Calling all researchers - 2026 public engagement opportunities are here!
Researchers - are you looking for your 2026 public engagement project? Are you keen to share and develop your research and engagement skills to support Oxfordshire communities? Are you passionate about finding innovative solutions to societal challenges through collaboration? If the answer is YES then apply now to become part of our up-and-running community engagement programme!
©
Ed Nix
Apply to join Science Together 2025.26
Community Partner
The Community Partners for 2025-26 are:
Be Free Young Carers, Daybreak Oxford, Emmaus Oxford, Green Arts Oxfordshire Network, Jacari, MuMo Creative, Refugee Education UK and Yellow Submarine. Read a summary of project ideas below and visit the Science Together 2025-26 page for further information.
To find out more about being a Science Together community partner in future, please see this information sheet
Researcher or Facilitator
University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes Researcher and Facilitator Sign-up Form
To find out more about the role, please see this information sheet
what is science together?
Launched in 2021, Science Together connects Oxfordshire's community groups with researchers from the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University. Science Together projects are community-led and have practical outcomes that benefit Oxfordshire people, while the collaborative process brings benefits to all project partners through knowledge exchange and skill development.
Science Together projects can take any form, provided they are led by the needs of the community partner, are proportionate for the time-frame and funding available and enable mutually beneficial experiences to take place for all project team members. Each project team includes at least two community partner representatives, at least two university researchers and at least one university staff member with an interest in public engagement to foster dialogue and assist with project management and administration processes.
We're looking for researchers of any discipline and and for university staff with an interest in public engagement to act as facilitators for the 2025-26 collaborations.
Researchers
We are seeking researchers from the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University. Researchers can be from any discipline and at any career stage from postgraduate study onwards. You do not need to have previous experience in public or community engagement with research in order to participate, you only need to be open to working in different ways with a community group in an equitable manner, valuing all forms of expertise as part of an exploratory programme where the outcomes are not pre-defined.
Facilitators
We are looking for university professional services staff to be Science Together project team facilitators. The facilitator's role is to support the developing partnerships and act as ‘creative agents’ spotting areas of common interest and asking the right questions at the right time to help projects progress. We are keen to hear from anyone with experience or interest in public and community engagement with research, who is keen to develop their skills and ensure the collaborations are grounded in community needs while providing opportunities for all team members to make a positive contribution.
Community Partner projects 2025-26
Be Free Young Carers: Standing beside Oxfordshire’s young carers - Helping Oxfordshire’s young carers to be seen and supported
Daybreak Oxford: Assessing the economic impact of Daybreak's services
Emmaus Oxford: Developing a carbon calculator for second hand goods in order to quantify environmental impact
Green Arts Oxfordshire Network: Building a solar powered culture consortium across the 35 creative organisations
Jacari: Learning from Jacari’s young voices - Progressing exchange of knowledge and experience between Jacari and the children and young people they work with in order to help them fulfil their potential.
MuMo Creative: Steps of joy in Oxford – celebrating movement and music with people living with dementia - Developing a pilot ‘Dance for dementia’ programme to find out how dance benefits participants.
Refugee Education UK: Evidencing impact of our Orientation Programme - Evaluating Refugee Education UK’s orientation programme for asylum-seeking unaccompanied children.
Yellow Submarine: Eating Well Living Well - Supporting members in good diet decisions
Funding
Each Science Together team is given a budget to develop and deliver their collaborative project, and funding is included to cover community partner staff time. All programme costs are covered, so participation in the programme is free for researchers and facilitators, who volunteer their time to support the implementation of the project they are part of. Regular training, networking, social events and communications are provided for everyone.
The programme requires an ongoing commitment from all participants of around 10 months. The amount of time offered by university researchers and facilitators can be agreed with the relevant community partner and project team, but as a guide we anticipate approximately a couple of hours per week (on average).
COntact information
For any queries please contact sciencetogether@mpls.ox.ac.uk