Faith and Culture
Based at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR) at Coventry University, the team has expertise in innovative approaches to evaluation and policymaking in collaboration with grassroots communities and have a record of close partnership working with local institutions and stakeholders. Collectively their work has included projects focusing on culture, faith, marginalised communities and evaluation methods with national and international experience.
The research looked at at City of Culture activities through the lens of culture and faith, focusing on three specific cohorts in three areas of the city. It used a range of data collection methods including literature review, focus groups, interviews and personal reflections of research subjects (diary entries) and sought to have some output using creative visual means to capture findings for a public audience beyond the M&E team.
About the team
- Dr Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor: Sariya's work focuses on democratic approaches that work with participants. Dr Cheruvallil-Contractor is a Coventry resident with familial ties to its automotive industry. For City of Culture 2021, she is leading an exploration of the history of inter-religious relations in Coventry, as well as an artistic celebration of its legacy of peace.
- Dr EJ Milne: EJ is the CTPSR strategic lead for City of Culture 2021 and a member of Coventry University's Cultural Impact Team. Dr Milne has extensive experience in co-producing projects with traditionally excluded groups and using innovative and arts-based approaches. Until recently EJ was the UK representative on youth research to the EU and has undertaken consultancy for UK and international NGOs.
- Dan Range: Dan specialises in community involvement and using Theory of Change at Coventry University. This involves mapping and capturing the impact of interventions. He has led reviews for the UK Government, including the Home Office and MHCLG and the EU. His work was central to a government Green Paper on integration. Dan has co-developed an innovative evaluation model using “micro-ethnography” tailored to engaging with and understanding the needs of organisations and individuals in the community, voluntary and faith sectors.
- Dr Dilwar Hussain: Dilwar specialises in identity, community representation, Muslim communities and intercultural relations at Coventry University. He has led research with Somali residents and Muslims for the Open Society Foundation and worked on a range of evaluation projects for Government-led and voluntary sector projects. He advises national and local governments on communities, faith, equality and inclusion.