The Big Listen: A community engagement consultation project. Actions, findings and reflections.

Abstract

This paper discusses the results of an empirical research project called The Big Listen, which was carried out in the Northern area of Cambridge. It also presents personal reflections upon the execution of the project. My participation in The Big Listen was part of the work placement undertaken as a student of the MSc in Entrepreneurial Management at Anglia Ruskin University. The project was supported by an organisation called Future Business Centre, and the main objective was to find out the most significant social issues that affect the community within Northern Cambridge in order to take further action in the near future. The main vehicle to conduct the research study was questionnaires, which collected data from one hundred and eleven local residents. Coding and grounded theory were used to process the data, and results were presented in a written report. Findings indicate that, despite general agreement on the levels of satisfaction with the neighbourhoods, there are specific issues that need to be addressed such as the disengagement of young people and the feeling of isolation of the elderly, among others. Therefore, The Big Listen should be considered the first step of a long-term process that should keep investigating people's needs, in order to cater to what is currently missing or functioning inefficiently. The current findings may be useful to raise awareness of the situation and involve other stakeholders in the near future.