Community Research Network · Inclusive Research & Overlooked Voices™
Welcome
Deep Boroughs Network (DBN™) supports communities and overlooked businesses through inclusive community research grounded in lived experience. We amplify unheard voices, support innovation, and create measurable impact across East London.​
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Inclusive Research & Overlooked Voices™: community-led research surfacing insight and solutions for underrepresented groups.
Amplifying Voices™: sharing lived experience and community-led research stories that open up new opportunities.
Community Impact™: reinvesting in local communities through equitable, sustainable initiatives.
Podcast - Audio:
Listen: East Bank Voices
East Bank Voices is DBN's community research podcast, sharing East London stories, Cockney heritage, culture and lived experience.
Video:
Community Art and Mural | DBN
Pushing Boundaries
Collaborating with National Institutions: DBN at UKRI & The Young Foundation conference
Deep Boroughs Network took part in the Pushing Boundaries conference in 2025 at the British Library, hosted by The Young Foundation and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The event brought together cross-sector leaders working on community-led research and innovation.
DBN was represented by Alexis Charles, FRSA, PGCE, MSc, and Assistant Chair and Advisory Panel Member Leanne Sullivan, contributing to national conversations on citizen science, community-led research, inclusive research systems, public engagement and research equity.
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The conference explored positionality and power, research done with communities, not on them. DBN shared examples of how lived experience shapes policy, practice and innovation, reflecting our belief that lived experience is expertise, and that lasting impact happens when communities are treated as equal partners and included in decision-making.​​
Women's and Girls
Community Research
Network
Community Research Round Tables
Join our Community Research and Safety Round Tables.
Email deepboroughseastbank@gmail.com
or complete the Contact Us form on our About Us page.
Research Focus: Ageing and Green Space
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2025 University of Bath research links community belonging, dog ownership and access to safe, well-maintained green space to higher physical activity among older adults. In wealthier areas, social ties and the quality of the environment matter more than how much park space is available. In lower-income areas, different factors take priority. Email us to find out more about this research.
Email us to get more information about this research.
📩 Email: deepboroughseastbank@gmail.com
or complete our Contact Us & Connect form on our About Us page.
Neighbourhood Design & Lived Experience Research
Citizens at the heart of co-designing local change. DBN™'s Neighbourhood Design Insights™ turns lived experience into research for wayfinding, dialogue and inclusive design.
Stratford E15, E20, Hackney, Newham, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Tower Hamlets and East London
Creative Spaces, Built With Partners
Deep Boroughs Network (DBN) helps partners build creative spaces that are inclusive, community-led and built to last, working alongside grassroots organisations on engagement, research, governance, co-design and delivery. This includes our role as an LLDC community partner on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park engagement.
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Our work spans the full project lifecycle, from insight and co-design through to delivery, governance support and strategic learning, so creative spaces stay equitable, resilient and adaptable. As part of the Community Anchor Network (CAN), DBN works alongside partner organisations to solve shared problems and build lasting partnerships.
