Community Engagement Advice Surgeries with Tower Hamlets CVS

Are you a Queen Mary researcher or staff member looking for guidance on engaging and connecting with our local communities in Tower Hamlets and wider East London? We're pleased to announce a new specialist advice surgery service, delivered in partnership with Tower Hamlets CVS. 

Whether you are designing local engagement with your research, planning PPIE activities, trying to connect with a charity or community group, seeking to consult with local residents or something else – these sessions can provide guidance on how to do this, and which local individuals or groups you might be able to collaborate with. 

These sessions can offer: 

• Advice on community engagement approaches 
• Identification of relevant community, voluntary and faith sector partners and groups 
• Introductions to organisations and networks 
• Facilitation of initial meetings where appropriate  
• Signposting to local intelligence and community priorities 

The THCVS team can provide specialist expertise and knowledge in reaching and engaging with our local communities in Tower Hamlets and they also have relationships and hold networks across the North East London boroughs too.  

Tower Hamlets Council for Voluntary Service (THCVS) is an infrastructure organisation supporting voluntary and community groups connect into wider place strategies, secure funding to sustain their organisations and deliver services, and to connect and collaborate with each other. They are an embedded strategic partner in the borough, bridging the voluntary and community sector and statutory and other partners, enabling them to give a voice to the VCS and advocate on their behalf. Queen Mary has been working with THCVS for many years, more recently on the Tower Hamlets HDRC. 

The advice surgeries will comprise of a 1:1 30-minute online slot to talk about East London focused community engagement with at least one member of the THCVS team. The surgeries will take place online on Microsoft Teams. 

If you need more general engagement advice, please book an Advice Surgery with the CPE team first. 

How to book

You can book your Advice Surgery online using Microsoft Bookings. Please specify the reason for attending the surgery so we can best assist you. 

Pease note that you will need to be a QMUL user (i.e. logged in with your QMUL email address, rather than an NHS email address) to book an Advice Surgery. 

If you are no longer able to attend your advice surgery slot, please ensure that you cancel your booking via Microsoft Bookings so that the slot can be reallocated. 

After you book your slot and your booking request has been reviewed by the team, you will receive a meeting link for the Microsoft Teams meeting from the THCVS team.

If you have any questions regarding the sessions, please contact the CPE at engagement@qmul.ac.uk.  

Upcoming Advice Surgeries

Please note: all Advice Surgeries take place online on Microsoft Teams.

• Tuesday 20th October 2026, 3pm-5pm
• Tuesday 17th November 2026, 11am-1pm 
• Tuesday 15th December 2026, 11am-1pm 

If you are unable to make these times and would like to explore an alternative slot please contact engagement@qmul.ac.uk.