Lewis Hou

I am the founder and director of Science Ceilidh, the current coordinator of The Ideas Fund and Community Knowledge Matters, and recent awardedee of the Beetlestone Award for leadership in the science engagement field.

My Fellowship will explore the question “how can the systems around research be reimagined and changed to enable more equitable power dynamics and inclusive knowledge production with communities”. The first phase will involve researching and mapping system-change methodologies, building on past conversations with a particular focus on inclusive practices, diversity of voices, and building relationships and amplifying community organisations doing this work. The second phase will involve cross-sector conversations - bringing both communities and decision makers to the same table - to generate new insights and develop collective "asks" for systems change. This will include online creative “What If?” roundtable conversations, live-streamed, with resources and practical ideas emerging from each conversation. These conversations will be edited into podcasts and written summaries, with an open-source tools created for stakeholders to hold their own conversations. The final phase will be consolidate learning, share findings strategically, and embed commitments into policy and other programs to enable collective change.