On 15th June, the University of Salford hosted the Money, Security and Social Policy (MSSP) network for a themed event focused on working with community partners. Recognising the important role of community partners (including local third sector organisations, councils, housing providers) as research partners, participants, funders, and audiences, the day focused on how to ensure our research was relevant to these community stakeholders and sensitive to the climates in which they were operating.
Bringing together Postgraduates and Early Career Researchers from the Universities of Salford, Teeside, Glasgow, Bath and the London School of Economics, the day involved key notes from established senior academics and a range of community partners from the Salford community.
The day began with a joint keynote presentation from Dr Lisa Scullion, Reader in Social Policy and Associate Director of the Sustainable Housing & Urban Studies Unit (SHUSU) at the University of Salford, and Catherine Connors, who works in the Skills and Work Commissioning Team at Salford City Council. They introduced the Salford Anti-Poverty taskforce, a new partnership between the University and the Council which is working to ensure that research and analysis supports Salford’s Anti-Poverty Strategy.
A second keynote was then delivered by Dr Daiga Kamerade, Senior Lecturer in Quantitative Research Methods in Sociology/Criminology at the University of Salford. Reflecting on nearly 20 years working with community partners, Daiga provided plenty of food for thought and helpful advice about the tensions involved with balancing the pressures and expectations of academic life with meaningful third sector engagement.
In the afternoon, we were joined by an expert panel of community partners – Alec McFadden, Centre Manager of Salford Unemployed Community Resource Centre, Helen Tattum, Senior Support Worker at Salford Loaves and Fishes Drop in Centre, and Tom Togher, Chief Officer Salford Citizens Advice. With their wealth of experience and knowledge, the panel were asked to reflect on the key issues researchers interested in ‘Money, Security and Social Policy’ should focus on (suggestions included period and prescription poverty, and enduring – as opposed to crisis-based – food poverty), advice for researchers seeking to undertake research within their settings (being respectful, approachable and friendly, and ensuring research fits with the aims and ethos of the organisation were top of the list), and how to communicate research findings beyond academia (short briefing events and summaries of research findings are key for those working on the frontline with little time to read a hefty research report).
Throughout the day, members of the network gave presentations about their research. Eileen Cunningham from the University of Salford started us off by sharing insights from her doctoral research into financial hardship amongst Higher Education students in the North West. David Young from the University of Bath then spoke about the experience and management of change amongst means tested benefit claimants and his experience of working with local partner organisations. We finished the day with presentations from two University of Salford researchers – Joe Pardoe, reflected on his upcoming doctoral research exploring the mental health impacts of claiming Universal Credit, and Dr Katy Jones, who recently completed her doctoral studies, spoke about the relationship between welfare conditionality, homelessness and third sector employment-related support.
A day packed with meaningful advice, discussion, and reflection on our own practice as postgraduate and early career researchers, this was one of a series of events kindly supported by the Social Policy Association’s Opportunity grants scheme. Our next event will take place in Edinburgh in November. Follow @MSSP_UK or email msspuk@gmail.com for more details.
Money, Security and Social Policy 