Projects
Here are examples of a few recent projects I have worked on. These projects often cross Public Engagement / Research Culture / EDI barriers, requiring a blended approach.
2024
Interact Partners (STFC, Ogden Trust, IOP, RAS, SEPnet and NUSTEM)
Interact is the biannual national symposium for Public Engagement in the Physical Sciences in the UK. My role looked at developing, delivering, hosting and evaluating the symposium.
This included:
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Managing partner relationships, expectations and project roles.
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Developing the workshop and talk submission process for the symposium.
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Co-Developing the final timetable.
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Co-Liaising with conference team at the venue.
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Managing relationships with sessions leads and speakers, including developing and running bespoke training sessions.
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Planning, running and writing the final Evaluation Reports.
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Co-Developing the Legacy programme.
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Hosting the Day.
2024
University of Manchester
(As part of a wider commission with Dr Bentley Crudgington and Dr Charlotte Thorley)
Developing mapping processes to measure how embedded the practice of Participatory Research (PR) was across the University of Manchester.
This included developing:
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A base map of the University structure.
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Quantitative and qualitative measures for how embedded different types of PR practices were.
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A data collection system that could be updated.
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Dynamic live quantitative outputs for reporting at Faculty level.
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2024
NERC Leadership Programme (together with David Own and Dr Helen Featherstone)
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Five sessions looking at different leadership theories, along with sessions on partnership building, influencing, navigating change, and writing strategy.
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1-1 mentorship for all participants across the four months.
2024
Maker Kits Project, University of Leeds
A team from the University of Leeds has developed imaginative ‘Maker Kits’ that aim to bring science to the public. ‘Maker Kits’ are the latest invention in a series of public engagement projects led by Lorna Dougan, a Professor of Physics at Leeds. Lorna commissioned an evaluation that looked at how the Kits have changed the Research Culture within the department, and how it has had a personal impact on those involved in the project. The evaluation involved interviews, workshops and developing a bespoke framework that looked at how a Public Engagement can Impact Research Culture.
2023
​​Co(l)laboratory - Universities for Nottingham
(together with Dr Bentley Crudgington)
Co(l)laboratory is a pioneering 8 year, £5.1m project supported by Research England. It brings together researchers, community organisations and local people to deliver meaningful change for the people of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire through research. The programme commissioned us for two outputs:
Review of Recruitment Process
The programme wanted to recruit non-traditional graduate students, so wanted to ensure their processes were as fair, and open as possible. We interviewed and ran workshops involving both successful and unsuccessful candidates exploring their experiences of applying for a Co(l)lab PhD. Data was synthesised into a report with recommendations.
Evaluation Framework for the Programme
Through workshops and interviews with core staff, students, academic supervisors and community supervisors a bespoke evaluation framework was developed that considered the unique structure of the project and the individual motivations and expectations of each stakeholder group. As part of this process, a light-touch evaluation of the initial six months of the first PhD cohort was conducted.
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