Dr. Shaun Danquah

Centric’s inception began in the 1980’s Thatcher-era, during austerity time for those living within the urban locale. Early we learned the lessons of our misunderstood landscape of forgotten concrete, cut off from the rest of society. 

I can personally say that I was fortunate to break out of the statistical mould of what was expected for a young man from my heritage. I took my experiences and learnings from subverting the stereotypes about working-class Black male underachievement with me into the educational and professional spheres. My voyage into academia tackled the motifs and social problems I had been directly affected by and witnessed.

I achieved: 

• B.A. in Political Science & Government at Brunel University, 
• M.A. in Urban Regeneration at the University of Westminster 
• P.H.D. in ‘Assessing the inter-play between gang criminality and jihadi narratives within the public space’ at London Metropolitan University

My edification informs the importance Centric places on ensuring that the people are at the forefront of what we do. Who knows better about the challenges of underserved communities than those who have lived them? 

Unfortunately, there are still suffocating tendencies prevalent for those outside of our communities to dominate our narratives. Centric reclaims the authorship of our story. We have built a platform for the ‘hard to reach to gain access to research to tell their realities, experiences, truth and lessons. We provide healing for our deepest, darkest pain & a strong sense of empathy towards those going through issues and about to embark on perilous journeys. Our work is not about appeasement; it’s about being real about our desire to improve our situation through access in the academic world. 

“We already know that the tweed blazer never gets any dirt on it”.

Our environment is very different from the comforts of middle England; therefore, we strategised approaches that came to terms with the uncertainty of our existences. Centric is ready to address the unknown as we know first hand that “Smooth seas never made a skilled sailor”. 

The three core components behind what we do are Empowerment (Cultural esteem, equity, leadership), Ownership (Entrepreneurialism, street corner innovation, harnessing and unearthing talent within urban locales) and Sustainability (Creating vehicles that continue good service and build a legacy). 

As the founder of Centric, I am on a cultural-centric exploration to rethink how research is done across the urban milieu to ensure we hear unheard voices and that the right people are sitting at the table where we make decisions upon our future.