The Journal for Community Studies, which is supported by the Centre for Collaboration in Community Connectedness, aims to challenge traditional assumptions about who creates knowledge and what evidence matters.

The journal will pair academic research with a response from a community practitioner, organisation or leader, which the editors say will hopefully create a dialogue between research findings and lived experience.

The first edition includes contributions from researchers at the universities of Reading, Stirling, Greenwich and Sheffield Hallam, and community leaders including Clackmannanshire Third Sector Interface, Community Land Trust Network, Intergenerational England, Lambeth Links, the Brixton Project and Darnall Well Being.

Dr Jack Layton, an editor of the journal and place research and impact manager at the Institute for Community Studies, said: “Exceptional research is happening every day in communities, charities, local organisations and through people with direct lived experience. Yet too often that knowledge is overlooked or difficult to access.

“We hope this publication will help build a richer understanding of the issues shaping communities across the UK and inspire new collaborations between researchers, policymakers, practitioners and communities themselves.”

Sarah Pearson, director of the Centre for Collaboration in Community Connectedness, said: “The solutions to many of the challenges facing communities already exist within communities themselves. The task for researchers, policymakers and practitioners is to listen, learn and work in partnership. 

“We hope it will spark new conversations, strengthen connections across sectors and contribute to a deeper understanding of what helps communities thrive.”