Case studies: Beyond the Campus
The Religious Lives of Young British Sikhs: Community engagement through a Collaborative Doctoral Award
Dr Jasjit Singh has recently completed a Collaborative Doctoral award with BECAS (The Bradford Educational and Cultural Association of Sikhs) and the Theology and Religious Studies department at the University of Leeds as part of the AHRC/ESRC ‘Youth Call’ of the Religion and Society programme. His research focuses on the religious lives of British South Asians, in particular young British Sikhs.
During his collaborative PhD Jasjit's research examined the relationship between traditional arenas of religious transmission such as the family environment and religious institutions and compared these with newer areanas of religious transmission often organised by young people themselves including Sikh camps, University Sikh societies and the Internet. How did you go about establishing a framework for collaboration between academia and community groups? Having developed a broad research topic which was to examine the religious lives of young British Sikhs I explored which Sikh organisations and community groups might be interested in this subject and in developing research questions of their own. I approached a number of relevant external partners by identifying which individuals would be best suited to have a discussion about research and arranged appointments with these community groups. At these meetings I presented my research proposals allowing time for feedback and discussion. Having understood and developed some of the research questions together, we agreed a timetable for the research and points at which I would report back to the community partner. This reporting usually took place at the Annual General Meeting or at events organised for the public. The negotiation process was relatively straight forward once we had agreed how much time the community group would be expected to dedicate to the research project. |
Related case studiesPresentationDownload Jasjit Singh's (University of Leeds) presentation The Religious Lives of Young British Sikhs: A reflection on community engagement through Collaborative Doctoral Award.
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What do you see as the main challenges or obstacles in this collaboration process?
The main challenge is to ensure that all parties in the collaboration feel that the research is serving their needs. Where community partners may not previously have been involved in a collaboration, it is necessary and important to clearly explain the purpose and value of research. Also, as community groups have a number of constraints on their time the fact that their contribution to research is not usually recognised in monetary terms may become an obstacle in developing further collaborations. It is also often a challenge to maintain a relationship with the external partner once the research project is complete. I have tried to ensure that I am still in contact and attend meetings with my collaborative partners to explore further research possibilities, although this takes time. Once of the main challenges in the collaborative process for both academics and external collaborators therefore is that the time taken to develop collaborative projects is not always recognised by employers and funding bodies.
What role do other regional or local partners play in creating bridges between your institution and local cultural organisations or partners?
The University of Leeds have established the CCI Exchange and Arts Engaged to create links between the university and local cultural organisations / partners. As well as running a weekly drop in session to advise academics on how to develop collaborative research projects, the CCI exchange provides funding for project development. Local partners who have worked on research projects often find the process of engaging with universities unclear and over complicated. The CCI Exchange has been established to act as a single point of contact for cultural and community organisations wishing to develop research projects.
What were the advantages in being able to engage in an Collaborative Doctoral Award?
The Collaborative Doctoral Award which was awarded under the AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society programme allowed me to ensure that my research would be immediately relevant outside the Academy and beyond. Since working with BECAS (Bradford Educational and Cultural Association of Sikhs) I have been presented my findings at BECAS events, at national and international conferences and on national radio and television stations. The collaboration created links to other community bodies and also highlighted the process of research to those who may not previously have been aware of how research is conducted in higher education institutions.
What could be a valuable lesson learned or advice you would give to another academic institution set to work with external partners in the creative and cultural economy?
My collaboration has taught me that even though I might assume that a particular area of research is interesting, discussing research possibilities with practitioners before the research begins almost ensures that the research will be relevant to external partners. Keeping lines of communication clear before, during and after the research project helps to ensure that collaborative relationships created may be built on as future research ideas develop.
Edited by Silvie Jacobi
The main challenge is to ensure that all parties in the collaboration feel that the research is serving their needs. Where community partners may not previously have been involved in a collaboration, it is necessary and important to clearly explain the purpose and value of research. Also, as community groups have a number of constraints on their time the fact that their contribution to research is not usually recognised in monetary terms may become an obstacle in developing further collaborations. It is also often a challenge to maintain a relationship with the external partner once the research project is complete. I have tried to ensure that I am still in contact and attend meetings with my collaborative partners to explore further research possibilities, although this takes time. Once of the main challenges in the collaborative process for both academics and external collaborators therefore is that the time taken to develop collaborative projects is not always recognised by employers and funding bodies.
What role do other regional or local partners play in creating bridges between your institution and local cultural organisations or partners?
The University of Leeds have established the CCI Exchange and Arts Engaged to create links between the university and local cultural organisations / partners. As well as running a weekly drop in session to advise academics on how to develop collaborative research projects, the CCI exchange provides funding for project development. Local partners who have worked on research projects often find the process of engaging with universities unclear and over complicated. The CCI Exchange has been established to act as a single point of contact for cultural and community organisations wishing to develop research projects.
What were the advantages in being able to engage in an Collaborative Doctoral Award?
The Collaborative Doctoral Award which was awarded under the AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society programme allowed me to ensure that my research would be immediately relevant outside the Academy and beyond. Since working with BECAS (Bradford Educational and Cultural Association of Sikhs) I have been presented my findings at BECAS events, at national and international conferences and on national radio and television stations. The collaboration created links to other community bodies and also highlighted the process of research to those who may not previously have been aware of how research is conducted in higher education institutions.
What could be a valuable lesson learned or advice you would give to another academic institution set to work with external partners in the creative and cultural economy?
My collaboration has taught me that even though I might assume that a particular area of research is interesting, discussing research possibilities with practitioners before the research begins almost ensures that the research will be relevant to external partners. Keeping lines of communication clear before, during and after the research project helps to ensure that collaborative relationships created may be built on as future research ideas develop.
Edited by Silvie Jacobi