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Overview

Professor Sarah Banks

Professor

MA, MSW, PhD


Affiliations
AffiliationRoom numberTelephone
Professor in the Department of Sociology29 Old Elvet: Room 206+44 (0) 191 33 41497
Fellow of the Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing 41497

Biography

Sarah Banks has a background in community development and worked in the voluntary sector and local authority social services before joining Durham University. Her degrees are in philosophy, social history and social work. Her research interests include professional ethics, community development and community-based participatory research.

Sarah co-founded the Centre for Social Justice and Community Action at Durham University, which promotes and supports participatory action research for social justice. She is co-convenor of the UK Participatory Research Network and coordinates the Ethics Working Group of the International Collaboration for Participatory Health Research. She also co-convenes the Social Work Ethics Research Group of the European Social Work Research Association. She coordinated production of ethical guidelines in the UK for community-based participatory research and internationally for participatory health research. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Collaboration for Participatory Health Research, a long-standing Board Member of Durham Community Action and a Trustee of the Society for the Furtherance of Critical Philosophy. 

Recent books include: Ethics, Equity and Community Development (edited with Peter Westoby); Co-producing Research: A Community Development Approach (co-edited); Ethics in Participatory Research for Health and Social Well-being (edited with Mary Brydon-Miller); Participatory Research for Health and Social Well-Being (co-authored); the fifth edition of Ethics and Values in Social Work; the edited collection Ethical Issues in Youth Work (2nd edition); Ethics in Professional Life: Virtues for Health and Social Care (co-authored with Ann Gallagher) and the edited collection: Practising Social Work Ethics around the World: Cases and Commentaries (co-edited with Kirsten Nøhr).

Recent research projects include work on ethical challenges for social workers during Covid-19, civic participation and community development, household debt and community organising, ethical challenges in community-based participatory research.

Read about the Connected Communities research project, Imagine https://www.dur.ac.uk/beacon/socialjustice/researchprojects/imagine

Action research with Thrive Teesside on high cost credit in poor households https://www.dur.ac.uk/beacon/socialjustice/researchprojects/debt_on_teesside 

Work on ethics in community-based participatory research https://www.dur.ac.uk/beacon/socialjustice/ethics_consultation/

Research interests

  • Professional ethics, community development, community-based participatory research.

Research groups

Research Projects

  • Community-based participatory research: ethics and outcomes
  • Faithful judgements: the role of religion in lay bioethical evaluations of new reproductive and genetic technologies
  • Imagine, The social, historical, cultural and democratic context of civic engagement: imagining different communities and making them happen
  • Making ends meet: action on sustainable livelihoods
  • Ordinary ethics: the moral evaluation of the new genetics by non-professionals
  • Promoting the Social Inclusion of Young People: The Role of Faith Communities
  • Understanding the prevalence of fitness to practise cases about paramedics and social workers in England
  • Valuing Diversity, Exploring Faith and Culture: A project that worked with young people in the North East of England

Awarded Grants

  • 2016: Understanding the prevalence of fitness to practice cases about paramedics and social workers in England(£3180.00 from Health & Care Professions Council)
  • 2015: Modelling alternative impact: lessons from a community theatre research project(£0.00 from N8 Research Partnership)
  • 2014: IAA-ETHICAL ISSUES IN COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH: EXTENDING AND EVIDENCING IMPACT(£7448.65 from ESRC)
  • 2013: The social, historical, cultural and democratic context of civic engagement: Imagining different communities and making them happen(£300481.60 from ESRC)
  • 2013: Ways of knowing: Exploring the different registers, values and subjectivities of collaborative research(£2318.23 from Arts and Humanities Research Council)
  • 2012: Building Community University Partnership Resilience(£462.40 from Arts and Humanities Research Council)
  • 2012: RF200070: TACKLING ETHICAL ISSUES AND DILEMMAS IN CBPR: a practical research, £30,000, Arts & Humanities Research Council
  • 2011: Community-based Participatory Research: ethics and outcomes, (£28970, Arts and Humanities Research Council)
  • 2011: Debt on Teesside: Pathways to financial inclusion(£108181.00 from Northern Rock Foundation)
  • 2011: Faithful judgements: the role of religion, (£17189.84, Economic and Social Research Council)
  • 2007: VALUING DIVERSITY, EXPLORING FAITH(£14907.00 from Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation)
  • 2005: PROMOTING THE SOCIAL INCLUSION OF YOUNG PEOPLE(£153058.51 from Big Lottery Fund)
  • 2002: ORDINARY ETHICS: MORAL EVALUATION(£9833.00 from The Wellcome Trust)
  • 2001: EVALUATION OF EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES(£52484.00 from Banks of the Wear)
  • 2001: EVALUATION SERVICE OF MEMBER AREA PANELS(£40620.00 from Durham County Council)
  • 2001: STUDY FOR THE PRESENT AND FUTURE CAPACITY(£19075.00 from The Wellcome Trust)
  • 2001: TEACHING PROFESSIONAL ETHICS(£4178.00 from Centre for Learning, Teaching & Research)
  • 2000: FELLOWSHIP - DR S.J. BANKS(£15916.00 from The Leverhulme Trust)
  • 1999: Ethics Consultation (£4500, National Youth Agency)
  • 1999: Investing in children evaluation, (£155000.00, Investing in Children)
  • 1999: TEACHING ETHICS(£1000.00 from UK Cosa)
  • 1998: COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING RESEARCH(£10000.00 from )
  • 1997: More To Life(£36000.00 from )

Media Contacts

Available for media contact about:

  • Social sciences: Professional ethics, particularly in social work, youth work and community work.
  • Social sciences: Community and youth work: Community development work; community engagement/participation/empowerment

Publications

Authored book

Chapter in book

Edited book

  • Banks, Sarah & Westoby, Peter (2019). Ethics, equity and community development. Rethinking Community Development. Policy Press.
  • Banks, S. & Brydon-Miller, M. (2019). Ethics in participatory research for health and social well-being: Cases and commentaries. Routledge.
  • Banks, S., Hart, A., Pahl, K. & Ward, P. (2019). Co-producing research: a community development approach. Connected Communties. Policy Press.
  • Meade, R., Shaw, M. & Banks, S. (2016). Politics, power and community development. Rethinking Community Development. Bristol: Policy Press.
  • Banks, S., Butcher, H., Orton, A. & Robertson, J. (2013). Managing Community Practice (Second Edition). Policy Press.
  • Banks, S., Butcher, H., Orton, A. & Robertson, J. (2013). Managing Community Practice: Principles, Policies and Programmes. Bristol: Policy Press.
  • Banks. S. & Armstrong, A. (2012). Ethics in community-based participatory research: Case studies, case examples and commentaries. National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement, Bristol.
  • Banks, S. & Nohr, K. (2012). Practising Social Work Ethics Around the World: Cases and Commentaries. London: Routledge.
  • Banks, S. (2010). Ethical Issues in Youth Work. London: Routledge.
  • Banks, S. & Nohr, K. (2003). Teaching Practical Ethics for the Social Professions. Copenhagen: FESET.
  • Banks, S., Butcher, H., Henderson, P. & Robertson, J. (2003). Managing Community Practice: Principles, Policies and Programmes. Bristol: The Policy Press.

Journal Article

Newspaper/Magazine Article

Other (Digital/Visual Media)

Report

Supervision students