Co-creation and participatory research approaches: Designing research with the community

admin September 19, 2025 No Comments

By Thatohatsi Madumo

We’re kicking off a new blog series that unpacks the big ideas from the Engaged Research Conference. First up is Theme 1, which explores the power of working with communities and stakeholders to create research that truly matters.

Before we depart, let us take a look into what exactly is co-creation and participatory research. Participatory research and co-creation focus on the collaboration between academic researchers and non-academic stakeholders to adapt, or in certain instances, to even completely change the way we do traditional research (Greenhalgh et al., 2016; Blumenthal et al., 2013).  

So, what role co-creation and participatory research have in engaged research?

When we talk about engaged research, one of the most important ingredients is participation. Research isn’t just about academics sitting in an office crunching numbers—it’s about people, communities, and the real-world impact that knowledge can have. This is where co-creation and participatory research step in.

Participatory research is built on relationships and trust. It means that the people most affected by a research topic are not just “subjects” of the study, but active voices in shaping it. When individuals and stakeholders are part of the process right from the beginning—and when they feel truly heard and seen—they tend to have much more positive experiences with the research (Benjamin et al., 2023).

And here’s the real beauty of it: co-creation doesn’t just make people feel included; it makes the outcomes stronger. By involving stakeholders in meaningful ways, researchers and communities together can design services, solutions, or interventions that actually work in practice. As Benz et al. (2024) highlight, this kind of collaboration leads to better and more satisfying results for everyone involved.

So, what does this mean for engaged research? Quite simply, it means moving beyond the “us versus them” divide. It’s about researchers walking alongside communities, building knowledge together, and ensuring that the work contributes meaningfully to the lives of those it touches. In the end, co-created research isn’t just more ethical—it’s more impactful.

Invitation to presenters to submit full papers

admin September 15, 2025 No Comments

Engaged Research as a Pathway to Bridging Knowledge and Society

We are inviting all our accepted speakers and poster presenters to please prepare their manuscripts in preparation for submission by 17 October 2025.
 
We would like to thank you once again for your valuable contribution to the Engaged Research Conference. We are pleased to invite you to submit a full paper based on your accepted abstract for consideration in Policy Design and Practice, a Taylor & Francis journal.
 
Please prepare your manuscript in line with the journal’s author guidelines and upload your paper through the HSRC submission portal.
We look forward to receiving your submission.
 
Kind regards,
Engaged Research Team

Meet our keynote speakers

admin September 9, 2025 No Comments


Engaged Research as a Pathway to Bridging Knowledge and Society

Dr Martina Jordaan

The practicalities of community-engaged research: what works (Keynote speaker, Day 2, Panel 1)

Dr Jordaan is the Head of Community-Based Research at the University of Pretoria (UP), Mamelodi campus. She holds a PhD in History from UP and a Master’s in Development Studies from the University of the Free State. Her research centres on community engagement and service learning, including a recent project with the Historical Society of Mamelodi to digitally preserve the township’s history.
She has experience at the Gauteng Department of Education in the Tshwane South District, supporting early childhood practitioners and school staff. Since 2004, she has coordinated the compulsory Community-Based Project Module for undergraduates in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment, and IT at UP and later served as Head of Community-Based Research at the Mamelodi campus.
Dr Jordaan is senior editor of the Journal for Applied Research in Higher Education, editor of HETL Frontiers magazine, and country director for the Higher Education and Teaching and Learning Association. She has published widely on community engagement and service learning and has been recognised with multiple awards at institutional, national, and international levels.

Prof Edmore Marinda

Measuring what matters: Evaluating the impact of engaged research  (Keynote address, Day 3 morning)

Prof Marinda is Professor of Biostatistics and co-director of the South African Medical Research Council and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Pan African Centre for Epidemic Research (PACER). The Centre conducts research on human epidemics with local and international partners and hosts 15 PhD candidates and one post-doctoral fellow.
With over 30 years of academic teaching and research experience, Prof Marinda’s work spans clinical trials, national health surveys, and evaluation of health programmes. Key projects include co-principal investigator of the South African National HIV sero-behavioural surveys (SABSSM V & VI), co-principal investigator of the South African National COVID-19 sero-prevalence survey, and senior biostatistician on the Zimbabwe Vitamin A for Mothers and Babies (ZVITAMBO) clinical trial. His expertise includes biostatistics, epidemiology, public health, health economics, policy, systems strengthening, and impact evaluation.
Before joining UJ, he served as acting Divisional Executive/Research Director at the Human Sciences Research Council’s Impact Centre, Research Evaluation & Monitoring Team Leader at Mott MacDonald, and senior biostatistician at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). He holds a PhD in Biostatistics from the Wits, an MSc in Medical Statistics from the University of Newcastle, Australia, and Master’s and Honours degrees from the University of Zimbabwe.

Chenai Chair

Engaged research in the age of technology (Keynote address, Day 2)

Ms Chair is Director of the Masakhane African Languages Hub. She is an internationally recognised research and policy specialist whose work bridges digital rights, AI ethics, and feminist approaches to technology.
She holds a Master of Social Science in Global Studies (University of Cape Town, 2014). Her expertise lies at the intersection of gender, technology, and social justice, with a focus on digital rights, data governance, and the ethical implications of AI through feminist and decolonial lenses.
Ms Chair’s contributions include leading the Masakhane African Languages Hub as a global leader in African language AI. She has led flagship initiatives at  Research ICT Africa, the World Wide Web Foundation, and most recently Mozilla Foundation where she led the Africa Mradi – Mozilla’s strategic interventions of supporting innovation on the continent. She also led the East African Languages work under Mozilla Common Voice. She founded – My Data Rights (Africa) –  a project that centers feminist perspectives in data governance and AI ethics. Through My Data Rights, she is leading efforts in network-building, knowledge curation, and collective action. 
Chenai has authored numerous influential research papers, policy briefs, and thought leadership articles. Through her writing, speaking, and advocacy, she continues to shape inclusive, feminist approaches to AI and digital governance.