Strategies for overcoming research obstacles: developing the ‘Ordsall method’ as a process for ethnographically informed impact in communities

This chapter describes how a £1million research project on exploring the role of ‘cultural intermediaries’ and ‘hard-to-reach’ communities was perceived when carried out in practice. A low-income community in Salford, NW England was a prime target for research. However questions about ‘culture’ among those already living precariously on very limited incomes and with few options for work produced a strong and negative reaction. These perceptions stimulated a project redesign to match local priorities and so ultimately generated enthusiastic engagement and participation in the research. The adaptive and responsive approach to project design and delivery helped achieve impact through our research activities and the Ordsall Method was born from that experience.