Weaving Together the Strands of Engaged Research and Community Resilience

‘Engaged research’ and ‘community resilience’ each represent their own ambiguities and each in its own way has mobilised considerable political and academic attention in recent years. One may well question, then, the wisdom of bringing together two contested but popular terms as a way of focusing the research efforts of a group of diverse academics. While trying to avoid drilling down to the meaning of the last syllable in each of these concepts, we do need to provide an overview of what we mean by ‘engaged research’ and ‘community resilience’ and how we have used the messiness of each of these concepts to bring about that focus. This chapter provides that overview and in doing so, explains the framework that has been used by the researchers involved in the case studies outlined in the remainder of this book. This framework has started conversations amongst academics about what constitutes community resilience and has stimulated discussion about what engaged research entails, opening up other ways of seeing research activities. These conversations have not been completed, nor are they likely to be any time soon, as they represent some of the challenges associated with research and practice within academic institutions in the 21st century; institutions that are increasingly being drawn into the communities that support them.