What Makes an Engaging Environment? Lessons Learnt From Co-Created Research With Diverse Community groups.

Complex socio-ecological challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss have resulted in an increased focus on the co-creation of knowledge to increase the diversity of those represented by and within research, make research more accessible and ensure research has impact outside of academic contexts. However, guidance and dialogue around the many processes that underpin co-created research remain limited. This perspective piece is informed by practical experience in the co-creation of research with historically underrepresented communities and represents a culmination of our experience and perspectives as academics, artists, community development officers and project workers. First, we share methodological insights, including tools used to identify community concerns and promote engagement in the co-creation process. We then present key guiding principles that we believe are important underpinnings of co-creation including: 1) valuing the entire co-creation process; 2) identifying conditions needed for inclusive co-creation; and 3) participatory evaluation. We also share recommended practices that provide illustrative examples of how guiding principles were addressed in practice across each of our case studies. Recommended practices include - but are not limited to - valuing people not ‘check boxes’, understanding safe spaces, shared language, and integrating evaluation throughout the research process. Our Findings inform future empirical work on co-created initiatives that have meaningful impact for both society and the environment.