Community Participatory Action Research (CPAR 3) - Resources

This page hosts resources for individuals and groups participating cohort 3 of the CPAR programme, which provides community groups in the South East of England with training and mentoring support in order to plan, carry out and use research for the benefit of their community. CPAR is funded by NHS England, and is being delivered by the University of Reading, Scottish Community Development Centre and the Institute for Voluntary Action Research.

The focus of this year’s CPAR is on health inequalities experienced by marginalised communities. As in previous CPAR cohorts, the aim is to produce evidence that helps local health and care services know how best to design and deliver services, including any improvements that can be made.

11 different community organisations are being supported through CPAR for this cohort, with 2 or 3 people participating in each project as community researchers.

Previous CPAR cohorts have included:

  • In 2021-22, the first CPAR cohort was supported to conduct research into inequalities facing minority ethnic communities in accessing health and social care. See more here

  • In 203-24, the second CPAR cohort was supported to carry out research into the impact of the cost of living on communities in the South East of England. See more here

Resources

The resources structured according to the University of Reading’s 8-stage process for community participatory action research. More resources will be added for each stage as the training programme continues.

Key resources

  • The CPAR cohort 3 handbook - takes you through how CPAR works, important information, the different organisations who will support you and the timeline for what you’ll be doing. Download (pdf)

  • University of Reading’s Participatory Action Research Wheel and 8-stage PAR process graphic. Download document (pdf)

  • University of Reading’s Participatory Action Research Toolkit. Download document (pdf)

Stage 1 - Introductory session

  • Slides presented by the University of Reading and Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) covering what CPAR is, who is involved in it and how the programme will be delivered. Download slides (pdf)

  • Additional slides presented by the Institute for Voluntary Action (IVAR) on the support they will provide as part of CPAR to help enable your research to have more impact. Download Slides (pdf)

Stage 2 - Agreement, roles and expectations

  • Slides from CPAR face-to-face training in Brighton and Oxford in October 2024, covering what community participatory action research is, why it is valuable, challenges and impact and practical tips. Download slides (pdf)

  • CPAR promotional information, including logos, to help participating organisations share news about their involvement in the programme. Could be used on social media and newsletters for instance. Download (Word document)

Stage 3 - Planning and research questions

Stage 4 - Research methods and data collection

Training on creative methods (such as video and photography) and ethnography delivered by University of Reading

How to set up an Excel spreadsheet to enter your survey data (click on icon with 4 arrows to expand)

Stage 5 - Data analysis

How to generate pivot tables and charts using Excel (Click on icon with 3 arrows to expand)

  • Slides from analysis training, including analysing qualitative data such as interviews and focus groups and quantitative data such as surveys. Download slides (Powerpoint presentation)


    Qualitative analysis

  • CPAR guide to analysing interview data (useful for focus groups too). Download resource (Word document)

  • Template for a simple table to begin identifying themes and gathering examples. Download resource (Word document)


    Quantitative analysis

  • CPAR tips for survey analysis. Download resource (Word document)

  • Step by step video on how to set up an Excel spreadsheet to enter your survey responses (see accompanying video above)

  • Step by step video on how to generate pivot tables and charts using Excel (see accompanying video above)


  • More resources

  • Action Research by, in and for Communities (ARC) (external website with download available)

    The above resource was developed by Scottish Community Development Centre, and has a section on making sense of your findings

Stages 6 and 7 - Key findings and presentation

  • Slides from stage 6 training on key findings (Powerpoint presentation - still to come)

  • Slides from stage 7 training on presentation (Powerpoint presentation - still to come)

  • Writing your report - template and guidance (Word document)

  • A report is one way to present your findings, but there are other ways to use your evidence to influence services. See the Knowledge is Power toolkit for some more resources on this (external website)

  • To see examples of previous CPAR research project outputs, including reports, videos and posters, see the Cohort 1 reports and Cohort 2 reports on NHS England workforce, training and education’s website.

  • Reading Voluntary Action has produced a combined report (see image), containing the 4 full research reports by community researchers who took part in the CPAR programme in 2021-22. Download Community Participatory Action Research 2021–2022 to see some great examples of how to put together a research report (with a bit of paid-for design work to add that final touch!).

Stage 8 - Action