Our campaign for Community-ready Research Funding
We want to share with you a bold new collaborative campaign calling for a research funding system that truly empowers communities.
As a Community Co-research Hub, Boingboing Foundation (BBF) has spent years supporting communities to become confident, capable co-leaders of research. But time and again, we've hit the same blocks: despite our readiness, communities are often shut out because the current research funding system simply isn’t built with our involvement in mind.
We face persistent barriers like:
Timing: funding windows are aligned with academic calendars, not the pace of real life in communities or orgs in the third sector.
Resources: there’s little to no funding for collaborative bid writing or the scaffolding needed to guide community co-researchers through this complex process.
Status: applications require formal affiliations, titles, or institutional backing that most grassroots groups just don’t have.
These barriers have real consequences:
Community organisations are forced to work at a financial loss, lower their standards, or step back entirely.
Community members have disheartening experiences, leading to dropout and disillusionment with research and co-production
Projects become shaped by funding criteria, not by what truly matters to the communities involved.
Over-reliance on academic partners can create power imbalances and exclusion, especially early on.
But we believe change is possible - and it’s already underway.
At a recent knowledge-sharing event, BBF brought these issues into the spotlight. In a powerful workshop that brought together academics, community groups, practitioners and artists, we realised our frustrations were shared—and that it’s time to act collectively.
Together, we’re co-creating a position paper: a shared call for change, outlining the systemic barriers we face and the practical solutions we need. We’ve already secured interest from key decision makers in the research world who want to support and amplify this work.
As demand grows for co-produced, participatory research, the system must evolve. Effective impact and ethical practice can only happen when communities have the access, agency, and resources to lead.
Watch this space as we develop this work, and get in touch if you want to join us in our campaign for a fairer, more inclusive research funding landscape.