The Community Action Clinic helps students develop the knowledge and skills needed to initiate societal change and also works with them to put it into action.

We empower students to address vital social justice issues through community organising. By collaboratively campaigning with external organisations such as Citizens UK and Citizen Essex, students tackle challenges such as street lighting, housing, violence, living wage, and refugee issues. Our dynamic student community fosters real-life campaign skills, including public speaking and leadership, while working closely with local civil society enhances the university's civic role.

Contact the clinic
What do we do?
  • Students actively participate in expressive learning, exploring their own stories and identities.
  • Collaborate with external partner organisations, community-based groups, and engage with external speakers enriching the learning experience.
  • Through a relational teaching approach, interactive discussions, and real-life issue campaigns, students learn to make change, discover their passions, and cultivate empowerment..

Our members

Fixed Term Teacher, EBS - Accounting
Assistant Lecturer, EBS - Organisation Studies and Human Resource Management
Assistant Lecturer, School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies
Assistant Lecturer., School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies
Postgraduate Research Student, School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies
Fixed Term Teacher, EBS - Accounting
Assistant Lecturer., School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies
Postgraduate Research Student, Department of Government
Lecturer, EBS - Accounting
Research interests: Accounting and health(care); Accounting Education; Accounting in the third sector; Accountability and counter-accounts in organisations
Lecturer, Department of Government
Assistant Lecturer, School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies
Assistant Lecturer., School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies
Professor, Department of Government
Research interests: political philosophy; Lacanian and post-Marxist discourse theory; philosophy and methodology of social science; post-structural approaches to political and policy studies; theories of democracy and ideology; grammars of freedom and equality in contemporary political discourse; cultures and discourses of the economy
Lecturer, School of Health and Social Care
Lecturer, Department of Government

Democracy in Action module

Democracy in Action is an award-winning module on community organising, offered in collaboration with Citizens UK to students in their final year at University. Rooted in principles of coproduction and participatory action research, it fosters democratic exchange and collective engagement. This initiative not only enhances student learning but also brings tangible benefits to the wider community by addressing social issues and forming partnerships with local organizations like Colchester Foodbank and The Salvation Army.


Find out more about the module