Profile
Co-founder, with Kathryn Oliver, of the Transforming Evidence collaboration
I have spent more than 25 years exploring and supporting the use of evidence across a range of policy domains.
Supporting the use of evidence in policy
I was part of one of the largest UK investments in the evidence use landscape, the ESRC Centre for Evidence Based Policy and Practice and was a Founding Editor of the Journal Evidence & Policy. I have undertaken an international leadership role in promoting the use of evidence, and in 2019 published a new book on evidence use ‘What Works Now’. I have a particular research interest in stakeholder involvement, the role of partnerships in promoting research use and implementation science. I am a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and a member of the WHO European Advisory Committee on Health Research and advise WHO on a number of international projects. I have spent time in the UK Department of Health and recently completed a fellowship based in the UK Government Office for Science. |
Developing interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral research into the generation, sharing and use of evidence
The Transforming Evidence collaboration, founded in 2018, is a group of colleagues with a shared interest in how to produce and use evidence more effectively to address societal challenges. There is a lot of expertise and research evidence about how evidence is made and used, but this often stays in disciplinary and sectoral silos. Transforming Evidence wants to help the community of scholars, funders and practitioners/policymakers share their knowledge and expertise more effectively. We want to improve debates about, and research into what evidence is, how it is used, and the different meanings attached to these processes and outcomes. |
Building experiences of users into healthcare research
Co-author of the ‘Handbook of Service User Involvement in Nursing and Healthcare Research’ which provides practical expert advice on the involvement of service users - patients, carers and the public - in nursing and healthcare research.
The politics of social research
I graduated with a degree in Politics from the University of Durham in 1993. I went on to complete a Masters in Social Research at the University of Oxford and a doctorate in Politics at Queen Mary, University of London. My work is very much focused on connecting research with the outside world and its application. In 2019, I was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.
Engagement between researchers and decision-makers
An ARI Policy Engagement Fellowship in 2020/21 provided an opportunity to learn about, and test, the best mechanisms to support effective and ethical engagement between government and academia. The one year fellowship was a partnership between the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and the Government Office for Science. The ARI’s aim to transform our understanding of how government can make better use of academic expertise and evidence.