Religion, discourse and diversity: UK/Canada collaboration

This partnership and networking initiative, between Kim Knott (PI, Lancaster University) and Lori Beaman (Co-I, University of Ottawa), will enable research networking between the United Kingdom and Canada on an interdisciplinary and comparative basis. Both countries have diverse populations, but they have considerable differences with regard to religion, law, politics, public policy, media and multiculturalism. The initiative will focus on the ways that mainstream media in the UK and Canada portray and represent majority and minority religions and their relationship with the secular state. It is important in both countries to analyse and question how the media contribute to constructing the public image of different religions and their members, and for researchers to engage with media professionals and religious representatives on these issues. We will identify and examine controversies on religious topics that attract media attention and the ways these vary and are similar in the two countries. This will be achieved through the development of a matrix for comparing media datasets that will, in turn, produce a comparative analysis of media coverage of religion in the UK and Canada, with foundation building for a similar analysis in other countries including Australia and New Zealand.

We view this initiative as an opportunity for the exchange of expertise. UK experience of engagement with research users and the development of appropriate pathways to impact will inform user engagement with Canada's Religion and Diversity Project. Canadian expertise on public discourse on multicultural controversies and legal cases concerning religious minorities will in turn contribute to UK research on religion, discourse and diversity.

The collaboration is focused on the following core activities: a) the development of a strategy for comparison of media coverage of religion and representations of religious identity in Canada and British media; b) opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows which will include active participation in the research programme; c) knowledge exchange and impact activities which will include workshops on religion and the media with stakeholders (journalists, religious correspondents, religious communications specialists etc), as well as contributions to policy through collaboration with existing policy partners; d) international dissemination of the research results and development of other potential international partnerships; e) sharing intelligence between the collaborators on mutual research interests and impact and innovation strategy.

Collaborative activities under this ESRC project will be supported by twice yearly meetings which will include a variety of activities, including research planning and development, graduate student training, young researcher mentoring, and impact activities beyond the academy with journalists and policy makers.

This collaboration is expected to benefit stakeholders from the following groups:

(a) Members of the media with an interest in or responsibilities for reporting on religion, including journalists, religious affairs correspondents, newspaper editors, programme makers;
(b) Representatives of public bodies, e.g. equality and human rights organisations, policy agencies, think tanks, and campaigning NGOs;
(c) Public relations and communications officers of faith-based organisations;
(d) General public.

Three approaches to impact will be taken.

1. The Principal Applicant will contribute to capacity building in KE and impact by sharing UK intelligence and expertise with Canadian, Australian and New Zealand researchers. Although this will not have an immediate non-academic impact, we expect it to have benefits in the longer term for social and cultural research in terms of user engagement and public awareness strategy (given that the Religion and Diversity Project continues until 2017).

2. Through workshops and roundtable discussions we will engage directly - in both Canada and the UK - with non-academic stakeholders. By bringing together different constituencies (from the media, policy and faith-based organisations) and giving them an opportunity to meet, raise their own issues, and listen to each other, we aim to help facilitate effective working relationships between key religious representatives, media and policy makers. This three-way exchange will also contribute to our selection of research case studies and to how we analyse and interpret them. Simultaneously we will build on existing relationships of trust between ourselves and our contacts in the media and public bodies that will then form the basis not only for placing stories in the media about religion and diversity arising from our research, but for developing future research partnerships.

3. The research will also be disseminated in a showcase event (UK) and a public lecture (Ottawa) to which media professionals, representatives of faith based organisations, campaigning bodies, and a wider public will be invited. Briefings on media portrayals of religion and their implications for equality and diversity policy will be prepared in conjunction with external partners. Findings and case studies will be made available in web postings and alerts.

These interactions will be monitored and their benefits evaluated in 2014 at the end of this phase of the partnership. In particular we will consider the value added to user engagement and social and cultural impact by an international collaboration of this kind.