A case study of partnership in practice: challenges and insights in the development of an academic-community coalition "The Migrant Health Community Research Network".

backgroundParticipatory research (PR) approaches are increasingly prioritised globally, particularly in the UK, where many funders have emphasised meaningful collaboration with those with lived experience to improve health research relevance, translation and impact. Despite this, marginalised groups, such as migrants, remain underrepresented in research, perpetuating health inequities. Migrants, who comprise 16% of the UK population, face systemic barriers to engagement, including distrust, hierarchical academic structures, and lack of inclusivity. PR approaches offer a collaborative framework for empowering migrant voices, balancing research and action, and fostering trust to address these disparities. This case study describes the development of the Migrant Health Community Research Network (MHCRN), a collaboration between migrant community groups, individuals, academics and health professionals from the Migrant Health Research Group, City St Georges University of London (MHRG). Aim MHRG sought to develop a sustainable model for engaging migrants in health research through a co-created network addressing power imbalances and ensuring inclusivity.

methodsMHRG adopted PR principles, reflecting on the groups collective experience of prior engagement practices and systematically reviewing best practices. A five-phase approach was used: (1) defining agenda and aspirations through group reflection; (2) identifying concerns and challenges through internal reflection and community consultation; (3) conducting community exploratory workshops with co-facilitation; (4) establishing initial network structure based on collectively agreed principles; (5) co-developing a lived experience advisory panel.

findingsThe process has resulted in the following outputs: the “Migrant Health Community Research Network” (MHCRN) with guiding principles (equity, diversity, respect, decolonisation, empowerment, community), a network steering group (LEAP, Lived Experience Advisory Panel), community-based collaborations embedding migrant voices at all research stages, capacity building through training and peer researcher roles, and award-winning projects. Key challenges identified include structural inequalities, funding limitations, and institutional barriers. Opportunities emerged around trust-building, shared leadership, and sustainable relationship development.

conclusionsWhile the MHCRN represents an important step in embedding meaningful collaboration, challenges persist. This initiative highlights the need for systemic change in academia to support equitable partnerships and inform similar innovative initiatives. By prioritizing non-tokenistic engagement and co-production, the MHCRN sets a foundation for sustained, impactful collaboration to address health inequities and inform policy and practice. Many health research projects fail to involve people they aim to help, especially marginalised groups such as migrants. This often results in research that is neither relevant nor useful. We recognised that the way we have worked with people with lived experience of migration could be improved. Our aim was to create a way to work together long-term so that migrant voices are heard and acted on from the development of research ideas all the way to the delivery and sharing of findings. We decided after talking to many researchers, migrants, community organisations and health care professionals that a migrant health research network that brought together all these voices through relationship building and creative ways of working and sharing ideas would be a good way to do this. We established the Migrant Health Community Research Network (MHCRN) which brings together people living in the United Kingdom with lived experience of migration from all over the world, healthcare professionals working in the National Health Service (NHS) and researchers from City St George’s University of London to improve migrant health. Our network was built step-by-step, starting with open conversations with migrants, healthcare professionals and researchers about challenges they had experienced in involving migrant communities in research and how these could be overcome. We then ran a workshop to shape our vision and agreed on shared principles. The network aims to be long-term, inclusive, and led by those with lived migration experience. Although there are ongoing challenges, this process has taught us valuable lessons about working together in a meaningful way.