Inclusion (2024-2029)
Community health and wellbeing is an ongoing policy challenge in low-income coastal communities, with above-average morbidity rates across various indicators (Whitty, 2021). To promote participation and inclusion, the University of Lancashire are developing a community-based arts research programme which will train families from socially excluded communities to become community expert researchers. The aims of this project are to understand the lived experiences of families in contact with social services and the impact on family wellbeing. It also seeks to co-create relational practice in children’s services and in arts-based services.
Anticipated Impact:
Public value is central to the research, which also expands on the research themes emerging from previous projects, principally those relating to social inclusion, loneliness, co-production and low-income coastal communities. Considering these themes, this programme will specifically view social inclusion in terms of health, wellbeing, and place, consistent with the WRL research themes. The project will collaborate with local and national partners, drawing on existing partnerships and fostering new relationships from various sectors. These will include the public sector (for example, Cumberland Council), third sector (for example, Howgill Family Centre, Cumbria Community Foundation) and creative sector (for example, Rosehill Theatre, Oddarts).
Data from the research will link in with the national Family Hub network, thereby providing a national platform to disseminate findings and achieve impact with reference to public and social value. The research approach will be critically analysed and will consider the implications for a scalable, national implementation for public and social value, with potential international impact to be made through further dissemination.
Partners, collaborators and active networks
