About the event

Join us for a celebration of community-led research across the Highlands & Islands on Monday 10 June in Inverness. 

The Community Knowledge Matters Gathering will be a chance to:

• bring together peers including communities in the Highlands & Islands, researchers, practitioners and policy-makers who passionate about community-led research, to connect and share practice; 

• find out and shape the activities across the network, including participatory ethics process and a community-led rural mental wellbeing co-priority survey; 

• develop a collective voice and advocacy to shape policy and systems to make community-led research more equitable and sustainable around mental wellbeing and wider areas. 

The event will be held in Inverness at WASPS Creative Academy (see map here) in the daytime of Monday 10 June followed by a sharing cèilidh in the evening for more informal networking, hearing from different groups and a chance to dance the day out. 

This Gathering is funded by the Ideas Fund, British Science Association and Wellcome.

programme overview

Monday 10th June

9.30am - 6pm: presentations from network members and partners, case studies of community-led research across the Highlands & Islands, interactive workshops and collective mapping and planning policy asks, panel discussions and reflections, and an opportunity to engage with policy-makers. There will be opportunities to interact, offer feedback and join in discussions throughout the day but if you prefer to join in a listening capacity that’s also welcome.

7.30pm - 11pm: food, ceilidh dancing and informal sharing ceilidh

More details about the programme will be released very soon so please check back here for more information.

community bursaries

We're especially keen for grassroots individuals with diverse lived experiences, along with community based organisations in the Highlands and Islands - those who are new to community-led research as well as those who have various experiences with research - to join us, share their experiences and shape the network. We also recognise there are others working in this area who may not be able to attend otherwise, e.g. independent researchers.

We are offering a number of bursaries available to cover the costs of travel, accommodation and accessibility expenses which you can apply for here. We will be allocating these on the basis of ensuring a diversity of attendees, as far as possible. We encourage you to apply for the bursary early and give a realistic indication of anticipated costs of attending to allow us to allocate as fairly as possible. We will be allocating bursaries on a rolling basis each week.

Whilst we cannot guarantee that everyone who applies will be able to receive a bursary, we aim to make this event as accessible to people as possible. For example we plan to have some sessions hybrid and recorded, and welcome other suggestions. 

further event information

About the Venue

All of the programmed activities will take place at Wasps Creative Academy Inverness (see map) which is a fully accessible building. Please note any additional accessibility needs when you sign up or you can get in touch with the event organisers if you have any questions.

Getting to and from Inverness

You may already be familiar with getting to and from Inverness, but in case it’s useful, here are the main options:

• Train: there are rail connections from several parts of Scotland and some parts of the Highland mainland. Inverness is busy at this time of year and so we recommend booking your travel as soon as possible to avoid excessive train fares. The venue is a 10 minute walk from the train station (see map).

• Bus: There are regular buses to and from Inverness from most other parts of the Highland mainland. The bus station is next to the train station and it is a similar walking distance from the venue (see map).

• Plane: Inverness Airport is a short train or bus ride from the airport, where many islands fly to. You can see Inverness Airport Train timetables and more information here. 

Accommodation

If you have booked a place through our open registration (ie. you are not receiving a community bursary) then you will need to book your own accommodation if you are planning on staying overnight. Inverness gets very busy at this time of year and so we recommend booking this as soon as possible. There are a number of different options available across the city, including hotels, hostels and guest houses. You can find a list of these here. 

about the community knowledge matters network

Community Knowledge Matters is a new network bringing together people interested in community-led research shaping practice & policy change in mental health and wellbeing in the Highlands & Islands and beyond. 

The network is building collective voice and capacity through a programme of activities – including network events, collation of resources and funded training opportunities – working together to support more community knowledge represented at a systemic level.

Anyone is welcome to join, including:

• Grassroots communities and organisations in the Highlands and Islands who are interested in being more involved in research to support community action including around mental health and wellbeing.

• Researchers who are keen to support more equitable processes and partnerships that centre communities through an ethics of care.

• Practitioners and decision-makers interested in being more driven by community-led research and working together to support a more equitable and diverse system evidence-base.

• Stakeholders from across Scotland and beyond interested in learning from this network and sharing your own experiences.

Network members can get involved in the following ways:

• Join our monthly (online) Community of Practices, for the chance to to make connections and develop peer support and learning opportunities, hear examples of community-led research across the Highlands & Islands, reflect on sector wide issues individually and collectively, help shape the network and have open discussions about topics that come up on the day. Network members are automatically invited to all community of practices.

• Drop in to one of our lunchtime Conversation Stations for a chance to hear first-hand case studies of community-led research happening across the region. Network members will also receive an automatic invitation to all 'Conversation Station’ sessions.

• Connect with others on our Community Lab forum, a virtual community noticeboard and space for network members to interact independently between meetings. We post regular opportunities, including relevant training, and funding / employment opportunities and events of interest. Network members are also very welcome to post their own updates or signpost to events or opportunities of their own.

• Receive our monthly newsletter with network updates and opportunities, which you can also see on our Community

If you are not already a member of the Community Knowledge Matters network and would like to sign up, please complete the short form below or get in touch to find out more.