Impact case study database

In 1982, Second Wave Centre for Youth Arts (SW) was registered in Deptford as a charitable performing arts youth organisation to develop young people (YP) aged 13-24 under-represented in arts and cultural industries. Funders including Lewisham Council and the Home Office support SW’s creative programmes promoting civic engagement, social activism, and leadership in a safe space for YP to broaden knowledge, experience, and skills in creative, participative practice. SW’s website states, “In partnership with the University of Greenwich, our 'community of practice' (CoP) approach enables the voices of YP to be heard more widely and their views taken seriously as activists for change.” [S2d]. In the view of SW, the work of Prof Jill Jameson "has been a constant source of influence and ideas in the development of our youth-centred creative learning programme” and made an “extensive and sustained contribution to our evolving programme of youth arts activities, over 20 years of partnership work, including our Critical Encounters, Shadow Games and Hate Crime initiatives.”

SW’s Community Development Worker (anonymised as ‘PT’) [S1b] recalls the origins of its CoP approach : “Prof Jill Jameson became a regular visitor to Second Wave.... In 2004-2005, she contributed to Second Wave’s distinctive style and methods of creative learning [in] a sustained dialogue with our trustees, staff and young leaders. Prof Jameson underlined the value of our partnership work and introduced the concept of participatory research [in] a community of practice (CoP). The distinctive value of the CoP [is] a shared understanding of intractable problems.” This co-created model enabled long-term social learning and dialogic KM development in truthful, collaborative, equal discursive inquiry in a safe space [R1]. Dialogic processes, trust-building methods, and youth-centred leadership [R4, R7] included CoP methods to surface new depths of tacit knowledge [R1, R2], growing expertise, better community-police relations, and enhanced recognition of SW as an organisation achieving best practice in work with young people [S1a-b, S2a-c, S3a-f, S7, S9].

From 2004, SW introduced critical community safety issues into its creative arts programmes, focusing on YP-police interactions. To challenge disproportionate ‘Stop and Search’ experiences severely affecting local neighbourhoods, regular Critical Encounters workshops began, to continue for 17+ years, with impact accumulating in annual student-police cohorts 2013-2020, leading to life-changing transformational empowerment of multiple YP. Workshops were informed by Jameson’s research, trust-building CoP concepts and methods woven throughout discussions and presentations (2004-2020) [S1a-b]. Workshops led by young people (approximately 20 per year) included successive cohorts of local police officers participating in plain/casual clothes on equal terms with YLs, both sides bringing experiences and insights into drama-based role-reversal in safe workshop spaces. Knowledge-sharing interactive visible/invisible distributed leadership (VIDL) processes in Critical Encounters focused on tensions and responsibilities of managing difficult YP-police interactions at street level, and nurturing dialogic methods to avoid escalating conflict. PT [S1b] noted, “building solidarity, ownership of learning, and community cohesion” through CoP processes “validated YP’s needs, interests, and safety concerns”. SW’s Director said, “the importance of trust ... how to build leadership and trust as an organisation - that thematic focus at the heart of our work ... wouldn't be so specific as it is without Jill's involvement… that synergy, you know, of her saying, 'No, this is actually really important' is what has helped to influence and raise our awareness of how important that work is.” [S1a]*

In 2015, Shadow Games began: a youth-led programme on radicalisation [S4a-f], now a nationally recognised Home Office-funded Prevent Good Practice model [S4f], narrating the online grooming of Samuel, a young person coerced into violent extremism by older man Osiris. Reaching 6,826 pupils, Shadow Games voices YP’s concerns on grooming themes, explored via theatre, stimulating critical awareness in audience dialogue. Lewisham’s Select Committee noted (2019): “The success and innovative nature of this project has led to national recognition for Second Wave, and its inclusion in the national catalogue of best-practice Prevent projects.” [S4f]

Throughout 2004-20, such SW programmes explored and analysed key issues of trust and leadership. PT said, “Young leaders became …exponents of innovative [CoP] practices”, and police, relieved to be in a safe, informal trustworthy dialogic space [S6a-d], “introduced their own professional expertise” [S1b]. An officer recalled: “police [are] used to being in charge… guardians of everyone...the power of [this] is that we enter this space: we are not the custodians, leaders or in charge, but are given permission to come into this space where it belongs to someone else.... we are welcomed, so, a weight comes off… Critical Encounters is so important because it's trust-building work.” A Territorial Support Group officer said the CoP partnership work “created a really good model of practice to be shared more widely, [which is] extremely valuable.” [S6,S5a-b,S7,S9]

