Meet the team in the Centre for Urban Wellbeing
Co-Directors
Project Officer: Tom Lingard (t.o.lingard@bham.ac.uk)
Theme leads
Theme leads
Advisory group
Advisory group
The Centre for Urban Wellbeing has an Advisory Group whose role is to:
- advise on research strategy and prioritisation to benefit members of the wider society and community
- support impact generating and knowledge exchange activities to inform policy
- identify opportunities to extend the impact of the centre beyond the West Midlands region
- identify new networks and partnerships to enable user involvement in research
The Advisory Group held its first meeting in March 2021 where we discussed the main urban wellbeing policy challenges facing local communities, established productive ways of working with the University, and set out a clear vision for addressing wellbeing inequalities through place-based and systems-level interventions.
Members of the Advisory group
Andrew Fuller, City Design Manager, Birmingham City Council
Eve Carter, Education and Research Officer, Dudley Zoo
Claire Douglas, Occupational Health and Wellbeing Consultant
Conrad Parke, Birmingham Anchor Network Co-ordinator for CLES – the national organisation for local economies
Professor David Conradson, Professor of Human Geography, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Dr Dina von Heimburg, Associate Professor and Co-leader of Nordic Research Center for Wellbeing and Social Sustainability (WellFare), Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Jack Williams, Head of Education & Conservation, Dudley Zoo & Castle and Vice Chair, BIAZA Terrestrial Invertebrate Working Group
James Gleave, Strategic Planning Manager, Hackney Council
John Cotton, Leader, Birmingham City Council
Karen Creavin, Chief Executive of The Active Wellbeing Society
Dr Kelsey J. O'Connor, STATEC Research (Luxembourg), International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies
Liz Zeidler, Chief Executive of Centre for Thriving Places
Mark Gamble, Head of East Birmingham Development at Birmingham City Council
Martin Holcombe, Chief Executive, Birmingham Settlement
Dr Mike Goodfellow-Smith, Director - QUEST for Future Solutions; Sessional Lecturer - Aston University; Trainer and Mentor EU Climate KIC; entrepreneur
Professor Ottar Ness, Professor and Head of Nordic Research Center for Wellbeing and Social Sustainability (WellFare), Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Dr Rebecca Johnson, Trustee, Kenilworth Centre
Professor Richard Lilford CBE, Director of National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Centre West Midlands (ARC WM)
Dr. Shira de Bourbon Parme, Urban Wellbeing and Innovation Lead, Regenerative Cities, Ramboll UK
Victoria Boelman, Director of Insight & Policy, RNID - National hearing loss charity
Community researcher panel
Community researcher panel
As part of the QR funded “Urban Wellbeing in Policy” project, 2022-24, we worked with Birmingham Voluntary Services Council (BVSC) to recruit a panel of 8 trained Community Researchers (CRs) resident in Birmingham from March 2024 onwards. We are delighted that this panel supports and informs the core research activities of the Centre for Urban Wellbeing. Here are some of the Community Researchers that we are currently working alongside, and some info below on recent activities.
Jean Claude Kabuiku
Jean Claude Kabuiku thrives in the dynamic energy of multicultural cities. With a background in Health and wellbeing within Black and Ethnic Minority communities, he is passionate about creating thriving urban environments that nurture wellbeing for all-inclusive Birmingham residents. His work focuses on community engagement, green spaces and mental health. He is excited to collaborate with the Centre for Urban Wellbeing to explore innovative solutions for healthier, happier cities.
Tel: +44 773 8068 834
Email: jckabuiku@bold-actions.org
Chantel Johnson
She is a careers and employability educator in a secondary school. She enjoys community work as it gives her an insight into people’s experiences, which can be moving, shocking and insightful and she really enjoys that aspect. She likes interior design, working out, occasional holidays and spending time with family is her happy place.
