Pushing Boundaries conference agenda
On 10 June 2025 at The British Library, we’re hosting Pushing Boundaries with UKRI. This conference will bring together pioneers who are transforming research and innovation through community-driven approaches.
Our full conference agenda is below. All activities have been designed in line with our principles for participation, created by our accountability group of community researchers, citizen scientists and peer researchers.
9.30am Arrival and refreshments
10.00am Welcome address: Why here, why now
Opening our conference, Stian Westlake, Executive Chair at the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), will reflect on the strategic importance of community-led approaches, share recent and historic action in this space, and set out future ambitions.
10.20am Kicking off our collaborative research inquiry
Our conference co-hosts – Helen Goulden OBE, CEO of The Young Foundation and Sami Gichki, Co-Chair of #iWill Movement and part of Citizen Science Collaboration Grants – will introduce Pushing Boundaries’ unique collaborative research inquiry, giving attendees opportunities to explore ways to work creatively and openly, and create meaningful change.
10.40am Panel: What do we mean by community-driven R&I?
A panel session sharing community-driven R&I projects, funded by UKRI, that demonstrate diverse approaches to funding and delivering projects. Panellists will share their projects’ real-world impact and contributions to knowledge, across different disciplines, practices and perspectives.
Chair: Professor Alison Park, Deputy Executive Chair, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Panellists:
- Pandora Liu, Reading Hongkongers C.I.C. and Dr Deepti Angra, University of Reading, part of the Community Led Research Pilot
- Hannah Yu-Pearson, Centric Lab, part of the Community Knowledge Fund
- Dr Ben Williams, University of the West of England, part of Citizen Science Collaboration Grants
12.00pm Meet, eat and participate
During lunch, attendees will have the opportunity to contribute to our collaborative research inquiry.
12.55pm Opening the afternoon’s activities
1.15pm Panel: Why community-driven R&I matters to us
Members of our accountability group of community researchers discuss why it matters how community-driven R&I projects are designed and delivered.
Chair: Amelia Clayton, Senior Researcher, The Young Foundation and accountability group facilitator
Panellists:
- Annette Andrew
- Deborah Alero Nwaloko King
- Jon Dolby
- Julian Harrison
1.45pm and 2.50pm: Breakout sessions
Attendees will attend one panel and one workshop during the breakout sessions, choosing which sessions they will attend at registration. Please note there are limited places in the workshops so do book on to your preferred session upon arrival. The workshops are held at 1.45pm and repeated at 2.50pm, with a tea break at 2.30pm. Each panel will only run once at the times indicated below.
1.45pm Panel: Driving change across sectors
Exploring how collective action can support community-driven R&I. Bringing together people working to break down barriers and foster enabling conditions for community-driven R&I across different institutions and sectors.
Chair: Siân Whyte, Interim Co-Director of Research, The Young Foundation
Panellists:
- Professor Beth Perry, co-lead of Research England-funded Co-Pro Futures Inquiry and Director of the Urban Institute at University of Sheffield
- Claire Dhami, Head of Systems Change and Innovation at West Midlands Combined Authority
- Denize Ledeatte, Director of National Windrush Museum
2.50pm Panel: Driving change in place
A deep dive into the relationship between place-based working and community-driven R&I, tapping into growing interest in place-based policymaking and innovation, and how this can be an open door for community-led R&I across a range of disciplines.
Chair: Kersten England CBE, Chair at Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture and The Young Foundation, and Co-Director of the Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership.
Panellists:
- Dr Lauren Baker Mitchell, Northumbria University, AHRC Creative Communities programme
- Clair Griffiths, Xplore! Science Discovery Centre, part of the Mindsets + Missions programme
- Professor Sarah Pearson, Sheffield Hallam University, Co-Director of the ESRC-funded Centre for Collaboration in Community Connectedness
Workshop: Navigating everyday ethics and approaches to risk (1.45pm and repeated at 2.50pm, Eliot room)
Workshop focussed on how to enable community-driven approaches to research ethics and managing risk, exploring common-place scenarios and strategies.
Facilitators: Dr Sally Lloyd Evans and Dr Alice Mpofu-Coles, University of Reading
Workshop: How quality relationships support quality research (1.45pm and repeated at 2.50pm, Dickens room)
Workshop focused on how to broker equitable research relationships, and the role we all can play in enabling these.
Facilitator: Lewis Hou, Founder and Director of Science Ceilidh
Workshop: Enabling and valuing impact (1.45pm and repeated at 2.50pm, Brontë room)
Workshop focused on the impact of community-driven research and innovation, covering how to enable and measure unanticipated impact while maintaining your vision and ambition.
Facilitators: Chris Manion, British Science Association with James Halls, Open Source Healing Initiative (OSHI), and Dr Gill Hughes, University of Hull
3.40pm Collaborative research inquiry – the results!
Rounding up today’s collective inquiry with what we have discovered and imagined together – and what’s next.
3.50pm Closing remarks: Pushing boundaries in the future
Sharing takeaways from the day and future visions for how we continue to push boundaries when it comes to community-driven R&I.
Our co-hosts, Helen Goulden OBE, CEO of The Young Foundation and Sami Gichki, Co-Chair of #iWill Movement and part of Citizen Science Collaboration Grants, will be joined on stage by:
- Tom Saunders, Head of Public Engagement at UKRI
- Lewis Hou, Founder and Director at Science Ceilidh
- Haidee Bell, Head of Community Engagement at Wellcome