A new open-access publication from the ReCITE consortium explores how co-production with communities can shape research agendas and support innovative approaches to tackling health inequalities.
The paper, published in the journal Research Involvement and Engagement, presents insights from the ReCITE consortium-building project in Liverpool. The study documents how academics, creatives, community organisations and public contributors worked together to develop a shared research programme focused on creative health and health equity.
Over a nine-month period, the consortium brought together 56 stakeholders from across the academic, creative, health, community and voluntary sectors through a series of collaborative workshops. These sessions helped shape a shared research agenda and establish a “theory of change” to guide future work on creative approaches to improving health equity.
The paper highlights how iterative co-production can build trust, foster equitable power-sharing, and enable diverse stakeholders to influence research priorities. It also identifies key themes emerging from the process, including the role of storytelling and creative advocacy, the challenges of funding creative health initiatives, and the importance of collective action to address structural health inequalities.
The findings demonstrate how participatory approaches can strengthen research partnerships and help ensure that future health research reflects the priorities and experiences of communities.
Read the full article:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40900-026-00846-z
The paper has also been featured in the Creative Health Research Round-Up 2025 report from the National Centre for Creative Health. The report’s Executive Summary provides a concise overview of key themes, insights and implications emerging from the 2025 submissions. It is designed to support practitioners, policymakers, commissioners and system leaders to engage with the evidence and understand how creative health approaches are being applied across healthcare, community and public health settings.
Read the full report here.
More information:
Blog: Three Years of ReCITE: What We Learned About Creative Health, Equity, and Systems Change
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ReCITE is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of UK Research and Innovation. |
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