Debbie Kerslake
After 20 years working for Birmingham Social Service as a Social Worker and then managing a befriending, respite and advocacy service for people with disabilities, she then moved to the Voluntary Sector working for Cruse Bereavement Support for 20 years (the last 10 as Chief Executive). After retiring in 2018, she trained as a community researcher with the University of Birmingham. She has undertaken research projects with the Universities of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Keele and BVSC, and now trains and mentors new Community Researchers.
She is interested in community research because she believes it is vital that underserved communities have a voice and influence. Having undertaken research in access to green spaces she is particularly interested in the work of this research panel.
She has been involved in a wide range of community research projects. These have included: Use of the canal network by local communities; Place-based evaluations and stakeholder analyses of the work of the West Midlands VRU; Building community capacity in bereavement support; Community cohesion and integration in Walsall; Nicotine and tobacco use in Handsworth; Infant mortality amongst the Pakistani community in Sparkbrook; Community consultation exercises on the use of Glenmead playing field; The prevention of serious youth violence in Newtown and Lozells; The experience of the menopause within the Pakistani community; The impact of bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic; The experience of migrant mothers in Birmingham and Smethwick and Access to nature and green spaces.
She runs weekly sports sessions for children with disabilities and she is a volunteer for Quinton Foodbank and the National Trust (at Baddesley Clinton).
Toqueer Ahmed Quyyam
Birmingham-based Toqueer Quyyam has been an environmental and social justice campaigner since 2018. He volunteers with a wide range of organisations including Friends of the Earth, Footsteps: Faiths for a Low Carbon Future and Birmingham & Black Country Wildlife Trust, does consultancy and advice work in the sustainability space, and is training to be an energy adviser. In 2022, he joined the Red Cross Taskforce addressing cost-of-living issues during the spike in energy prices. He has won local and national awards including in 2023 a Climate Coalition Green Heart Hero Award for his work engaging local groups such as a mosque scout troop with the Wildlife Trust’s EcoPark in Small Heath.
Ruwayda Izruna Shears
She is a community researcher, and also a business owner where she runs a Musim wellness coaching business empowering Muslim women to heal and to live their purpose. She is passionate about the effects of being outside in nature can have on a person's mental as well as their spiritual health.
Alison Thompson
She spent 30 years working in the NHS, Social Care and the voluntary sector (20 years at Director/CEO level) then trained as a community researcher. She has undertaken projects with the Universities of Wolverhampton, Keele and Birmingham and BVSC, and now train and mentor new Community Researchers.
She is interested in community research because it gives her the opportunity to hear the voices of underserved communities. She is particularly interested in this community research panel because she has set up a small charity called The Patchwork Meadow, whose aim is to brighten up our urban neighbourhoods in Birmingham and bring back the pollinators.
She has been involved in a wide range of different community research projects with underserved communities. These have included projects on why individuals don’t use the canal network; the prevention of serious youth violence; the experience of migrant mothers; infant mortality amongst the Pakistani community and community cohesion and integration in Walsall.
She is the co-ordinator of Greenpeace Birmingham and runs weekly sports sessions for children with disabilities. She is a fanatical Everton supporter and loves Fantasy Football. Having always participated in a wide range of sports, she is still keen to compete in some way, so having got through to the quarter-finals of the North American conker championships last year, she is now preparing to take part in the World Championships later this year!
Summary of work with CUWb Community Researcher Panel so far
We met monthly to build a Community of Inquiry focused on urban nature activism, a theme co-developed with the CRs. Topics discussed included: interpreting findings from research the community researchers conducted for Natural England on cultural barriers to accessing greenspace in Winson Green, Lozells, Newtown, Handsworth and Bartley Green; local (Birmingham City Council/BCC), regional (West Midlands Combined Authority/WMCA) and national (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs/DEFRA, Natural England) policies on urban nature; international exemplars and cases of urban nature activism; partnership and trust in community participation; policy advocacy.
We conducted focus groups with local environmental and community organizations across the WMCA region to gather insights on existing interventions and actions to address these barriers.
