Get Talking

Get Talking is our approach to Participatory Action Research (PAR). Get Talking uses creative and artistic consultation techniques (often developed with artists) to engage with people. The programme includes training and support for a wide range of people with lived experience of the research subject as community researchers. It empowers them to influence projects which affect their lives. 

Get Talking has been used in many Connected Communities projects, including Appetite (2013), Vintage Volunteers (2019), Get Talking Hardship (2019), Alice Charity Get Talking (2020-2022).  

Get Talking is also delivered as a short course that allows people to understand and apply the process of participatory action research as a member of a team, including planning, listening, data analysis, dissemination and identifying actions. 

Find out more about how Get Talking has been used to address inequalities through creative, place-based participatory action research.  

Get Talking Projects 

Since 2017 we have used Get Talking for several research projects:  

REACH

We worked with Reach, an Advocacy Service for people with learning disabilities in Stoke-on-Trent, to help influence and inform Stoke-on-Trent’s bid to be City of Culture in 2021.

Get Talking Hardship

We worked with a total of 43 community researchers to consult research into the experiences of people in poverty in Stoke-on-Trent. 12 completed the Get Talking module.

Vintage Volunteers

We worked with 8 Vintage Volunteers who conducted research with 61 participants into the barriers to volunteering for older people. 3 completed the Get Talking module.

Alice Charity

We worked with two cohorts of Alice Charity staff and trainees, totalling 14 people. 13 completed the Get Talking module.

Foundation Get Talking: Creative and Participatory Action Research

Foundation Get Talking: Creative and Participatory Action Research provides the basic skills and knowledge needed to get started with Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Community Consultation.  

This course is not delivered as a regular timetabled module but instead is usually commissioned by local or regional organisations (usually public or third sectors) to engage community members or members of staff with a particular social issue.  

As part of this people build a real-world PAR project as part of the class, which we co-design with you to have benefit to the organisations or communities people work with.  

People on the course learn about participatory action research, the role of community researchers, ethics, power, and inclusion in community research and how to effectively use creative consultation techniques in your research cycle.    

If you are interested in commissioning a Get Talking course, or would like to discuss how a research project can incorporate the Get Talking methodology or short course please contact: connectedcommunities@staffs.ac.uk 


for Career Prospects

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

Top 5 for Social Inclusion

The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025

for First Generation Students

The Mail University Guide 2025

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021

for Facilities

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

Four Star Rating

QS Star Ratings 2021