Community-led Action Research

Team: Jessie Bu c hanan, Amy Nicholass, Abby Poulson.

Our Community-led Action Research aims to equip rural communities to gather and analyse evidence to address locally-identified policy challenges and needs. Working with an assigned academic mentor, community participants design and carry out a research project on an issue of their choosing, collecting and analysing data and agreeing follow-on actions. We envisage that the research results could be used to find solutions that can be introduced within the community, to support applications for external funding, or to make a case for investment or policy changes to local or national government or to public agencies.

The first stage of the research has involved working in five pilot communities in Corwen (in partnership with the South Denbighshire Community Partnership), the Dyfi Biosphere area (in partnership wth Biosffer Dyfi), Newtown, St Davids peninsula, and Trawsfynydd.

In the second stage, Cymru Wledig LPIP Rural Wales will fund and support community-led acton research in six further projects, selected through a competition open to any community in Rural Wales.

Call for applications: Community-led Action Research Projects

Cymru Wledig LPIP Rural Wales is offering funding of £20,000 each for six communities in Rural Wales to carry research on a topic important to the community that can make a difference locally. Successful applicants will receive insight, expertise and support from an academic mentor plus training on skills needed for research project management, collecting information (such as survey design, doing interviews, mapping), analysing data, and reporting and using results. The funding and mentoring support is available from October 2025 to July 2026.

Deadline for applications: Friday 29 August 2025

For more information and application forms go to tfc.cymru