The Participatory Research Network (PRN@TUoS)
A cross-faculty initiative bringing together like-minded researchers.
Participatory Research Network Hub
Visit our hub for an overview of the participatory research projects undertaken by researchers from across the University.
About us
The Participatory Research Network at the University of Sheffield (PRN@TUoS) is an established cross-faculty network that supports participatory research and researchers.
It's a space for all people, from any discipline or practice, to come together to:
- enjoy and celebrate participatory research
- learn from each other, and discuss the challenges and barriers to doing participatory research in academia
- change and re-shape some of the University structures in which participatory research is embedded
PRN is currently co-led by a vibrant committee of 16 academics, early and mid-career researchers, postgraduate colleagues, and professional services staff from 12 different departments.
Our broader PRN membership has grown to 160 members across all 5 faculties - find out how to get involved.
Watch our short video explaining who we are.
Our key principles
We aim to shape and support University research cultures by:
- Ensuring academics, students, researchers and professional services colleagues at all levels across the University benefit from cross-faculty spaces and connections created through PRN.
- Ensuring everything we do remains committed to the researcher concordat - we have a strong postgraduate (PGR) and early career (ECR) presence in PRN, both in the Committee and in the wider PRN community, and want to nurture and support research careers.
- Supporting developments towards more inclusive research principles which centre equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in how we think about and carry out research with others, both inside and outside of the University.
Learn more about how PRN was established
Our committee members
Sarah Howson
Faculty Impact Manager
Faculty of Health
Christina E Stimson
PhD Researcher
Department of Computer Science
Louis Stokes
Research Associate
School of Medicine and Population Health, The Neuroscience Institute
Upcoming events
Stay up to date by adding PRN events to your Google Calendar.
Outputs from our events
Joy in Social Science Research
This blog reflects on the ‘Joy in Social Research’ event, which created space for postgraduate and early career researchers to collaborate and critically engage in the concept of joy. It also includes the artistic visualisations from the day. The event took place on 12 April 2025, and was funded by the Participatory Research Network and iHuman.
Intellectual Property Rights and Participatory Research Training Workshop
On 25 June 2024, participatory researchers from across TUoS sat down with representatives from research and professional services to untangle how intellectual property rights and data protection legislation affect research design and partnerships.
The Politics and Practicalities of Payment in Participatory Research
In July 2023 we hosted an event on the politics of renumeration in participatory research.
View our artistic outcomes from the day
Fika anyone?
Our PRN committee member, Dr Esbjörn Wettermark, explains the background to our monthly 'fika' get-togethers. These online drop-ins are open to anyone interested in participatory research.
Our research projects
We support Research England institutional Participatory Research calls.
Ethical Research and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Together with the University Research Ethics Committee (UREC), we engaged in a project to discuss the most appropriate way of advising on and addressing issues of ED&I in our research ethics policy and processes.
You can read our blog post about it below, which also provides links to the videos and report produced.
Learn more about the project and its outputs
PGR experiences of participatory research
We've led two funded research projects which have creatively explored PGR experiences of participatory research in University research cultures.
Participatory research reading list
Our committee members have created a collaborative, inter-disciplinary reading list outlining key texts related to participatory research. This is a living resource that we'll continue to update.
Get involved
Join the mailing list
Join our mailing list to learn more about PRN, associated events, training and resources - contact us at PRN@sheffield.ac.uk
Join the network
We're very keen to welcome new members, either as part of the PRN committee or the wider research network.
The committee is non-hierarchical, inclusive and co-led. Catch up meetings are held monthly online, but committee members can contribute as and when they can. The non-hierarchical and relaxed approach to meetings is central to our belief that the network is beneficial, rather than additional labour, to its members.
Members of the wider network are encouraged to submit ideas of events or issues they'd like to discuss.
Overall, PRN is a space that brings together researchers from all disciplines with similar interests in ensuring research is participatory, ethical and meaningfully engaged with different kinds of communities.
If you'd like to get involved, please email Kirsty Liddiard, PRN Lead: k.liddiard@sheffield.ac.uk
Contact us
Please also get in touch at PRN@sheffield.ac.uk if you have:
- a participatory research project that you'd like to be showcased or promoted through PRN
- any ideas for participatory research-related events that we could support
- any other questions
Follow us on X (@PRNTUOS)
iHuman
How we understand being ‘human’ differs between disciplines and has changed radically over time. We are living in an age marked by rapid growth in knowledge about the human body and brain, and new technologies with the potential to change them.