In Research
Improving public engagement in research
At Made By Mortals, we understand your challenges as a researcher. Delivering robust yet engaging studies with high impact is difficult. We’re here to help make your health research and public involvement more inclusive, accessible and beneficial for the communities you care about through an arts-based approach.
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How do we do it?
We help you build a vibrant community tailored to your research needs, ensuring everyone participates from a place of equity, creativity and strength.
Our team brings together professional artists, health and social care practitioners, commissioners, and, most importantly, individuals and diverse groups with lived experience.
With our guidance, you’ll enhance your public involvement and engagement, gain fresh perspectives, energise your team and produce outstanding academic work. Your work will drive positive progression in public services and deliver impact for policy, practice and communities.
We’re skilled at bringing different arts methods – audio, films, workshops and music theatre events to innovate throughout the research process from study design to dissemination and knowledge exchange. Our approach ‘flips’ usual power relationships on their head, so people with lived experience lead as experts.
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“Made By Mortal’s approach to public and user engagement chimes well with research funders and has certainly helped drive a project of mine.”
Dr Paul Clarkson
Social Care & Society, The University Of Manchester
You: Schedule a project chat through our contact form or drop us an email.
We: Create a project plan and proposed budget.
You: Use our project plan to help write your bid.
Together: We’ll help you answer any funder questions.
Together: Co-produce the project!
FAQs
Can I book a project chat before my funding is in place?
Yes, of course. We like to get involved early and can help you write your bid, particularly around our creative approach, accessibility and budget requirements. If needed, our leaders can join your research team as co-investigators or PPI leads and be included in the bid. All our pre-bid support is free.
How can Made By Mortals help with public engagement in research?
We can assist with various areas of your research, including supporting people with lived experience to participate in project recruitment, priority setting, analysing research data and disseminating and mobilising knowledge of the research findings. We also support creative arts-based data collection methods.
How long does it take to create a piece of art?
Our audio stories, films, theatre, music and workshops are co-produced with people with lived experience and other stakeholders. Through co-production, we produce incredible and impactful results, with the process typically taking 3 to 12 months. However, we often stay involved from bid writing to project completion, which can be up to 5 years or more.
Do I need research findings to work with you to support the dissemination and knowledge mobilisation phase of my research project?
No, we can start much earlier; our work can run alongside your research. We can deliver participant recruitment or work alongside yours, generating creative outputs as the project unfolds. This approach to public engagement in research can drive interest in your research and ensure the final piece of art and any supporting events or online materials are ready when you want to make a big impact.
What about ethics?
We’ll support you with the ethics process, providing all necessary information, including a detailed breakdown and timeline of our creative approach. As an independent arts organisation, our work sometimes operates outside traditional ethics frameworks, with participant contributions usually anonymised. When we’re involved in data collection or recruitment, we adhere to ethical guidelines as required by you and the funder.
Interested? Want to know more?
Book your project chat here
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