Resources

Food4Families independent evaluation Report (2019)

This report provides an independent evaluation of a range of community garden sites in Reading. It includes an analysis of how the main sites performed against their Action Plans, ongoing monitoring data and the findings from 1568 users and volunteers at 8 community garden locations.
Reading on Thames Festival: What people want (2019)

Organisers of the Reading on Thames Festival commissioned this research in Spring 2019 in order to find out what sort of events people want to see in Reading, and how they get to know about them.
Art, Culture and Heritage - contribution to wellness (2018)

This study looks at how people in some of Reading's suburbs engage with Arts, Culture and Heritage. It looks at how this engagement is associated with wellness, comparing to other activities and their association with wellness. It also considers the barriers faced to engagement in these various activities.
Case study – Empowerment and capacity building (2016)

The Whitley Researchers were cited as an example of how to empower and up-skill local communities in a case study of 'Community Engagement in the Big Local.' (National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) 2016)
Doing it ourselves: A report from the‘Making Change Happen’ Big Local Networking and Learning event on community research (2016)

A report on the proceedings of a workshop run in 2016 at the University of Reading in cooperation with Whitley Big Local and the Community Environment Associates (CEA). The workshop considered the opportunities that research can offer communities, as well as the challenges it raises.
Whitley Researchers Leaflet (2015)

A leaflet produced after the 'Working better in Whitley Report' summarising the findings, sharing how to get involved in the project and introducing the background of the Whitley Researchers.
Food4families Independent Evaluation Report (2018)

The report shows how communal gardens can make a positive contribution to local communities, and highlights areas in which the Food4Families project can further improve, engaging more users and developing gardens that are useful, active, beautiful spaces that reflect diverse needs and dreams.
Way to Health Report (2018)

The research, commissioned by Food4Families, aimed to investigate not only IF three of its community food growing sites contributed to getting or keeping well, but also to discover exactly what is was about the programme that made that made such contributions.

Children's view of the Food4Families gardening programme (2018)

This report evaluates the gardening project from the viewpoint of children. It considers what children thought of the project and what motivates them to attend, both with a view to seeing how appreciation can be enhanced. It also looks at the impact the project has on children's lives and learning.

Building Better Opportunities Participation Consultation (2017)

This document reports the views of those far from employment. It records their perceptions of the future, the barriers they they face in getting work, and the things they feel would help them along.

Key publications can be accessed here, and undergraduate contributions here.