Research & Community Insight

Folkestone Nepalese Community (FNC) delivers community-led, participatory, and collaborative research that amplifies lived experience and informs improvements in health, wellbeing, and public services.

We work in partnership with universities, NHS organisations, and public bodies to support ethical, inclusive, and impactful research, particularly with Nepalese, Gurkha, migrant, veteran, and ethnic minority communities across Kent & Medway.

This page brings together research delivered and participated in by FNC, alongside our ongoing and future research direction.

What FNC Has Done — and What We Are Building Towards

FNC has:

Delivered commissioned community health engagement for the NHS
Hosted and led Community-Participatory Action Research (CPAR) programmes
Supported academic research partnerships with UK universities
Enabled arts-based and creative research to reach under-represented voices

Looking ahead, FNC aims to:

Expand participatory research with children, young people, and families
Support prevention-focused health and wellbeing research
Strengthen co-production with NHS bodies, universities, and funders
Build long-term community research capacity within Kent & Medway

Our Research Portfolio

Health & Systems Research (Commissioned / Applied)

These projects focus on health services, inequalities, and system improvement, often commissioned by NHS partners to inform real-world service design and delivery.

Kent & Medway ICB – Community Health Engagement (2023–2024)

Commissioned by Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board, FNC delivered community engagement and insight gathering to inform:

Community Health Services
Children & Young People’s Community Health Services
Kent & Medway Integrated Care Strategy

Outputs:

Community Health Services Engagement Report 2024
Children & Young People’s Community Health Services Engagement Report 2024

This work captured lived experience, identified barriers to access, and produced evidence-based recommendations to support inclusive commissioning and service redesign.

Participatory & Community-Led Research (CPAR & Co-production)

FNC has extensive experience supporting participatory research, where community members act as co-researchers rather than research subjects.

Within CPAR activity, FNC hosts and leads local delivery, supporting community researchers through training, mentoring, facilitation, and engagement.

Community-Participatory Action Research (CPAR)

CPAR Cohort 2 (May 2023 – June 2024)
👉 https://fncuk.org/cpar-cohort-2/
CPAR Cohort 3 (Oct 2024 – Oct 2025)
👉 https://fncuk.org/cpar3/

Delivered with partners including:

Health Education England
University of Reading
NHS England
Scottish Community Development Centre
IVAR

These programmes built community research capacity, supported reflective practice, and embedded lived experience into health and wellbeing enquiry.

Academic & University Partnerships

King’s College London – The HEAR Study

FNC collaborated with King’s College London on The HEAR Study, a participatory research project exploring how Gurkha and Fijian veterans of the UK Armed Forces describe their lived experiences.

The study focused on physical and mental health, wellbeing, and access to services.

Community presentation delivered at the FNC Centre by Edgar Jones (24 July 2025)
Full report published on 31 July 2025

👉 https://fncuk.org/the-hear-study/

University of Surrey – The PAPER Study

FNC supports community engagement for The PAPER Study, which explores why some people experiencing symptoms of depression do not seek help or disengage after initial NHS support.

This partnership strengthens inclusion, relevance, and reach in mental health research.

Arts-Based & Creative Research

These projects use creative and interdisciplinary methods to explore identity, memory, heritage, and wellbeing.

University of Kent – Walking with Ghosts

FNC collaborated with the University of Kent on Walking with Ghosts, a participatory, arts-based research and creative enquiry project exploring memory, migration, belonging, and place.

Using reflective walks, storytelling, and dialogue, the project generated rich qualitative insight that traditional research methods often miss. FNC supported community engagement and facilitation, ensuring culturally sensitive and inclusive participation.

👉 https://fncuk.org/walking-with-ghost/

Our Role as a Research Partner

Across all projects, FNC acts as a community research partner, supporting:

Ethical and inclusive engagement
Participatory and co-produced research
Lived-experience insight gathering
Community dissemination and feedback
Safeguarding-aware, culturally competent delivery

FNC does not operate as a clinical research body. Our role is to bridge communities and institutions, ensuring research is trusted, grounded, and meaningful.

Explore the Research

Detailed reports and research outputs are available on the FNC website:

FNC welcomes collaboration with universities, NHS bodies, funders, and research partners seeking ethical, participatory, and community-centred research delivery.