Mandy Gardner has been sponsored by Power to Change and the University of the West of England to conduct research into the reasons why people become and stay involved with community businesses- and she needs your help!
Research to date has focused on community businesses as a group but Mandy’s research will look at your values and motivations and how they might have changed as your community business has developed. The research will be used to help other people just starting out with their community business and also to inform policy makers.
Mandy is looking for volunteers to be interviewed to help her make the research as valuable for community businesses as possible. There would be three interviews over an eighteen month period, the first ideally in person, but after that the interviews could be via the phone or Skype, whichever works well for you. Any identifying information about you and that of your organisation will be kept anonymous.
Sharing your insights will give you a platform to reflect on your own experiences, both the good and the not-so-good; what things have gone well for you and what you would like to have changed. Your insights will be invaluable support for others in similar circumstances.
At the end of the study, the results will be published as part of Mandy’s doctoral thesis and used to provide support for other community businesses.
If you would like to take part or have any questions about the research then please contact Mandy on: mandy.gardner@uwe.ac.uk .