Inclusive Research in Practice: Frameworks and Tools for Psychologists (4 November 2026)

Inclusive research design is now a condition of funding for all NIHR domestic programme awards, covering over 130 funding opportunities. Sex and gender requirements are in effect. Ethnicity requirements are forthcoming. UKRI and the Wellcome Trust are moving in the same direction. The policy is in place. The practice, for most research teams, is not. There is a gap between what funders require and what teams are equipped to deliver.

Psychologists working in health research may have strong methodological foundations but limited training in the structural factors that determine whether research reaches, includes, and is trusted by the communities it is designed to serve. Standard approaches to recruitment, patient and public involvement, and community engagement consistently reach the same populations and miss the same ones. That pattern is structural.

This webinar introduces four recurring structural patterns that undermine inclusion in health research, three practitioner frameworks for diagnosing and addressing them, and published case studies showing what changes when inclusive research is designed in from the outset. It draws on five years of delivery across more than twenty projects in NHS, university, and community settings.

Attendees will leave with practical tools for assessing their own research designs against inclusive research standards, and a clearer understanding of what funders, ethics committees, and communities now expect. The session will be delivered by a practitioner who works inside both institutional and community settings, therefore holding both perspectives.

What will I learn?

The learning outcomes for this webinar are to:

• identify four recurring structural patterns that undermine inclusion in health research: trust and institutional history, access and recruitment, participation standards and feedback, and system-level constraints;
• apply three practitioner frameworks (Relationships-Credibility-Access, the Participation Continuum, and the Interspace Framework) to assess where a research design is structurally strong or exposed;
• analyse a published case study to distinguish between tokenistic involvement and genuine community partnership, identifying which structural and design decisions determined the outcome;
• evaluate your own current or planned research against inclusive research standards, identifying specific design changes that would strengthen funder compliance, ethical robustness, and community trust.

What is the course structure? 

Date: Wednesday 4 November 2026

Time: 2-4pm

This is a two-hour webinar.

Webinar joining details: The Zoom link will be provided in the webinar page within BPS Learn, and you will also receive an email notification the day before the webinar. Please ensure you check your spam/junk folder for an email from noreply@bps.org.uk.

Please note, we use Zoom to host our webinars. If you require any help with Zoom, please refer to these Zoom instructions. 

This webinar is available to book until 2pm on Tuesday 3 November 2026 and is available in English only. 

Is this course being recorded? 

This webinar is being recorded. You will have access to the recording for 12 weeks after the live session.

How long will I have access to this course for? 

You will have access to this webinar and it's supporting resources for 12 weeks after the live session.

Will I receive a certificate for completing this course?

Attendees of this webinar will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

Is this course right for me?

This webinar is suitable for psychologists working in or alongside applied health research. This includes clinical psychologists, health psychologists, research psychologists, psychologists working in the community, and those working in academic or NHS research teams. It is relevant to practitioners at any career stage who are involved in research design, patient and public involvement, community engagement, or funding applications that require evidence of inclusive practice. Early career researchers and PhD students preparing funding applications will find it particularly useful.

Who is the presenter? 

Muhammed Rauf

Muhammed Rauf is the founder of Elysium London, an inclusive and community-centred research practice. Elysium works to shift power in research, building the standards, skills and relationships that hold when the funding ends, so that the communities most affected by health inequalities help lead the research that decides what is done about them. His approach comes from five years working between institutions and communities, and is set out in two published white papers: Strategic Frameworks for Inclusive Research (2025), which introduces the Interspace, RCA and Continuum models, and The Inclusive Research Collaborative (2026). Before founding Elysium, he progressed from community researcher to Director at Centric Community Research.

He has delivered more than twenty research and evaluation projects across the NHS, integrated care systems, universities, national funders and the voluntary sector, and has trained over 190 community and practitioner researchers. Recent work includes a national inclusive research workshop delivered with King's Health Partners to over ninety participants, and an advisory role with King's College London's Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care. His practice is grounded in direct delivery and in lived experience of the health inequalities it addresses, on the principle that research is strongest when the people closest to an issue help lead it, across the whole lifecycle from design to dissemination.

How much does it cost?

Price: £91.67 (+VAT)

Members: £55.00 (+VAT)

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In addition to the site policies this course is subject to additional terms and conditions.

Our accessibility statement gives more details on our approach. 

Group discounts

If you or your colleagues are looking to book onto this course as a group you can make savings by booking five or more places.

Invoicing

In order to request a quote for five or more learners, please email cpd@bps.org.uk. If you are looking to book for fewer than 5 learners please proceed directly to requesting an invoice.

To request an invoice for you or your group, please complete this invoice request form. We also provide guidance to support this process. Please note, to raise an invoice you will need to provide a Purchase Order. Once the invoice has been paid we will provide your learners with details of how to access their learning.

Contact 

This course has been organised by BPS Professional Practice and Development. You can contact us at cpd@bps.org.uk

You may also be interested in our other courses on BPS Learn, including those related to research and innovation, equality, diversity and inclusion, and your professional skills.

You can also explore the range of BPS books available via Routledge where BPS members receive 25% discount.