Participation research places particular emphasis on using and developing methods to support collaborations between researchers, professionals, service users and the public.

An Older Peoples' Research group investigates ways to support people with dementia and their carers, in care homes or while living at home in the community. Importantly this increasingly includes demonstrating how organisations can ensure such care is respectful.

The Communications Research group addresses issues for enhancing communication for people with various intellectual, cognitive and motor disabilities, including stammering. Such research is supported by a language laboratory equipped with specialist software for speech analysis and video editing.

An Education Research group relates to patient, public and professional education to address health and life challenges. Here collaborative research has been used to develop educational resources to prepare people to live and work with rare or life-threatening illnesses such as vasculitis or colorectal cancer, life changing circumstances such as teenage pregnancy or less-understood illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome. We also explore changing definitions and concepts of disability and function, and recognise peoples' own definitions of disability and its effects on their participation in community living. An important aim of participation research is to enable people involved in such issues to take an active part in sharing research that affects them. This connects with UK and World Health Organisation policies and international movements to address these issues, in Africa, Asia and South America.

An Assistive Technologies Research group focuses on enabling people and carers to live independently, while also building appropriate partnerships with agencies and commercial companies developing such technologies.