Category: Policy
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From Research to Policy: Giving Voice to Work Coaches in Northern Ireland
One of the most rewarding aspects of research is finding ways to make academic evidence more accessible beyond the university. I am particularly interested in translating original, empirical research into policy briefs and other open access outputs that can inform practice, support decision-making, and reach a wider audience. A recent example is our newly published…
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Bridging the Gap: From Understanding to Action in Research and Policy
“Researchers are excellent at understanding things. But they are often very bad at distilling that understanding into precise recommendations for change. Policymakers, by contrast, have no time at all to understand anything. They are under constant pressure to decide what to do about it.” — Jackson (2025), The Care Economy This quote has stayed with…
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Place as Agency: How Location, Locale and Sense of Place Shape Pathways Back to Work
Background Last week, I presented research about emplaced agency at the Regional Studies Association British/Irish Section Conference at Queen’s University Belfast. Looking at ‘place’ as a holder of agency was a new exploration on my behalf, despite having come across place attachment and place sensitivity before in my research. My exploration of ‘place as agency’…
