The Building Belonging Framework emerged from the Building Belonging Project (2024), led by Inca Hide-Wright in collaboration with Leigh Mencarini, Adam Alcock and Dr Tom Ritchie.
The project was funded and supported by:
Warwick International Higher Education Academy (WIHEA)
Inclusive Education at the University of Warwick
It began not with a framework in mind, but with a simple aim:To better understand belonging through the lived experiences of staff and students.
The project brought together quantitative and qualitative data from across the University, including:
Through inductive thematic analysis , five core themes emerged:
Trust - identified as the foundation for all other elements. Without trust, it becomes difficult for connection, inclusion, mattering, and empowerment to develop.
Connection
Inclusion
Mattering
Empowerment - Originally termed “Autonomy”, this theme was renamed following community feedback, which highlighted that “empowerment” better reflects the collective and enabling nature of belonging.
From insight to framework
The team did not initially set out to create a framework. However, one key challenge emerged:
Belonging is often seen as abstract—making it difficult to intentionally design or support.
In response, the Building Belonging Framework was co-developed as a practical way to:
Make belonging more tangible
Support intentional action
Provide a shared language and structure
Alongside the framework, a Theory of Change was developed to set out:
The overall aim
Intended outcomes
Underpinning rationale
Key assumptions
The research highlighted the importance of participation, while recognising that:
Co-creation is valuable—but it is not the only meaningful way to engage.
To reflect this, the framework includesthree types of participation:
Doing for
Doing with
Being led by
This approach recognises that:
Not everyone has the time or capacity to co-create
Different approaches can still be equally valuable and impactful
Belonging can be supported across a range of contexts and roles
Rather than assuming the framework would work in practice, it was actively tested and refined.
This led to the creation of the: WIHEA Building Belonging Learning Circle.
A cross-University group of staff and students who explored questions such as:
Does the framework work in different contexts?
What is challenging about using it?
What is missing?
What works well?
This collaborative approach directly informed the development of resources, including:
The Snapshot Tool
Evaluation approaches
Practical guidance and case studies
By June 2026, the Learning Circle, led by Sarah Bennett and Inca Hide-Wright, has:
Completed two years of collaborative work
Developed a comprehensive toolkit of resources
Supported application across a wide range of contexts
These include:
Warwick Scholars and Priority Groups
Warwick Medical School
Careers consultants
Disabled Student Champions Network
Just like belonging itself, this work is not static. The framework has been designed to be:
Adaptable to different contexts and audiences
Responsive to feedback and lived experience
Practical as well as evidence-informed
It is now being embedded across key areas including:
Inclusive Education
Student Experience
Social Inclusion
This is to support the University’s wider strategic priorities and ensure it continues to grow and evolve.
Find out to use the Building Belonging Framework in your own context.
