Valuing Voices
Valuing Voices is an academic initiative funded by the Wellcome Trust and led by the University of York. Its goal is to encourage researchers to follow equitable and sustainable principles from the outset of project planning.
The challenge
Despite funders increasingly using Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) criteria to assess projects, researchers lack practical frameworks for integrating these principles into early project planning, leading to missed opportunities for inclusive thinking and working.
Valuing Voices wanted a bespoke online tool to support research teams in applying the five principles of equity, risk, engagement, environmental sustainability, and reflection to their projects. They were looking for a website partner that was open to a multi-phase collaboration, with iterative improvements driven by user feedback.
The solution
Castlegate distilled Valuing Voices’ complex academic concept into an intuitive, accessible online tool which collates responses to questionnaires into a downloadable report.
The login system uses institutional email addresses to tailor relevant supporting resources without visitors needing to create an account, while a personalised dashboard saves each user’s progress, encouraging repeat usage.
To support the iterative approach, Castlegate configured reporting to track user behaviours and collect feedback from the first phase, enabling Valuing Voices to make data-informed decisions about the requirements for phase two.
The results
- Phase one was completed with a highly-publicised beta launch of an effective research planning tool.
- The tool is already helping users plan more equitable projects and structure stronger grant applications.
- The analytics from phase one show good engagement with filters, downloads, and resources.
- Strong groundwork has been laid for phase two to drive equitable research with meaningful outcomes over the long-term.
It’s been a great collaboration between the Valuing Voices team and Castlegate IT. They took the time to understand the aims of the site, and I think we’ve combined their technical and design expertise with our knowledge of the audience and subject to create a website that has been very positively received by the research community. We’ve both challenged each other to think creatively, and the clear communication throughout has enabled a really strong working relationship.
Visit: valuing-voices.ac.uk
