Community Knowledge Matters Network Gathering 2025

Join us for a celebration of community-led research across rural and island Scotland and beyond on Tuesday 11 November 2025 in Inverness.

The 2025 will be a chance to:

• Bring together peers from rural and island communities, practitioners, researchers and policy-makers passionate about community-led research to connect and share practice. This includes spotlights with young researchers in OPEN Shetland and peer research at Moray Wellbeing Hub.
• Hear the launch of new findings exploring what priorities rural communities in Scotland have around being involved in mental health research based on our Co-Priority Survey, co-developed and analysed with a working group of diverse lived experiences.
• Continue to build a collective voice and advocacy as a network to shape policy and systems to make community-led research more equitable and sustainable.

The main Gathering will be held in Inverness at WASPS Creative Academy (see map here) between 10am and 5.30pm of Tuesday, 11 November, followed by a Sharing Cèilidh in the evening from 7pm until 11pm for food, informal networking and creative sharing along with a chance to dance the day out with the Science Ceilidh band.

For those of you who can’t join us in-person, many of the talks will be livestreamed on the day and recorded afterwards. Watch some of the sessions from last year here.

This Gathering is funded by , British Science Association and Wellcome.

10am - 5.30pm: This includes the launch of the Doing Rural Research Co-Priority Survey, presentations from network members and partners, case studies of community-led research, Active Listening walks, wider discussions and an opportunity to inform future network activities.

7pm - 11pm: Dinner, ceilidh dancing and informal Sharing Cèilidh. You sign up to this when you register.

See the full programme above (see Agenda).

We will aim to live-stream selected elements of the main day for those who want to join online.

There will also be an opportunity to join additional workshops and activities on the previous and following days (Monday 10th and Wednesday 12th November).

Please pick the ticket that best describes the main role (“hat”) you will be attending the Gathering. We do recognise there are multiple hats that people have and you will have a chance later to share other roles and hats. This is to help balance the attendance for the network.

We are providing a limited number of bursaries with funding from the Ideas Fund to cover travel, accommodation and accessibility expenses for those who would not be able to attend otherwise. To apply for the bursary, please fill out this separate form here.

Expressions of interest for a bursary to attend the Gathering are now open and will close on 3 October. Final decisions will be shared by 9 October. To apply for the bursary, please fill out this separate form here.

Info: We will be live streaming specific parts of the day for those who cannot join in-person (see Online agenda). You can register for an online only ticket.

Info: The Rural Health and Wellbeing Community Co-Priority Survey was conducted between June and July 2024. We will be sharing the findings of the Rural Needs of Scotland from the Co-Priority Survey which was developed and analysed with a working group including community members on the needs and priorities around rural and island mental health. You’ll get a chance to understand the findings and key learning from the process, and take part in the launching of an online platform to explore the data.

Info: These are “spotlights” hearing directly from communities leading their own research projects across Scotland. There will be a choice of spotlights and this currently includes: *OPEN Shetland - This spotlight highlights OPEN’s transformational journey to becoming Shetland’s first youth-led charity. Together, young people, professional researchers and decision makers have built strong partnerships, shared knowledge, and created new ways of working that put young people’s voices at the heart of community decisions. From developing a unique governance structure to leading research projects, OPEN has shown how evidence from young people can shape real change.

*Collaboration for Mental Wealth in Moray - This spotlight will share the journey and learning so far from the Community Research Network in Moray including developing partnerships, exploring the role of peer research and taking a values based approach to community research.

Info: Lunch and networking with locally cooked food.

Info: In this session there will be an opportunity to meet members of the network and peruse and learn about the “tools” and “stories” as short 15 minute discussions led by members and partners. So far this includes sharings from the Scottish Islands Research Networks…

There will also be an opportunity to go on an Active Listening walk in small pairs facilitated by Moray Wellbeing Hub. This will be a space to meet peers and practice a key peer research and support skill Active Listening.

Finalise your chosen path with a short Comfort and Coffee Break.

Info: In this session there will be focused thematic tables which will be structured to focus discussions, collate resources, develop ideas and collaborative action and explore collective asks for decision makers and future change.

Info: In response to the collective asks and ideas developed in the discussions, we’ll be inviting those involved in research, funding and community development strategically to join us for a panel to listen, share future plans and explore what steps could be taken to develop this further into action.

Info: A brief moment for reflection and next steps before we finish for the day.

Info: The Sharing Cèilidh will be an open, informal space to share different perspectives on community-led research and wellbeing creatively with peers. The ceilidh will include traditional dances from the award-winning Science Ceilidh band. In between dance sets there will be short spaces open to brief creative sharing from members and partners of the network on themes around community-led research - poem, story, explaining a picture or object. You sign up to this when you register.

Info: For those who are arriving into Inverness earlier, there will be a hands-on workshop from 2 - 4pm on Monday afternoon at Wasps Creative Academy exploring the role of arts and co-production with Helen Berry in collaboration with the Binks Hub. Spaces will be limited, more details of this will follow for those who register.

Info: For those who are still in the area on Wednesday, you are invited to join a visit of community research activities hosted by our partners at the Collaboration for Mental Wealth in Moray community research network.

This “safari” will tour around Moray from coast to mountains, farmland to cultural towns, to understand the place and people, seeing communities in action through research and envisage a future, to inform and empower collaboration together.

The final programme and registration will be shared soon but likely involve meeting at Forres from 9.30am (you can get the Inverness train at 8.56am), visiting different parts of Moray, and finishing back at Forres from 4pm.

Once at Forres, transport and refreshments will be organised, and you can join for all or part of this tour, and there will be train stops available earlier for onward travel if required.

Collaboration for Mental Wealth in Moray is a community research network funded by UKRI.

Info: We will be live streaming specific parts of the day for those who cannot join in-person. You can register for an online only ticket.

Info: (Livestreamed) The Rural Health and Wellbeing Community Co-Priority Survey was conducted between June and July 2024. We will be sharing the findings of the Rural Needs of Scotland from the Co-Priority Survey which was developed and analysed with a working group including community members on the needs and priorities around rural and island mental health. You’ll get a chance to understand the findings and key learning from the process, and take part in the launching of an online platform to explore the data.

Info: (Some sessions will be livestreamed) These are “spotlights” hearing directly from communities leading their own research projects across Scotland. There will be a choice of spotlights and this currently includes: *OPEN Shetland - This spotlight highlights OPEN’s transformational journey to becoming Shetland’s first youth-led charity. Together, young people, professional researchers and decision makers have built strong partnerships, shared knowledge, and created new ways of working that put young people’s voices at the heart of community decisions. From developing a unique governance structure to leading research projects, OPEN has shown how evidence from young people can shape real change.

*Collaboration for Mental Wealth in Moray - This spotlight will share the journey and learning so far from the Community Research Network in Moray including developing partnerships, exploring the role of peer research and taking a values based approach to community research.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Wasps Inverness Creative Academy, Stephens Street, Inverness, United Kingdom