This research group aims to contribute to the CIIE’s general goal of promoting more inclusive, egalitarian and resilient societies, recognising that some of the most important inequalities of the last decades have been amplified by the latest social and economic crisis: globalization vs. territorialisation, unemployment and poverty, changes in the world of work/training/education, demographic imbalances, declining levels of trust, tension between identities and diversity, etc. These challenges have impacted on regional, national and European policies, caused breaches in the solidarity between individuals, groups and generations, and questioned how our cultural heritage integrates diversity on the basis of gender, age, disability, literacy, poverty and migration, while recognising the interfaces between urban and extra-urban territories, as well as the tensions between European and extra-European spaces. The focus on communities – as education is inevitably 'in-context' – is as a central feature of our group.

PCP's research has a particular emphasis on communities and participation, on the following topics:

• Analysis of educational and social policies and their impacts on social inclusion, equality and solidarity;
• Participation processes and experiences, including formal and non-formal education and broadly civic and political experiences, and their potential for promoting learning, empowerment and community development, particularly regarding deprived groups and territories;
• Phe systematic monitoring and evaluation of educational, social and community intervention programmes and projects that foster inclusiveness, diversity and resiliency, both for individuals and communities;
• Development, through wide-ranging partnerships with policy-makers, stakeholders and citizens, of innovative educational projects that articulate the cultural heritage, arts and digital cultures, particularly in the fields of adult education and disempowered groups.