About this role
This post is based on campus in Milton Keynes (remote work with monthly on-campus catch-ups is available), with regular travel to Cardiff. The role requires familiarity and comfort with two-site delivery. The post is fixed-term, 0.5 FTE (18.5 hours per week), funded by the Open Societal Challenges award, and runs from 1 October 2026 to 30 April 2027.
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology has been awarded funding from the Open Societal Challenges (OSC) scheme to deliver BELONG, a one-year citizen inquiry in heritage contexts. The project tests whether engaging underrepresented communities as citizen curators and co-designers can foster a sense of belonging and build research capacity in groups typically excluded from heritage and scientific institutions.
The Research Associate will deliver this pilot across two sites: Milton Keynes (in partnership with MK Museum and MK Living Archives) and Cardiff (in partnership with National Museum Wales).
The role runs for 7 months (October 2026 to April 2027) across two phases. Phase 1 (three sessions per site) focuses on heritage exploration and foundational data literacy. Phase 2 (three sessions per site) transitions participants into co-designers, who test digital tools and propose improvements. You will work collaboratively with museum partners, the research team, and community participants to build research capacity and generate evidence on inclusive community engagement.
About the Team You Would Join
You will be part of the BELONG project team led by Dr Maria Aristeidou (PI, Institute of Educational Technology), Prof Christothea Herodotou (Co-I and nQuire academic lead) and Sarah Roberts (OU Wales). You will work directly with heritage partners at MK Museum, MK Living Archives, and National Museum Wales. The team is committed to co-ownership, flexibility, and genuine collaboration with community participants throughout the project.
Key Responsibilities
The person appointed to this post will undertake duties to include:
Facilitating participatory workshops with small groups (8 at each site) at both Milton Keynes and Cardiff sites (6 sessions per site over 6 months), using community-centred approaches that build research agency and are sensitive to varying levels of prior community attachment. Delivering data collection across Phases 1 and 2, including pre/post surveys, semi-structured interviews, field notes, and nQuire platform analytics. Supporting Phase 2 co-design workshops where participants explore digital tools and propose AI enhancements to nQuire. Documenting community-authored specifications that feed into the platform development roadmap. Conducting qualitative analysis of workshop transcripts, interview recordings, field notes, and participant artefacts. Producing cross-national comparison summaries and contributing to project reports and academic outputs. Travelling between Milton Keynes and Cardiff to deliver sessions (includes occasional overnight stays or weekend sessions to be agreed with the heritage partners), managing logistics, and liaising with heritage partners to ensure smooth workshop delivery. Contributing to the dissemination of findings through academic publications, internal project reports, and public engagement (blogs, webinars, events).
How to apply
To apply for this role please submit the following document(s):
CV Supporting Statement (Your Supporting Statement should be no more than 1000 words and should outline how your skills and experience to date meet the essential and desirable criteria listed above).
You can view your progress and application communications when you are logged into our recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folders if you do not receive associated email updates.
Contact us If you have any queries or questions about the recruitment process, or regarding your application, please contact: [email protected].