Overview
The Better Collaboration for Better Health (BCBH) project examined how researchers and diverse ethnic communities can work together more effectively to improve participation in health research. The project aimed to address the long-standing underrepresentation of diverse ethnic communities and ensure that health research more accurately reflects their needs, experiences, and priorities.
The study combined a review of existing evidence with an exploration of the challenges and perspectives of both researchers and community members. A total of 61 participants contributed through interviews and focus groups, offering insights into the barriers to collaboration, the conditions that support trust, and the approaches that can help build sustained relationships.
Input from these discussions was further refined through two collaborative meetings, leading to the development of eight practical recommendations and associated training needs to strengthen inclusive research practices across the sector.
Outcomes
The project delivered several key outcomes:
- Eight evidence-based recommendations, with reforming funding systems identified as the most critical enabler of meaningful collaboration
- Recommendations include:
- Making collaboration an institutional, not solely individual, responsibility
- Creating accessible platforms to share research results and foster partnerships
- Involving diverse ethnic communities from the earliest stages of research design
- Providing pre-award funding to support early engagement and co-design work
- Active involvement of community partners throughout, from shaping the research design to interpreting findings and agreeing final recommendations
- Plans for broad dissemination, with outputs to be shared through reports, journal articles, and online platforms to support wider learning and adoption
- Clear next steps, include engaging organisations across the research ecosystem to encourage implementation of the recommendations
These outcomes demonstrated how collaborative, community-informed approaches can help identify structural barriers to inclusion and offer practical solutions to strengthen research partnerships with diverse ethnic communities.