Impacts on policy and practice included significant improvements and greater confidence in knowledge-generation, trust-building and leadership processes across all operations for SW, resulting in recognition such as 2015 British Empire Medal to Phil Turner, Second Wave, for services to Young People, Police and Community Engagement; Home Office 2014-19 Best Practice Awards for Work with Young People; 2014 Mayor of London Peace Award; 2017 Trophy of Appreciation, Lewisham Safer Neighbourhoods Board; and SW YP invited roles to advise police in Lewisham’s Independent Advisory Group/Youth IAG, and Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Directorate IAG [S1a-b, S2a]. As an expert on building trust and leadership in CoPs in education research, Jameson helped frame public discourses on YP’s relationship with police in SW’s invited contribution to the ‘Report of the Inquiry held by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Children 2013-2014, “It’s all about trust”: Building good relationships between children and the police’, [S7] in which SW’s model of building trust and equalising power, influenced by Jameson’s research, was linked to improved community-police relations and changes in police training, evidenced in testimony for SW’s successful Queen’s Anniversary Award (2021) [S9]. PT notes , “both SW and UoG were key partners working together to achieve these” and other impacts [S1b]. Jameson/SW’s COVID-19-postponed research will resume to develop the dialogic trust-building UoG-SW model with Cambridge University Educational Dialogue Research Group (CEDiR), Lucy Cavendish College, and Ng’ambi for South African take-up in areas with similar challenges.

Improved community-police engagement/social policy: The research on trust and leadership in YP’s engagement with police improved community-police relations, police training and social policy (as oral evidence from PT, 3 SW YP, and involved police officers recorded), directly influencing Recommendation 8 in the 2014 Report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Children, “It’s all about trust”: Building good relationships between children and the police, recommending “The College of Policing should promote the direct involvement of ...young people in the training of police … and involve ...young people with experiences of stop and search in its review of stop and search training... commissioned by the Home Secretary.” (pp.12-13; 27-28) [S7]. The 2015-16 National Police Chief’s Council’s Strategy aligned itself to the report’s priorities [S8], the research contributing widely to shifting policy and thinking in the way the MPS approaches community engagement, in both training and qualifications [S5a-b; S6d]. PT [S1b] noted that “participation in this model of research has been transformative… whereas previously, “a stark deficit of trust” meant positive relationships with YP was a low police priority vs . “a focus on enforcement action viewing young people as enemies of public order”, the CoP led to a “gradual shift from narrow views of law enforcement to wider contextual understandings of the duty to protect young people from harm, impact of vulnerability and safeguarding, changing perceptions in policing”. London SE Command Unit aims (2020-23) now include: “to increase participation with Youth, BAME and Faith communities across the 3 boroughs” (Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley) [S1b, S5a-b]. “This ‘engagement approach’ recommends ‘strong relationships with community partners and leaders’ to ‘play an active role in promoting shared values and building trust.’ The strategy insists on policing with care, compassion, and respect, ‘learning from communities to improve trust and public confidence,’” all findings from UoG research, PT observes [S1b].

Sustainability of progress is a crucial finding, given reversal of significant earlier achievements improving Stop and Search (complaints decreased from 24/25 per year in 2008 to 0 in 2017, and confidence in police increased from 33% to 67%) in Lewisham: but progress stalled (2018) when a senior inspector retired. ‘Peter’ said, “the year I left, I think we'd had, for the previous 3 years… absolutely no complaints”. [S6a] The research therefore includes, as PT says, “a steady process of mobilising resistance to shortcomings in police practice, a critical perspective maintained with elevated persistence, often with a sense of swimming against the tide. The support of [UoG] documenting different phases of this journey is extremely helpful, providing a consistent overview, understanding of continuity, as changes of thinking [were] introduced, explored, and gradually included [in] the CoP.” [S1a-b, S2a-c, S3a-f, S9].

Impacts on the community: Beneficiaries of SW’s work in 2015-20 (approximate total per year 20,000) included 42 young volunteers, 24 YP in employment/ work experience organised at SW, 72 youth arts workshops attendees, 9 performances for youth audiences of 360+; 15 learning support sessions for 60+ participants, 25 Lewisham Hate Crime Forum participants, including 10 police officers and Territorial Support Group officers, 15 outreach sessions with 300+ local people in community settings; 16 training sessions for 30 young volunteers; 9 drama performances for intergenerational audiences of 450+; 3 social action projects for 30 young volunteers; 15 training sessions for 18+ young workshop leaders, 3 intergenerational outreach events for 100+ local new users. [S1a-b, S4a-e, S10]. PT wrote [S1b]: “Working with academics, professionals, decision-makers… sharing experiences, debating ideas, addressing issues of direct importance, was transformative for young people’s view of themselves and their abilities to influence a world often appearing hostile to their interests and needs” [S1b, S3a-f]. Impacts from Aug 13 - Dec 20 were:

