The Power of Us 2026: Building Trust, Together

On 23rd April 2026, we brought together over 150 people from across Birmingham and beyond for this year’s Power of Us
conference. Community members. Voluntary, community, faith & social enterprise (VCSFE) organisations, academics, health and care professionals and system leaders.

A diverse group, united by a shared purpose: to explore what it really means to build trust in research – and how we do that, together.



Why Trust?

We chose trust as the theme for this year’s conference not because it was easy, but because it was necessary. Trust is something that sits at the heart of meaningful, inclusive research. But it is not a given. It must be built, nurtured, and sustained through relationships, through listening, and through a genuine commitment to working with communities rather than on or about them.

As we reflected in the closing keynote, trust is also fragile.

It can take years to build, and moments to lose.

And what the day showed – across every session, every conversation, every connection – is that trust is not abstract. It is practical. It is relational. And it is something we have to actively choose to build, every single day.

A Day of Shared Learning and Reflection

From the very start of the day, there was a sense of openness and energy in the room. Our incredible co-hosts, Jean-Claude Kabukiu and Kumari Kher, set the tone – creating a space that felt welcoming, grounded, and genuinely collaborative.

The programme brought together a wide range of perspectives. We heard from system leaders, including a keynote from Danielle Oum (Chair of the newly integrated Birmingham, Solihull & the Black Country ICS), reflecting on the evolving role of Integrated Care Systems and the importance of partnership working across sectors.



We explored trust through panel discussions, including perspectives from NIHR infrastructure, the VCFSE sector, academia, and Community Researchers themselves – highlighting how trust looks different depending on where you stand, and the importance of recognising those different experiences.

And throughout the day, there was a strong focus on the role of Community Researchers – not just as contributors, but as leaders in shaping research that is relevant, ethical, and impactful.

Moving Beyond Transactional Approaches

A key theme running through many of the workshops was the need to move beyond transactional models of engagement. Sessions explored what it really means to build collaborative partnerships – where power is shared, where lived experience is valued, and where communities have genuine influence over research processes and outcomes.



From discussions on co-production and anti-racist practice, to community-led women’s health research, to approaches rooted in nature, education, and neighbourhoods, the message was clear:

There is no single model for building trust.

But there is a shared direction of travel.

Towards approaches that are:

• more relational
• more inclusive
• more honest
• and more rooted in lived experience

These conversations reinforced something fundamental – that trust is not built through one-off engagement, but through sustained, meaningful relationships over time.

Community Research in Action

One of the most powerful elements of the day was hearing directly from Community Researchers. Through poster presentations and discussions, six community-led research projects explored trust from different perspectives – from experiences of healthcare and emergency services, to environmental issues, to the everyday realities shaping how people engage with systems and services.

These projects highlighted both the depth of insight that exists within communities, and the importance of creating spaces where those insights can shape research, policy, and practice.

They also reinforced a key shift in how we think about research:

• not research done to communities
• not even research done about communities
• but research shaped with communities

A Growing Movement

While the Power of Us conference is rooted in the work of the Birmingham and Solihull Research Engagement Network (REN), the day made clear that this is something much bigger. Across the conference, we saw a growing ecosystem of people and organisations committed to doing research differently.

Across the REN partnership.
Across organisations beyond REN who are leading and showcasing their work.
Across the wider system, supported by the NIHR Regional Research Delivery Network and others investing in this space.

This is not one programme, it is not one approach, it is a collective movement – grounded in collaboration, shared learning, and a commitment to more inclusive, community-engaged research.

And that is something to recognise, and to feel proud of.

Recognising the Work – and the Work Still to Come

Alongside the energy and inspiration of the day, there was also honesty.

Honesty about what is working.

And honesty about what still needs to change.

Because we know that:

• there are still communities who are not in the room
• there are still voices we are not hearing
• there are still barriers – structural, cultural, and practical – that make it harder for some people to participate in research

So the question we leave with is not just:

What have we achieved?

But:

What are we going to do next?

What Comes Next

If there was one message to take away from the day, it is this:

The conference is not the end point. In many ways, it is the starting point. Trust is not built in a single event. It is built in what happens afterwards:

• in the relationships we continue
• in the actions we take
• in the ways we change how we work

The challenge – and the opportunity – is to take what we heard, what we learned, and what we felt, and turn it into meaningful action.

Thank You

Events like this do not happen without the commitment and collaboration of many people. I would like to take this opportunity to thank:

• our co-hosts, Jean-Claude Kabukiu and Kumari Kher, for holding the space so powerfully
• our speakers, panellists and workshop facilitators for their insight and openness
• our partners across the REN - Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s Community Connexions team, Flourish Community Health Collaborative CIC, Catalyst 4 Change and the University of Birmingham
• the BVSC conference planning team
• and all of the Community Researchers whose work continues to shape and strengthen research practice

And finally, thank you to everyone who joined us on the day – for your openness, your contributions, and your willingness to engage.

The Power of Us

If trust is built through relationships,
and relationships are built through moments like this,

then this conference mattered.

It mattered because of the conversations that took place.
The connections that were made.
And the ideas that people have taken away.

The real work now is to keep that going.

To stay connected.
To stay curious.
And to keep working together.

Because that is where the real power lies.

The Power of Us

By Sophie Wilson, Director of Research, BVSC 

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