• 32% were tenants of QCHA.
• 53% from immediate G20 (Maryhill)
postcode; 84% from a Greater
Glasgow postcode.
•42% of attendees had been to a Food
for Thought talk previously.
•58% heard of the event through word
of mouth.
•The personal stories was a key theme
that came out of the feedback in
terms of what new information people
learned and the resilience of refugees.
•Most were already familiar with
the topic but many added that the
talk had made it more personal,
had given them more insight with
comments such as
"The talk put some detail
to knowledge I had of it but
that was very valuable and
thought provoking."
•47% strongly agreed and 37%
agreed that this type of event
enables the public to have a better
understanding of university research
(5% strongly disagreed although the
rest of their feedback was very positive
about the event and the rest chose not
to answer).
•All of the comments were positive
about the talk, presenter and food
such as
“Food for Thought is a nice way to
bring people together. I enjoy the
talks and the food too!"
“Very important topic to have
a talk on.”“Thank you for having us. I will be 70
next year but you are never too old to
learn!”“Really enjoyed talk, Angela was
excellent.”
“Thank you for making us so
welcome. It was really interesting
and the supper was lovely.”
79% said they would attend a future
Food for Thought talk with a further
11% saying they maybe would and rest
choosing not to answer.“We shall certainly be keeping an eye
on your programme of future events.”
The sessions allow for GCU researchers
and PhD students to share their research
with new audiences and to showcase the
work going on at the university.
Researchers have said that their favourite
part of the evening is sitting chatting to
people over dinner as they get “questions
and perspectives on their work that
they wouldn’t otherwise get”. After our
February event, Gathering The Voices
actually received a donation from
someone who had been in the audience
and wanted to support the work of the
organisation.
The talk series although valuable in its
own right also keeps the partnership
between our two organisations live
to allow for other opportunities to be
realised such as a visit from young people
in QCHA residential services, March
2020 who visited the gaming labs and
clinical simulation labs and the library.
FfT talks were organised and promotion
had already begun for talks in March,
April and May 2020 but face to face
sessions were cancelled due to the
COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on
social distancing. Initially the priority for
QCHA was to ensure the people they
serve had access to food and support
and Susan Grant volunteered with
them to deliver meals to families.
Then as lockdown continued they
started looking at more social oferings
and asked GCU if we could look at
running FfT online. Moving to an
on-line format, keeps the project live
and partnership live and allowed us to
test out new ways of engaging with the
public for GCU such a live mindfulness
session which worked really well.At Universities Scotland’s annual
reception in March 2019, CPE’s Food for
Thought initiative was showcased as an
example of the transformative impact
Scotland’s higher education institutions
have in their local communities and both
partners attended the event.
COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC
ENGAGEMENT GOALS:
3. Engaged Research;
4. Sustainable Engagement.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
GOALS:
2. Zero Hunger;
3. Good Health and Well-being;
10. Reduced Inequalities;
17. Partnership for the Goals.
FURTHER LINKS:
•#GCUFoodForThought.
Food for Thought team with Deputy First
Minister of Scotland, John Swinney and
Chris Fitzgerald, GCU Communications,
March 2020.
Food for
thought
Talks with a little more bite
Online conversations during lockdown
Mindfulness and Stroke
Wednesday 22nd July, 6.30 - 8.30pm
Researcher Ben Parkinson from GCU’s School of Health and
Life Sciences will be talking online about how mindfulness-based
stress reduction is helping ease anxiety and depression
after Stroke. We will have the opportunity to sample some
mindfulness techniques and hear about what changes are
being recommended as a result of their research to allow
more stroke survivors to benefit from mindfulness practices.
Book your FREE place(s) now:
email socialregeneration@qcha.org.uk
call 0141 589 7435
visit mindfulnessandstroke.eventbrite.co.uk
CPE 2019-20 18