Imogen Bayfield

Imogen is an ethnographer who specialises in social cohesion, community empowerment, participatory development, organisational governance, and Equality,  Diversity and Inclusion initiatives. She is interested in processes of collective organising: how people work together to get things done, and the cultural norms, assumptions and power dynamics that influence shared action. This interest spans community groups and civic engagement processes, radical/alternative spaces of collective organising, as well as formal institutions, both public and private.

Imogen’s doctoral research consisted of a multi-sited ethnography with three community groups that were part of a UK-based ‘community empowerment’ programme called Big Local. Imogen’s research explored how the community groups that arose through Big Local organised themselves and their work. It found that, while working ‘Inclusively’ was a common aim amongst the groups, this aim was constrained by the norms of collective organising drawn from the wider societal context in which the groups were based. 

The findings of this research have implications for the role communities might play in addressing the most critical challenges of our time, and how best to enable the agile and creative working that is possible outside of formal institutions.

Imogen is interested in collaborating in, and supervising projects on, collective organising; spaces of radical or alternative organising; organisational/institutional ethnography; social cohesion; community politics; civic engagement.

Imogen has so far produced academic publications for anthropology and sociology journals. Her first monograph is under contract with Bristol University Press, due for publication in autumn 2026. 

She has been involved with consultancy work on social cohesion; and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

Prior to joining CTPSR, she studied Migration and Diaspora Studies at SOAS; Anthropology at Durham; and classical piano at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.