• Transformation from fear/anger to confident assertion of legal rights: “I learned YP also have the power to change the narrative: it all changes when you know your rights.” [S4a]

• Quality of life enhancements: skills, job success, trust in/compassion for police : “It definitely was the instrumental part of my having the confidence to be who I am” [S3e]; “ SW is like an intensive course for life”, We learned “really invaluable skills that we now both use in our careers” “It opened up discussion for compassion”; “ They built this trust.” [S3c]

• Building community trust, leadership and awareness of YP policing: “It's building trust within the whole community, so communities don't feel like they're on their own.” “We feel proud to have questions answered in the highest level about the impact of Stop and Search on YP, to make sure that's always in the conversation.” [S2a, S1a, S3a-f, S4a]

Impacts on young people: PT noted, “Our YLs found difficulty acknowledging their own… expertise”, so Jameson “ drew attention to [research on] the value of a sustained CoP, …mutually respected values, underpinning trust, ...and shared leadership” [R1b, R6]. One YL said , “This is where I first came across Prof. Jill and the partnership with UoG. In our first meeting we [discussed] young people, trust, and leadership. The Young Leaders programme was a product of that conversation. I took the lead on the programme…. to transform spaces outside of SW where young people as critical thinkers were active vocal members of their community.” [S3a]. The Actor playing Osiris said, “ Jill has been to Shadow Games … at the end, there's a discussion… she has given some very, very good, knowledgeable answers for a lot of YP… those discussions are very, very important. Those safe spaces for young people, young adults, the knowledge of people from UoG like Jill, to come and give some gems, as we’d say in our community, drop some gems on young people, yeah!” [S4a] PT noted Jameson’s advice surfaced unrecognised “tacit knowing” in creative workshops, [S1b], building YP’s confidence to participate equally, design their own learning [S1a, b, S3a-f, R1, R3] and, in 2013-2020, take on IAG roles, representing YP’s views on policing at the House of Lords, House of Commons and New Scotland Yard [S1a-b, S2a, S10].

The direct beneficiaries of UoG’s research were migrant women. Families and communities also benefited due to the cascading nature of these impacts. Research also impacted on community organisations, improving the quality and reach of their service delivery, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Uptake of research findings, and active engagement of migrant women in policy discussions, helped shape national policy debate on no recourse to public funds (NRPF), directly informed the Runnymede Trust’s policy and strategy, and contributed to the creation of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on No Recourse to Public Funds.

Improved confidence and wellbeing of migrant women and their families

Underpinning research by the university during the assessment period was coproduced via creative interventions with 105 migrant women across different projects and organisations in London and the NE of England (see Section 2). Engagement with participants took place via weekly workshops on PAR methods, skills, and practices, to directly involve women in local action. These were safe spaces for the women to open up with each other, share difficult stories, and provide psychological and practical support such as the provision of essentials [E1: p1, E5, E6]. Recorded impacts that can be attributed to UoG began to emerge from January 2015 onwards.

Increased confidence, empowerment, and social inclusion: Before participating in the research, the women lacked the confidence to participate within their communities and the self-belief that they could effect change to improve their lives or wellbeing. All women (100%) felt more confident and empowered as a direct result of participating in the research [E1: p. 3 ]: “It’s had a positive impact. It helped me to be … a lot more confident…have a different perspective of life because we can tell all our stories” **[**Tina, E1: p.4 ]. 92% believed their sense of belonging had improved through participation in community-led solutions; 64% found project participation had helped develop communication skills [E1: p. 3 ], “It’s given me the confidence that I can apply my communication skills gained to talk to others going through similar experiences” **[**Comfort, E1: p.4 ]. 88% felt motivated to continue to participate within communities and to mobilise them in local actions that would help improve the lives of their families and wider community [E1: p.3, E2, E5].