Through these sessions with the community researchers, we co-designed a half-day community event, the West Midlands 'Urban Greenroom', in June 2024 at the Neighbourhood Futures Festival. This festival was co-hosted by local charity, Birmingham Settlement and the Centre for Urban Wellbeing, and the day was attended by 250 people. UoB’s civic relationship with Birmingham Settlement spans over 100 years and our work continues this legacy to support their work in addressing social need in underserved communities.
The event aimed to provide a forum in which to share and discuss research findings, collectively examine opportunities for change, and undertake action planning focused upon these changes. It involved green prescribing and arts organisations, community health practitioners, GPs, environmental organisations, members of the regional policy authority, urban designers/developers, academics and activists working on climate action, economic justice and wellbeing. Activities included public talks, creative workshops on re-imagining ecology, life-centred urban design, community landscape visioning and local policies on nature recovery.
The community researchers led a discussion workshop on 'Connecting to Nature Matters' which included an interview between two CRs relating their research experiences to their lived experiences of urban nature, and an account of one CRs personal journey to involvement in urban nature activism. The event themes were recorded by a graphic illustrator who provided rich visual pictures. We also ran a photo competition attracting hundreds of entries, and curated a 4 day exhibition during the festival on the quality of urban greenspace and problem framing.
We ran a policy workshop with Natural England and Birmingham City Council to develop Recommendations on urban nature.
Through all this work together, we share our lessons learnt and useful training resources with our Recipe for Community Research. This was co-produced with the CUWb Community Researcher Panel and BVSC Research.
This is a handbook for universities, councils, commissioners, funders, social enterprises, businesses and voluntary organisations who are working with community researchers, and want to adopt a values-led approach based on respect, equity, care, inclusivity, purpose and empowerment. It includes some reflective tools including a community research skills audit.
Associate members
Associate members
Dr Ali Mazaheri, Associate Professor
Alice Menzel, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Professor Anne Green, Professor of Regional Economic Development
Honorary Professor Catherine Durose, Honorary Professor of Public Policy
Dr Carlo Luiu, Research Fellow, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Dr Charles Goode Teaching Fellow in Urban and Regional Planning
Clare Harewood, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Professor Colin Greaves, Professor of Psychology Applied to Health
Professor David James, Chair in Modern and Contemporary Literature
Dr Daniel Wheatley, Director of Undergraduate Programmes
Dr Darja Reuschke, Associate Professor
Professor David Hannah, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Sustainability)
Professor Francis Pope, Professor of Atmospheric Science
Dr Gerald Jordan, Assistant Professor
Dr Hali Healy, Research Associate, University of Johannesburg
Dr Hannah Absalom, Research Fellow
Professor Hareth Al-Janabi, Professor of Health Economics
Dr Irina Kuznetsova, Associate Professor
Dr James Gregory, Senior Research Fellow
Professor Jennifer Cumming, Professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology
Dr John Munro, Lecturer in United States History
Dr Kate Woodcock, Reader in Applied Clinical Psychology
Dr Kelly Hall, Reader in Social Policy
Dr Lailah Alidu, Researcher, Applied Health Sciences
Dr Louise Reardon, Associate Professor in Governance and Public Policy
Dr Mary Quinton, Assistant Professor in Sport and Exercise Psychology
Professor Matthew Broome, Professor of Psychiatry and Youth Mental Health
Professor Phil Jones, Professor in Cultural Geography
Dr Rachel Lilley, Senior Fellow with the Birmingham Leadership Institute
Dr Rona Cran, Associate Professor in Twentieth-Century American Literature
Dr Roxanne Douglas, Honorary Research Fellow
Ruth Goold, School of Social Policy
Professor Sarah Aldred, Head of School
Dr Shushu Chen, Associate Professor in Sport Policy and Management
Professor Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay, Professor of Economics
Dr Victoria Goodyear, Associate Professor in Pedagogy in Sport, Physical Activity and Health
Dr Zena Lynch, Honorary Associate Professor in Environmental Health