Science Together 2025–2026
Eight community-led initiatives with university public engagement facilitators and researchers will take place in 2025-26. Projects are focused on themes such as youth voice, nutritional health, climate awareness and resilience and the assessment of economic, social or wellbeing impact. Projects include understanding the needs of young carers, developing a carbon calculator for second hand goods, helping a network of cultural organisations to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, supporting an impact assessment for 'Dance for Dementia', establishing youth boards and evaluation tools to improve refugee services and creating resources for people with learning disabilities to improve their nutrition.
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Andrew Bailey
Launched in 2021, Science Together is a community-first engagement programme, coordinated by staff at the University of Oxford with support from Oxford Brookes University. It aims to nurture mutually beneficial collaborations between researchers and community partners to improve the lives of people in Oxfordshire and accelerate impact from university research.
The 2025-26 programme kicks off in October 2025 with training for university facilitators and researchers, a project team matchmaking session and a project development workshop led by Wyn Griffiths from SMASHfestUK.
In January and February 2026 further networking and training events will be delivered to support project teams with problem solving, qualitative impact evaluations and to share tools for assessment of project success.
You can read more about the 2025-26 community partners and projects below.
THE community partners 2025-26
What they do: Provide support to young carers (8-17) in Oxfordshire, helping them to build resilience, improve wellbeing and reach their full potential.
Project: Understanding the experiences, needs and challenges of young carers
The charity would like to collaborate with researchers to gather and analyse data on young carers across Oxfordshire, strengthening the evidence used to advocate for their rights and ensure they receive the support they deserve. Research expertise will enable BFYC to influence policy, work with decision-makers and continue providing vital services without diverting resources away from the young people who need them most.
What they do: Provide person-centred care and respite support for people with dementia and their carers through day centres and a community bus service.
Project: Assessing the economic impact of Daybreak's services
The charity would like to collaborate with researchers to quantify the economic impact of its services on local health systems and the wider community. While Daybreak’s impact is well evidenced through stories and qualitative data, the next step is to develop robust methodologies that measure outcomes such as reduced NHS demand, delayed care home admissions, and sustained carer employment. This partnership would strengthen Daybreak’s ability to secure funding and sustain vital services and create a model for other small charities facing similar challenges, offering sector-wide benefits.
What they do: Support people out of homelessness by providing a home, meaningful work, and opportunities to build a stable future. They run a social enterprise store selling second-hand items, which helps companions gain skills and confidence, and diverts around 250 tonnes of goods from landfill each year through reuse and recycling.
Project: Developing a carbon calculator for second-hand goods
The charity would like to collaborate with researchers to develop a “second-hand goods carbon calculator” that can measure the CO₂ savings of each item sold or recycled. This tool would link environmental impact with homelessness support, engaging companions in research, educating customers about the positive effects of second-hand shopping, and strengthening the charity’s case to funders. The collaboration offers the chance to combine social and environmental impact in a measurable, innovative way.
Green Arts Oxfordshire Network
What they do: Bring together artists, cultural organisations and communities to tackle the climate and ecological emergency through collaboration, creativity and regenerative practice. With over 35 organisations signed up to its Green Arts Charter, GAON support cultural leaders to take practical steps towards sustainability while inspiring change through their creative work.
Project: Building a solar-powered culture consortium
GAON would like to collaborate with researchers to explore the feasibility of a ‘Solar-Powered Culture Consortium’, connecting Oxfordshire’s arts venues to collectively adopt renewable energy solutions and energy-saving building modifications. The collaboration would provide vital data and ethical insight to help cultural spaces transition to clean energy at scale, strengthen community resilience, and help build a more sustainable cultural sector.
What they do: Build the confidence and English language skills of children and young people from disadvantaged migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking communities in Oxford, helping them to access an education and fulfil their potential.
Project: Listening to the youth voice
The charity would like to collaborate with researchers to develop, deliver and evaluate engagement initiatives which amplify the voices of those they work with; helping children and families to develop their own skills and shape what Jacari do and how they do it. Initial ideas for collaboration include analysis of family interactions at each stage of programme delivery, best-practice implementation of youth committees, development of training and resources for parents, and guidance on collection and analysis of qualitative data using approaches such as focus groups and ‘micro-interviews’.
What they do: Develop and perform creative dance, movement, and music sessions for older people, including those living with age-related health conditions such as Parkinson’s and dementia. Their mission is to enrich lives, reduce loneliness and inactivity, and support independence and wellbeing.
Project: Dance for Dementia
The charity would like to collaborate with researchers to carry out an impact assessment of a ‘Dance for Dementia’ programme in Oxford, which is being delivered in partnership with Dementia Oxfordshire and Ark-T and is tailored to support social connection, physical and mental wellbeing. MuMo would like to access expertise in evaluation to strengthen programme design, build trust with healthcare professionals and support fundraising and long-term sustainability.
What they do: Provide services so that all refugee children and young people can access and thrive in education. Each year, REUK supports around 2,000 young through programmes that improve access to school and university, provide academic and psychosocial support, and influence policy for long-term change. In Oxford, the charity runs a 4-week Orientation Programme offering intensive English lessons and life skills sessions to newly arrived unaccompanied asylum-seeking children while they wait for school places.
Project: Evaluation of the Oxford Orientation Programme
The charity would like to collaborate with researchers to evaluate the Oxford Orientation Programme and develop resources to support its replication in other areas. This would help to ensure the model is as effective as possible, while enabling other local authorities to adopt it and extend its impact to more young refugees across the UK.
What they do: Work with people with learning disabilities and autism, providing meaningful activities to build confidence, skills and wellbeing and support progression to independent lives.
Project: Eating Well Living Well
Yellow Submarine members often struggle to regulate their food intake and are vulnerable to over-eating fatty or sugary foods. They need support to better understand the impact of diet on their bodies and to develop strategies to help them to manage temptation and the lure of advertising. The charity would like to collaborate with researchers on the provision of engaging educational experiences, practical experiments and useful tools that will help their members to improve their nutrition and lead healthier lives. They would also like to monitor what difference this support makes to their members.