Details
1090942
University of Warwick
01/02/2025
Other - See Job
0.5 pro rata (16 hours) Hours of work Flexible (but there are 1-2 weekly scheduled meetings between 9-5).
Not Applicable
Pay
£16.07
£1.94
Description
Role
The postholder will lead efforts in developing Participatory Action Research (PAR) skills and strengthening ties with local community stakeholders and the NHS in autism research. Despite increased autism research (AR), current studies often don't reflect the desires of autistic individuals and their advocates. Participatory research (PR) is suggested as a solution, but the autistic community remains underrepresented in such research compared to other groups. Barriers to PR in AR include the research environment, researcher skills, and knowledge. Underrepresented groups in AR include ethnic minorities and those with low socio-economic status (SES). Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust also find underrepresentation in their "Experts by Experience" (EbE) groups. Current PR in AR needs to be equitable and representative of diverse autistic groups to shape service delivery plans effectively. The postholder will support researchers in selecting diverse EbE group members and work with various organisations to recruit EbEs and Trusted Advocates (TA), co-creating and disseminating guidance via website and a webinar to promote inclusivity in PR in AR. You will be working with a team of Experts by Experience (EbEs)* from 2-3 organisations.
* Experts by Experience (EbEs) are individuals who have lived experience or have a close family member using or caring for someone who uses health, mental health, and/or social care services.
Funders
The project is funded by the University of Warwick Participatory Research Fund 2024-25.
Who is the team?
Dr Jagjeet Jutley-Neilson - Department of Psychology, Professor Olympia Palikara – Education Studies, Dr Carla Toro – Warwick Medical School, Ellie Horton (PGR) - Department of Psychology, Dr Gitit-Kadar Satat- Department of Psychology, Gemma Cartright - System Clinical Lead for Neurodiversity (Coventry & Warwickshire) and NHS England Regional Clinical Director for Autism, and Dawn Nicholls - Coventry & Warwickshire Partnerships NHS Trust Dimensions Project Manager
Duties and responsibilities
What will you do?
To address the underrepresentation of Participatory Action Research (PAR) in autism research, particularly the lack of diversity among PAR members. Autistic individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds and low socioeconomic status (SES) groups are often excluded from research and consultations. The exclusion of autistic EbEs from diverse backgrounds could lead to incomplete and inaccurate understanding of the autistic community’s research needs.
1. Project management and relationship building
You will collaborate with the NHS and community groups to enhance PAR engagement with hard-to-reach groups.
A. Liaise with the NHS and community groups to co-recruit autistic Experts by Experience (EbEs) from selected underrepresented groups.
B. Oversee the administration and project management of the project.
2. Research responsibilities
C. Complete the ethics application with the support of the research team.
D. Co-develop PAR interview questions with EbEs.
E. Schedule PAR meetings/community listening meetings.
F. Conduct thematic analysis of PAR meetings with experts by experience and write up findings. These findings will inform a training website and webinar.
G. Responsible for data management. E.g., collecting the data, ensuring it is stored and processed according the ethical and GPDR guidelines.
H. Manage pay administration of EbEs.
I. Support and guide EbEs with questions about the project.
3. Create PAR Training materials
You will design and implement a training programme for participatory research to enable the University to build expertise in PAR and strengthen relationships with local community organisations and the NHS. To achieve this, you will:
J. Develop an interactive website for researchers that will host co-created training materials. These materials will guide how to conduct Participatory Action Research with the autistic community. The website is intended for research staff and those using PAR in universities, the NHS, education, and community and voluntary settings. You will Include insights from EbEs meetings to inform how to do inclusive PAR.
K. Lead the planning of a webinar to train researchers on best practices for conducting Participatory Action Research (PAR) with the autistic community.
Skills and experience
Must have skills.
- Knowledge or interest of PAR or advocacy work.
- A Degree in psychology, education, social sciences or equivalent.
- Experience of qualitative research.
- Experience of working with a range of stakeholders.
- Ability to actively engage in and contribute to writing and publishing research papers.
- A demonstrable ability to conduct research in line with the objectives of the project.
- Evidence of planning skills to contribute to the research project.
- Passion or interest in Autism situated in a neurodiversity affirming perspective, including as an Autistic person, personal experience, research experience or work experience.
- A commitment to continuous professional development.
- IT skills – experience of using: MS tools or similar (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint), video conferencing software (e.g. MS Teams, Zoom), data visualisation tools (e.g., Canva). Website development experience or willingness to learn how to work with relevant digital technologies (e.g., Sitebuilder).
Good to have skills
- Qualifications – postgraduate research qualifications, such as MSc, Post Graduate Diploma, MRes or PhD or similar
- Knowledge of delivering PAR in community setting
- Experience of working with voluntary and charity sector.
Location
Hybrid, you may be required to travel to meetings in the Coventry area
Additional information
- Predicted interview date - 15 January 25
- Start and end date: 01 February - 30 June 2025
- Deadline to apply: Sunday 05 January 25
- Please provide a CV and cover letter with your application.
Please note upon applying for this role you are consenting to your contact details being shared directly with the hiring manager.
We welcome and encourage applications from all communities regardless of culture, background, age, disability, sex/gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion/belief, or sexual or romantic orientation. To find out more about our social inclusion work at Warwick visit our webpages . https://warwick.ac.uk/services/socialinclusion/
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