Acquiring new skills and confidence to challenge NRPF policy, and to speak with professionals and policymakers: Workshop activities provided migrant women with knowledge, skills and tools that empowered them to act as agents of change. Training in collective participation gave 91% confidence in sharing new knowledge of PAR methods and community organising; 84% felt able to share their experiences of NRPF: “I was reluctant to say anything … because of my [undocumented] immigration status but since the research I now have confidence … Now I can approach anyone and feel confident in relating my story in any setting” **[**‘Doreen’, E1: p. 4-5 ]. 82% were empowered to advocate for self and family members affected by NRPF. 80% joined campaigns, networks and alliances to speak out against NRPF, sharing their stories [E1: p. 4-5 ]. 75% felt capable of speaking to other agencies, organisations and government departments on issues affecting migrant families [E1: p. 4-5 ], using these new skills to raise public awareness of the ‘hostile environment’ [E1: p. 8-9 ]. In December 2017, the women gave a performance-based presentation at a policy event hosted by the APPG on Migration and debated the racial injustice of NRPF with policymakers. UoG coproduced research had equipped the women with the confidence and skills to highlight to policymakers the connection between immigration policy and race equality policy, pointing to potential improvements in how policymakers can engage with migrants impacted by the policy [E1, E9]: “ The House of Commons presentation performance and research helped to boost my confidence, you are actually acting out what happens in everyday life …because it’s not just saying it but you are showing it ... we can tell our stories to the politicians so they realise we are still human beings...it’s empowering us black women, because this country is very racist towards...migrant black women ... it’s given me the confidence, courage, boldness and knowledge to challenge the system, and not feel intimidated” **[**Deborah, E1: p. 9 ].

Employment opportunities: Over 90% of women felt new skills learned (e.g. ‘soft’ skills such as leadership, interpersonal, teamwork) improved their employment opportunities [E3, E1: p.5 ] and performance at work [E4]. This directly led to job interviews and offers for 2 women: “I could write down on my application all the skills I have learnt and the leadership training ... I’m convinced this helped me to get the job” **[**Yewande, E3].

Improved community organisation services, and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic

Underpinning research by UoG during the assessment period was coproduced with community organisations [E1: p.1 ]. All except Creating Ground were new to using creative participatory methods with migrant communities. 93% of the organisations said the research made a considerable difference to practice and service delivery, enabling them to grow engagement with community members and draw on lived local knowledge expertise for service planning [E1: p. 6-7 ]. Benefits of the research collaboration included expanded reach of services; organisational learning leading to diversified funding streams, and improved service delivery using novel approaches [E1: p.6-7 ]. Key collaborating organisations include: Citizens UK (London region): formed of 21 local alliances (96,000 people from 100+ London-wide member institutions including faith and migrant groups, G.P. surgeries, schools, and other community organisations); Magpie Project: gives practical support to 500+ mothers per year with NRPF in East London; Creating Ground: supports 210 migrant women in S.E London/Kent using art activities to improve individual and collective wellbeing; Praxis: leading experts, helping 2,000 migrants per year in South East England with immigration, legal and housing advice; RENAISI: 23-year history supporting BAME/migrant people to connect with their community, e.g. in 2018 worked with 1,500 individuals across 15 London Boroughs in employment support programmes; Regional Refugee Forum NE: consortium and collective voice of 100+ organisations in North East England, influences policy and practice for refugee/asylum seeker community [E1: p.1 ].

Expanded reach of services: Adoption of UoG’s participatory methodological approach [G2] fed, in turn, into the creation of new online projects, activities and resources for organisations, extending the reach of services. For example, research with Creating Ground from 2019 onwards, led to a co-created story-telling/film-making project ‘Stronger Together’ on the ‘hostile environment, a co-created Creative Toolkit, and an online exhibition [E5]. The toolkit and film were used to introduce three new online courses for UK community practitioners: teaching through drama; inclusive and participatory practices for community work; creative tools for community organising and leadership [E5]. These new resources helped Creating Ground during the pandemic to pivot and adapt to online service provision. This strengthened their outreach, widened participation beyond previous geographical boundaries [E5] and enabled overseas participation (migrant women in Columbia, Japan, Italy, Spain) [E5] . “[W]orking with the university provided ..a legitimacy to our work … that we were supported by someone who had experience of using those methodologies, those approaches … especially in these difficult times … where people cannot really meet face-to-face for classes” **[**Creating Ground, E5]. Praxis attributed gaining their successful GBP107,000 Paul Hamlyn Foundation grant, ‘ Building Capacity to work with migrants in grassroots organisations’ to the research collaboration, in particular learning about co-production projects (awarded 2020, delayed start due to COVID-19 [E6].

** Improved service delivery using novel approaches:** G3 research provided training and learning resources on the policy value of PAR research for civic engagement and participation of migrants/marginalised groups. Embedding migrant women’s lived experiences and leadership into the values of community organising led to improved services responsive to user needs [E2, E5,E6, E7]. Community practitioners noted the mothers’ performances “ was the very first time that our mums saw their reality reflected back at them… it was quite early on in our organisational growth - and I think what it did was that it let mums know that we were really about transferring power to them, and saying, ‘We are not the experts, you are the experts’… It gave us confidence to try more creative collaborative projects for the mothers to share their stories” **[**Magpie Project, E8].

