Last week, we gathered online for Research Room 9: Community Research Hubs, where one of our long-standing partners, ISRAAC Somali Community Association in Sheffield, led a conversation on the opportunities and challenges of developing community research and innovation hubs. The discussion brought together representatives from ISRAAC, The Glass-House Community Led Design, the Open University Design Group and guest participants, creating space for reflection on what meaningful community-university partnerships can look like in practice.
The session was co-hosted with Adam Yusuf, Chair of ISRAAC, alongside Geoff Green, Treasurer and Professor Emeritus of Urban Policy, and Sahra Abdi, Community and Research Link Worker. Together they shared ISRAAC’s journey from a volunteer-led Somali community organisation to a growing research and innovation hub embedded within Sheffield’s civic landscape.
From the outset, the conversation highlighted the importance of long-term relationships. We reflected on connections built through longitudinal research projects such as Empowering Design Practices, and the role that trust, reciprocity and continuity have played in enabling a successful research collaboration over many years. As Adam explained, ISRAAC’s evolution has been shaped not only by responding to community needs but by developing the confidence and capacity to influence research agendas themselves.
From Community Organisation to Research and Innovation Hub
A key theme of the discussion was ISRAAC’s transformation from a welfare-focused organisation into a multifaceted community hub. Alongside providing advice and support services, over time, specifically during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the organisation has developed a growing portfolio of research and innovation work addressing local issues including prostate cancer, diabetes, stroke, autism, mental health and dementia.
Rather than acting solely as a gateway for researchers seeking access to communities, ISRAAC started working towards a model in which community organisations play a leadership role in shaping research questions, partnerships and outcomes. This reflects their commitment to ensuring that research delivers tangible benefits for their Somali communities that have often experienced extractive forms of engagement in the past.
This came forth out of years of relationship-building with the two universities across Sheffield and beyond. Developing the hub provides a framework through which community knowledge, lived experience, and academic expertise can come together to address issues that matter locally.
Building Trust through Community Leadership
The importance of trust emerged repeatedly throughout the conversation. ISRAAC’s ability to support research partnerships rests on decades of community engagement and credibility within Sheffield’s Somali community, stemming from a spirit of generosity and reciprocity.
Several examples illustrated how this trust has enabled impactful collaborations. Open to experimentation, connection and participation, the group’s work includes the development of a community-led Vaccine Task Force, which demonstrated how local knowledge could be combined with international and institutional expertise to respond quickly to emerging challenges. The success of research collaboration requires their spirit of generosity, as to get the most out of the process they need to be there from the start. In order to tackle fragmentation, they’ve used their USP that they have an understanding of the Somali mindset, and strong local networks within the BAME community, to consolidate activities over time and be more strategic, also giving them more ‘control over their own destiny’.
They have become translators between different worlds, helping universities understand local priorities while supporting communities to navigate research processes. This intermediary role requires significant expertise, yet it is often undervalued within conventional funding and research structures.
Rooted in Place
The discussion also explored the significance of physical space in supporting community research. Owning and maintaining a listed historic building presents considerable challenges, particularly in securing sustainable funding for ongoing repairs and improvements. Many community organisations face these tensions between investing in long-term infrastructure and sustaining day-to-day activities. At the same time, the building was recognised as a vital asset. It provides a visible and accessible presence within the neighbourhood, strengthens relationships with residents, and offers a space where research, support services, and community activities can develop together. As several participants noted, place matters because it creates opportunities for informal encounters and trust-building that underpin successful partnerships.
Through trust, civic leadership and a commitment to community benefit, ISRAAC has created new opportunities for collaboration while remaining deeply rooted in local needs and aspirations.
The Power of Meaningful Participation
Many community organisations face pressures when relying on short-term project funding. ISRAAC’s experience offers an alternative perspective. Alongside securing research partnerships, the organisation has pursued a range of opportunities that contribute to its long-term resilience. For example, they now have a successful partnership with organisations such as Cadent Energy, whose social responsibility funding supported improvements to the community centre. A collaboration emerged when Cadent approached them, as they saw ISRAAC’s demonstrable value, reliability and commitment to local communities over time.
ISRAAC highlighted that theirs was a ‘zigzag’ road of trial and error, which relied on creative and entrepreneurial approaches. Community organisations, universities and funders all have a role to play in developing models that recognise the labour involved in maintaining community relationships, building trust and supporting meaningful participation.
The discussion offered an important reminder that successful collaboration depends not only on good intentions but also on sustained investment in relationships, openness to different forms of expertise and a willingness to share power. Communities should be involved not only as participants but also as collaborators, leaders and co-producers of knowledge.
The main themes that surfaced throughout the discussion were generosity, reciprocity, creativity and long-term commitment. These qualities are not always visible in research outputs or funding applications, yet they are often the foundations upon which successful partnerships are built.
Our next Research Room will explore ways to diversify design research outputs and consider how academics and community partners can develop more creative and collaborative approaches to sharing knowledge. We look forward to continuing these conversations and learning from the diverse experiences and expertise of our growing network.
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