Toynbee Hall was established in 1884 with a vision to bring future leaders face to face with poverty in London’s East End. The idea was that policies and solutions should be informed by lived experience. Today we continue that journey. We co-produce research alongside local people on a range of issues affecting the community. Our research and policy work provides a platform for local voices to influence thinking and policy-making both locally and nationally based on lived experiences, to create long-term solutions to the systemic challenges people face.
How we work
At Toynbee Hall, we innovate with communities and decison makers to inspire positive change through participatory action research (PAR). PAR is collaborative research, education and action oriented towards social change.
Watch this video to find out more about our approach and how we work.
Who we work with
We partner with universities and other organisations on various research and evaluation projects and conduct internal service evaluation to improve the user journey, improve outcomes and fully understand the issues around poverty, inquality and exclusion to create new services and influence policy.
Our research projects
Here are some of our current and recent Participatory Action Research projects.
Community safety
Making Tower Hamlets Safer
A diverse group of local people from Tower Hamlets conducted research on people’s concerns around their safety and how Tower Hamlets can become a safer, more welcoming community.
January 2023
Net Zero
Net Zero Transition for Low-Income Consumers
A Participatory Action Research project exploring what a fair transition to net zero should look like for low-income consumers, and how to get there.