Putting a ‘human face’ on national NRPF policy debates

Omar Khan, former Director of the Runnymede Trust (2014-20), the UK’s leading race equality think tank, directly credited the UoG research with having “ put a human face on NRPF policy” [E9]. From 2016 onwards, the research empowered migrant women to act as agents of impact and policy change through directly intervening in policy debates [E9]. UoG research provided the Runnymede Trust with a stated position on NRPF, changed how the organisation engaged with communities and those affected by an injustice, and supplied a new model for how the organisation worked with academics [E9]. UoG research connected into broader national policy campaigns and significantly contributed to raising the profile of NRPF issues, leading to the launch of the APPG on No Recourse to Public Funds on 21 May 2019 [E9].

Migrant women as policy change agents: Migrant women gained new skills and confidence to challenge NRPF policy and intervene in debates [E1 p. 3 ]. The coproduced ‘Finding Strength’ film was used as a learning/training resource for grassroots groups to develop local action methodology for community organising [E7]. The research led to an invitation by Kate Green MP, Chair of the APPG on Migration, to co-host an event with Runnymede, at the House of Commons in Dec 2017 [E10]. This enabled the mothers to lead a participatory theatre session, perform their stories, speak to policymakers about negative impacts of NRPF policies on their lived experiences, and advocate for more inclusive policies and practices for migrant communities [E1 10-11, E9].

Providing the Runnymede Trust’s stated position on NRPF:** Established in 1968, Runnymede is the UK's foremost independent race equality think tank, leading some of the most important events and developments in race relations and tackling racism in the UK. It acts as secretariat for the APPG on Race and Community, and for the UK Race and Europe Network, a UK-wide network of more than 200 organisations involved in race relations and combating racism at a local, national and European level. The UoG research (2016-18) is directly credited with being the driving force for providing Runnymede with a stated position on NRPF policy and immigration. For the first time it gave them an opportunity and a responsibility to speak out on NRPF as injustice [E9]: “[UoG] research was important in terms of deepening our policy work on immigration generally, specifically doing this work on NRPF. The work was important.., for speaking up for this group, connecting it to the race equality issue” [E9]. This enabled the Trust to establish NRPF as a key driver of later anti-immigration policies resulting from the UK government’s ‘hostile environment’, e.g. the Windrush Scandal: UoG research ‘put a human face on NRPF policy… it later influenced our work on Windrush, having the human voice come through really resonated” [E9]. The PAR-based research interventions helped shift organisational practice on how the Trust generally engaged with user-communities affected by racial injustice [E9]. It also gave the Trust a new model for working with academics to produce outputs and undertake activities on social justice issues [E9]. The briefing report UoG produced for Runnymede [R2], a free resource available to download on their website, provided tips and guidance for organisations to apply PAR methods for engagement with marginalised communities. Runnymede endorsed this work as a model of good practice for organisations, and it broadened the Trust’s platform to campaign for improved rights for racialised migrant communities [E9].

*Raising the profile of NRPF policy issues: The research influenced campaign work of certain organisations aimed at policy change, e.g. Citizens UK used tools and resources generated from the research to improve user-involvement in community action and campaign organising for social justice issues [E7]. The research, and associated migrant women’s interventions, formed a key part of the evidence-base and community-led solutions taken up by numerous organisations (charities, campaign groups, lawyers, local councils, political lobbyists) that led to the High Court declaring in May 2020 that aspects of NRPF policy were unlawful and to allow migrants to apply for a change in condition and access to public funds, under certain criteria [E9]. The UoG research was unique as a catalyst for ‘humanising’ policy engagement on NRPF, and in applying creative methods to prepare the ground to push the issue up the political agenda [E9,E10]. This ultimately led to the launch of a new APPG on NRPF in May 2019. Kate Green MP, reflected on the Dec 2017 APPG on Migration event: “It is always powerful for policy makers and politicians to hear first-hand from those with lived experience of a policy’s impact. Since the event, NRPF has risen up the political agenda, with awareness having grown as a result of the cumulative impact of events like this, and latterly because of the pandemic. The importance of bringing social action research to the attention of parliamentarians should not be underestimated” [E10]. Omar Khan reflects on the importance of UoG’s early uptake of NRPF research, “If you hadn’t been doing research, you hadn’t been organising in these communities, if you hadn’t been listening to these groups at all, then when the moment came, we would not have been ready to try to push the door open further … so that when someone does start to listen, there’s actually some activity, there’s some research, there’s some engagement, there’s some mobilisation that can happen” [E9].