Who Do You Trust? is an ongoing research project which in 2022 resulted in a performative and interactive 'restaurant meal' where a group of young facilitators acted as both communicators and waiters and waitresses. Themes of trust were discussed around a dining table using a specially designed menu, set-courses and writings on paper plates and a paper tablecloth.

The project came about about when R&D Studio was approached to respond creatively to a 2021 in-depth piece of research into the causality of Covid19 vaccine hesitancy in Tower Hamlets.

Together with the department of public health at Queen Mary University London and Tower Hamlets based charity Social Action for Health, we ran a series of creative arts community engagement sessions in Tower Hamlets taking the academic research back to the original respondents and also helping a wider group to create a future orientated vision of fostering trust in our local communities.

Crucially, the project also placed young people from the borough in a central role. This intergenerational methodology was found to be highly effective, with the young people becoming a human-centred bridge between the community and academia.