De Montfort University

Faculty Member, Centre for Social Action

Senior Research Fellow

Centre for Social Action

About

At the moment I am working on a project called Amplified Resilient Communities (ARC) funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The project is a partnership between the Centre for Social Action and the IOCT (Institute of Creative Technologies). The ARC project will tap into existing social capital (networks and resources) in two neighbourhoods in Leicester and will facilitate communities to enhance their resilience. This will be done by developing digital media skills, having talks and workshops by leading experts in the field, and accessing existing national and international community networks.


I started my career as a practitioner in Youth and Community Development work in Lima/ Peru. Using a sustainable development approach I initiated and managed a development project in Lima enabling people to use their skills and existing networks to set up community-led projects attracting investment into the community. In the UK I have worked in several research projects exploring the impact of social policy on social exclusion/ inclusion and social capital within national and international contexts.

I have been the principal investigator on a participative research project funded by the Big Lottery Fund exploring the impact of youth volunteering on social capital. I have also been the academic lead in an innovative partnership project between the voluntary, statutory and academic sector (Leicestershire County Council, Leicester City Council, CVS Community Partnership, Voluntary Action Leicester and the Centre for Social Action at De Montfort University) around social capital and community cohesion involving local people in the whole research process.