Developing inclusive research with DIY Leaders
For the last three years, ‘Leading Edge’ – our ambitious volunteering programme – has supported members to take the lead in a variety of settings.
Funded by The National Lottery Community Fund (September 2022 to September 2025), it was developed alongside a three-year Gamechangers programme funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
At weekly Gamechangers sessions, DIY Leaders used drama and creativity to explore their unique identity as leaders. These skills were put into practice through volunteering opportunities provided by the Leading Edge programme.
As well as sharpening their leadership skills, members have been…
- Delivering drama workshops for young people with learning disabilities
- Developing creative community projects for adults with learning disabilities
- Training arts, health, and education professionals about inclusive practice.
Members have used their lived experience to make a difference, shape creative projects, benefit people with learning disabilities, and change how others view leadership.
When funding for the programme came to an end, we wanted to understand more about the difference we made. We’ve done lots of evaluation with DIY Leaders and participants already, but what wider impact did we have for the organisations we worked with?
Occupational Therapy Students taking part in a training session.
Asking others about the difference we made
External evaluator Leigh Gardner (University of Salford) has supported an evaluation of Leading Edge, asking partner organisations what they thought.
Some of this work included traditional approaches like questionnaires and interviews. But alongside this we also asked:
- What colour describes your experience of working with DIY Leaders?
- What three words would you use to describe that experience?
These questions are part of an evaluation technique developed by DIY Gamechangers (combining photo elicitation and colour) and aims to make research accessible for all members of our community.
We spoke to a range of partners, past and present, including:
- Special Schools and Colleges (Chatsworth High, Chatsworth Futures)
- Cultural Organisations (Cartwheel Arts, Lowry, Blue Room)
- Universities (University of Salford)
- Day Centres (St George’s)
- Salford City Council
- Freelance artists.
Exploring data in creative ways
On Friday 6th February, Leigh worked creatively with DIY Gamechangers to interpret the findings. Together, we explored how people had answered our questions, the colours that came to mind, and the words they used to describe us.
This was a chance for members to celebrate and understand the difference they’ve made, but also to discover patterns in the data and compare this with their own experiences.
Gamechangers analysed the answers, talked about what they might mean, and created two large ‘trees’ to help visualise this.
Building the trees together.
Leaves reflected the colours that partners associated with DIY leadership; trunks were built from their words – including confidence, identity, inspiration, and possibilities.
The Gamechangers discussed why partners might have chosen certain colours and attached any colours to the tree that reflected their own thoughts about leadership.
“It makes me feel proud.”
Adam (Why orange?)
“I feel energetic and proud. It makes me feel how powerful we are at DIY when we’re leading sessions.”
Amy (Why green?)
“We’re on fire with all the sessions we do.”
Mike (Why red?)
“We’re inclusive.”
Charlotte (Why pink?)
Next, they considered the words people had used, highlighting ones that they felt particularly connected to and hanging these on the tree.
“When I first started at DIY I was shy. Now I’m confident.”
Adam (Why Confidence?)
“We need Access for wheelchairs. If we don’t have access, we can’t go anywhere.”
Ange (Why Access?)
“If we’re not enthusiastic about things nobody else is going to be.”
Mike (Why Enthusiasm?)
“If you’re going into a space and someone is in a corner, we try to engage them and try not to leave anyone out.”
Amy (Why Engaging?)
Discussing the words people used about us, and what we think.
Making our findings accessible
The results of this session will help us put together a final research report, and we’ll be doing more thinking about how this report could be made.
It’s important to be inclusive when collecting research. But when it comes to sharing that research, it shouldn’t get lost in long, paper documents. And if our research isn’t relevant to our members, then what is it for?
The Gamechangers’ creative work means we can share our impact in a more visual, accessible way. We’re keen to reflect on what good leadership looks like and where we want to go next – together.
Interpreting data in creative ways.
“I didn’t think people would say so much… I’m surprised that everyone really enjoys the stuff we do with them.”
Mike, DIY Gamechanger
“It was really, really useful to hear the responses to the colours and the words and also to feel the depth of those words going in and what they mean to people.”
Leigh Gardner, University of Salford
Both reports will be published later in the Spring.
In the meantime, you can read more about Leading Edge projects from previous years on our website. To stay connected with DIY, subscribe to our email newsletter or follow us on social media.
DIY’s Leading Edge programme ran from 2022 to 2025 and was funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.