This programme aims to sustain longer-standing collaborations between UoN researchers with non-academic historians and archaeologists, build on recently-launched projects, and foster the emergence of new community groups researching their own heritage. The All Our Stories projects that we will be working with focus on oral histories, archive-based research and understanding the built, buried and natural environment. In response, we have put together a project team that can support the needs of the groups with a mix of historians, archaeologists and cultural geographers. With a combination of expertise in political, social and economic history as well as a thorough knowledge of the history and geography of the East Midlands, the research team bring a diverse range of intellectual perspectives which will enhance the capacity of the community partners to understand, interpret and assess their projects in a range of related contexts. In support of the project team, a larger academic body can be called upon to respond to community group needs, with dedicated research time and access to specialist facilities enabled through a Challenge Fund targeted to cover any core costs incurred which cannot be met by the community groups' AOS funding. Our programme of engagement will include three milestone events (launch, mid-term showcase and final showcase) and a programme of enabling workshops focused on the key requirements of the groups as articulated through a consultation process which enabled the Phase 1 project team to identify the key training and skills development needs. This programme will deliver networking and knowledge exchange opportunities between the community groups and between the community groups and non-academic partners and the academic team. Key to the success of the project are the three Early Career Researchers (Johnson, Mills and Veale) - they will act as direct support for the core projects and the point-of-contact (through a dedicated hotline) for general enquiries from other groups. Working with the NCCPE and other sections of the University (Centre for Advanced Studies, Community Partnerships and Information Services) they will facilitate access to relevant, specialist academic support and University facilities for All Our Stories community groups. The programme will benefit from strong institutional support from the UoN including the Centre for Advanced Studies, Community Partnerships, Information Services and the University Museum. It will also draw on the UoN's non-HEI partners including Nottingham City Museums and Galleries, Derbyshire County Record Office and Trent & Peak Archaeology (part of York Archaeological Trust). Our programme will be taking place between February and December 2013 to time with the life-cycle of the All Our Stories projects. The benefits of the programme will be the enhancement of existing community-based research, the fostering of new community groups and the co-design of research bids for HLF funding. In the longer term, the programme will build new capacity for academic engagement with volunteer researchers.

In a British context, and with significant exceptions, WWI still focuses largely on the white British armed forces active on the Western Front. While it is possible to subject the events of 1914-18 to disinterested and objective historical inquiry, the commemorative landscapes and rituals created after 1918, and reaffirmed each year in the UK and on the Western Front, tend to prevent a broader understanding of WWI as a global conflict that has continuing relevance for all communities in an increasingly cosmopolitan British society. This includes those for whom the Western Front, and the conventional British narratives associated with it, have limited significance. Many Indians fought on the Western Front, but people from different parts of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, including Ukraine, Russia, and Poland are likely to focus more strongly on the fallout from the collapse of the Russian Empire 1917-22, and the subsequent emergence of new nations in central and eastern Europe after 1918. People of the Balkan states may be more interested in the post-1912 wars which essentially led to Yugoslavia, the fall of the Habsburg monarchy and the emergence of a stronger Greece. Turkey's participation in WWI led to the destruction of the Ottoman Sultanate and the creation of the modern Republic of Turkey. The Irish have yet a further perspective on these years. The centrality of WWI to British identity has been reaffirmed by the UK government's ambitious £60 million programme to mark the centenary in 2014-18. The explicit objective is to remind the next generation 'that the First World War is not ancient history but a shared history that unites our country'. What of the many communities which have settled in Britain during the 20th century? Are they (intentionally or unintentionally) excluded? Some families have lived in Britain for several generations but do not necessarily feel any sense of engagement with previous commemorative events. The proposed Centre aims to identify and facilitate imaginative democratic community action and engagement around the memories and narratives of the period 1914-18 within the diverse communities which make up contemporary British Society. Initially the Centre will take advantage of its location and work with three, large cosmopolitan cities in the English East Midlands region: Nottingham, Leicester and Derby. These three cities have distinctive but comparable industrial heritages, and through the 20th Century experienced sustained immigration from all parts of Europe, the Commonwealth and elsewhere. From this foundation, and utilizing community networks, we aim to expand our community partnerships to achieve a national reach. The Centre will be led by a cross-disciplinary network of academics from across the Arts and Humanities, the Social Sciences and the Information Technologies. The University of Nottingham and its partners in the Centre have a strong track record of working with community groups and our key mechanisms of engagement will include a comprehensive programme of community-focused events (themed roadshows, research surgeries, talks and training) co-ordinated by an experienced Community Liaison officer. Access to research expertise will be facilitated by two funding schemes: (i) a Community Challenge Fund to support community groups to gain access to training, facilities and expertise to assist the development of community-led programmes and support the development of bids to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) schemes; and (ii) a Research Development Fund, aimed at extending the potential of a community-led HLF project or funding follow-up activities to further develop a completed HLF project. Mechanisms of engagement through events, and the funding schemes, will encourage fresh approaches to collaborations through the involvement of community theatre practitioners, community film makers and the novel use of technology through the UoN's digital research centres (e.g. Horizon).