Research
My research areas of interest are public policy, employment and skills, local economic development strategies and regional devolution. I am interested in community engagement practice and have secured and delivered research grant from UKRI and the British Academy for place-based collaborations involving local communities, policymakers and practitioners that support economic and social impacts.
The City Conversation – Building Place Based Partnerships for Inclusive Growth
The City Conversation – Building Place Based Partnerships for Inclusive GrowthThe City Conversation project involving the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place at the University of Liverpool, Liverpool City Council and the MyClubmoor Partnership Board was funded from the UKRI’s enhancing place-based partnerships in public engagement programme. The project aimed to develop participatory approaches to community engagement that would lead to a better understanding of local issues and contribute to the design of more effective public services. Focusing on Clubmoor ward, a neighbourhood of 15,000 people in north Liverpool, the City Conversation project aimed to better connect citizens to decisions about inclusive growth. In an era of prolonged pressure on public sector budgets, the potential applications of this research – most notably, in facilitating a meaningful dialogue between local residents and policymakers to inform Liverpool’s City Plan and the potential redesign of public services – are clear. A key objective was to strengthen dialogue and engagement of public and community partners in developing policy and services. The project also established a method of engaging and training community members and frontline workers to be researchers. This has not only created a cadre of trained individuals that can be involved in future community-led research activity, but has established community-led research as a practical tool for public agencies to use. As a case study, the City Conversation also illustrates how community-based participatory research methods have been affected by the pandemic and the wider implications for research practice
Research groups
Research grants
Liverpool City Health Determinants Research Collaboration
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE (UK)
January 2024 - December 2028
Policy Support Fund 2024/25 (previously PPQR)
RESEARCH ENGLAND (UK)
August 2024 - July 2025
Civic Health Equity: from Silos to Systems (CHESS)
UK RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
October 2024 - September 2028
Eurovision 2023 Evaluation: Wellbeing and Sense of Community (HLS Work Package)
LIVERPOOL CITY COUNCIL (UK)
February 2023 - December 2023
The City Conversation – Building Place Based Partnerships for Inclusive Growth
UK RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
January 2020 - March 2021