Community grants

HighAbility are facilitating increased access to civic technology for disabled people. The project will discover how civic technology can be used by communities to generate their own data and design geographically based services suited to their mental wellbeing needs. By partnering with researchers from the University of the Highlands and Islands, HighAbility are looking to develop the capacity for the communities to empower themselves with new technology.

Facilitated by Mahdlo, this project is creating and testing methods to engage families in learning about, and self-managing, mental and emotional wellbeing.
Researchers from the University of Manchester will support discussions with residents including through supporting data collection, focus groups, and co-designing processes to help get information out to others. By running creative workshops like painting, mindfulness classes, and cooking activities, the project is helping reduce loneliness and isolation amongst a diverse neighbourhood in Oldham.

Facilitated by Informing Choices NI (ICNI), this project is exploring how loss and bereavement is discussed and dealt with for people with learning disabilities, autistic people, and their families. A researcher from Ulster University is working alongside ICNI through a process of co-production with the community. Through meetings, workshops, focus groups and peer support groups, people with learning disabilities, autistic people, their families and support staff will be given the space to discuss and explore how loss and bereavement has impacted on their lives and what support was available, with the aim to produce tools that will help others across Northern Ireland and beyond.

Aligning with the “5 steps to metal wellbeing”, an evidenced based approach used by the NHS, this project is helping improve the social capital, mental wellbeing, and social connections of LGBTIQ+ individuals in the Scottish Highlands through sport and physical activity. Researchers will run research skills training alongside this, to help the community develop their own pilot plans. Facilitated by LEAP Sports Scotland, the partnership is tackling both personal and structural barriers that exist in public spaces by running regular peer support and networking events. The project will work closely with partners across the region to reduce barriers to sport and facilities for the LGBTIQ+ community.

Engaging with Ageing is a project that is reframing how we think of and react to ageing - our own ageing, the societal response to ageing, and the effects of ageing can have on life. It is promoting radical change in terms of long-term outcome and impacts. In partnership with a researcher, the project is supporting groups to become co-researchers and take part in action planning as a central part of achieving their ambitions. Through an intragenerational co-design approach, the project hopes to raise consciousness of why and how everyone should engage with ageing along their life course.

The Oldham Athletic Community Trust is bringing together retired and elderly fans from the local area to chat and reminisce about their memories of Oldham Athletic Football Club to combat growing isolation amongst the community, with researchers from the University of Leeds and the University of Reading sharing information including tips and suggestions about boosting memory, physical activity and wellbeing in retirement. Participants are shaping the conversation and highlighting the needs of the community, whilst also engaging in social activities that improve mental wellbeing.

Run by Neighbourhood Network, this project is supporting women before, during, and after the menopause by encouraging conversations and normalising what is sometimes considered a ‘taboo’ subject. The partnership with the University of Hull offers an opportunity to share knowledge to create an important social network and deliver and exciting programme of activities. Through offering one to one sessions, group workshops, coffee mornings and physical programmes, the project is offering both holistic health alternatives and mental wellbeing support.

This project aims to reconnect young people living in urban areas with their wild selves through running a range of activities in local wild spaces focused on fostering nature connection and positive mental wellbeing. Young people are supported by researchers from the University of Hull to co-create a research programme which measures the effectiveness of the project through utilising creative participatory research methods.

This is a community led, intergenerational project, aiming to connect everyone in the local community from the primary school to the nursing home.
The project is creating an audiovisual trail by recording sounds, stories and images, as well as documenting people’s connection to the outdoors. They are working with a researcher to help maximise the quality of data gathered from events and better understand the experiences of the community who participate. This project runs a wide variety of activities including walks, talks and Nature Art activities, to help improve mental wellbeing and foster connection between the local residents of all ages to help protect their local identity and culture.

The Open Space Project is focused on creating a new, unique drop-in café for young people on the Shetland Islands, to act as a safe space to combat isolation and develop connections. The young people participating in this project are leading the project in designing what kind of space they want, and are supported by researchers offering their advice and expertise. The café is empowering young people through community participation and leadership opportunities.

This project is bringing women together through both horticulture and digital literacy to help improve both physical and mental wellbeing.
Participants are working with a researcher who will help to develop digital skills and share analytical skills with participants in order for them to chart the story of the She Shed. Programmes like the ‘Wellbeing Naturally’ Course, which combines gardening in a polytunnel with therapeutic practices, alongside additional activities promoting learning about healthy eating, food sustainability, and digital skills, are enabling the project to reach those in a rural community to combat isolation and provide residents with new skills..