Reciprocity in research: The power of collaboration between academia and community-based organisations

03 Nov 2025

An image from a research workshop with PSP-REFUGEE and Happy Baby Community. 

The PSP-REFUGEE study, supported and funded by the NIHR ARC North Thames, is a collaboration researching and co-designing culturally-sensitive support for refugee and asylum-seeking parents living in temporary accommodation.   

One success factor of the work has been the long-term research collaboration between one of the project’s lead investigators, Professor Monica Lakhanpaul, and community-based organisation Happy Baby​ Community​. We asked them to share more about their collaboration to help inspire other researchers and community-based organisations to work more closely with one another. 

When you hear ‘research workshop’, it’s unlikely that movement, music and decorated masks comes to mind. But that’s what they have involved for the PSP-REFUGEE study, which is already showing how its creative, trauma-informed approach has the potential to be transformative for all involved. 

At the heart of this study is the belief in creating spaces within research for the voices of those communities overcoming inequalities, trauma, and complex histories of stigmatisation.  

One significant contribution to this study has been an existing collaboration between one of the projects lead investigators, Professor Monica Lakhanpaul - Professor of Integrated Community Child Health, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health at UCL - and community-based organisation Happy Baby​ Community​. The charity describes itself as “A community of support for women who have fled from violence or traffickers, and are pregnant or with a young child and are seeking international protection in the UK.” 

“Many people talk about ‘hard to reach communities’ and imagine that many vulnerable people don’t want to participate in research,” Professor Monica Lakhanpaul says. “I would say we have shown that that’s not the case. More important to participants is how and why the research is being done.” 

The collaboration between Monica and Happy Baby began when Happy Baby wanted to bring a more research-informed approach to their work. 

Initially, they worked together on the charity’s Every Child Can Thrive programme to  ensure their interventions and models of support are based on the best available evidence for child health, development and well-being. 

Over time, they have developed a trusting and reciprocal relationship that has helped the charity be more research-informed, and the Professor's research to be more led by the living experience of the community.  

Monica now works with Happy Baby as an embedded expert researcher. Meanwhile, Happy Baby worked as an expert advisor on the PSP-REFUGEE project. 

Enriching research through community engagement

It was through the Happy Baby Community of parents that the study team recruited their participants in its trauma-informed, threatre-based workshops. 

“One of the main things our involvement helps ensure is that the research being done is not intrusive,” says Sue Balmer, the charity’s Co-Director. “We don’t just let anyone do any sort of research. We will always ask: how is this going to help our mums?”  

So, how does academic research help parents seeking refuge and asylum in the UK? 

“While we may know something because our mothers tell us all the time, that doesn’t carry the same weight as if a top university comes out with a study on the topic,” Sue days. “So sometimes, pragmatically, we can see that it could be of benefit of our mums to help put these concerns up the political agenda through academically-validated research.” 

“But,” Sue cautions, “that doesn’t mean we throw our doors open to anyone seeking to research anything. In fact, sometimes we help reality check researchers – and say ‘that question isn’t relevant’ or ‘that approach simply won’t work.’” 

At the heart of this work is trust: “The collaboration worked because Monica listened to us when we said ‘no’ to some of the approaches initially proposed, and gave alternative ideas.” says Sue. 

It was trust in Happy Baby community that helped recruit participants for the workshops. Because the participating mothers were being approached by a known and trusted party, rather than an unknown researcher, there was a good level of engagement.  

The Happy Baby community also helped recruit facilitators of the workshop who themselves had also had experience living in temporary accommodation. These facilitators were able to support mothers participating in the workshops, including with​ community interpretation​​​, further facilitating a safe and trust-worthy environment. 

Unexpected benefits of putting community first

Trust also nurtured something in the work that no one in the team could have expected. 

“These mothers already knew each other from the Happy Baby community,” says Happy Baby’s Information and Education Project Coordinator Drew Gildea. “But the workshops deepened their relationships to a point where they could then begin to share more openly with one another.” 

One of the topics they arrived at was some of their experiences of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a highly sensitive topic.  

Following the research workshops, the mothers made a request to Happy Baby to have some support on discussing and dealing with the issue of FGM. 

Drew said “We had been aware of the issue, and had been considering how we might shape a service or support on the topic. But it’s so sensitive that really we did not know how to bring it in. This happened in a way we really never expected – as a result of this research study and the workshops involved, the mothers raised the topic themselves.”  

The charity has since been able to shape the support they offer based on what their community says it needs. Drew says: “We’ve been helping a couple with referrals for support, and are in conversations about what other services or sessions we might devise on the topic.” 

“People often talk about the unintended negative consequences of research that involves people with lived experience,” Monica reflects. “We took this trauma-informed approach to mitigate such harm to participants as retraumatisation, and avoid more extractive approaches.”  

“Still, it was unexpected” she says, “though, in my view unsurprising, that a more humane approach to research has actually led to unintended positive consequences.” 

The collaboration continues. As for the study, the team are analysing findings, preparing for the next phase of shaping a more tailored and culturally-informed parenting support programme: 

Monica says: “Existing parenting programmes don’t always meet the specific needs of families seeking asylum or refuge – particularly those raising young children in overcrowded or unfamiliar environments. Nor do they often recognise how a person’s cultural heritage can enhance their parenting approach.” That’s the next step for this programme. 

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