Professor Dominic Abrams and Dr Fanny Lalot, in collaboration with Belong (the Cohesion and Integration Network), have been awarded a grant of £234,000 by the Nuffield Foundation for research examining community responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. This research will be carried out longitudinally using a survey, focus group discussions and interviews. Using repeated testing over the next seven months they will explore people’s perceptions of how social relationships and cohesion are changing, their priorities for action, and their concerns and expectations. The project will study different regions of the UK, five different local authorities, and community activists and volunteers.
A particular value of the project is not just to track changes in general trends over time but to explore the implications of people’s differing experiences and perceptions for their intentions and actions.
The Nuffield Foundation is an independent Foundation aiming to advance educational opportunity and social well-being. You can also view the Belong – The Cohesion and Integration Network website here.