IMPACT - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Professor in Sociology and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences
Alison Bowes is Professor in Sociology and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Stirling. Her research focuses on improving the lives of older people, including people with dementia. She is excited to lead the Stirling team involved in IMPACT: we are all committed to supporting adult social care improvements that work well, and to bringing together research evidence and real world experience for the best possible outcomes
Anna Dixon has worked on health and social care for over 20 years in a variety of roles including Chief Executive of the Centre for Ageing Better, Director of Strategy and Chief Analyst at the Department of Health, Director of Policy at The King's Fund, and Lecturer in European Health Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Think Local Act Personal Programme Board
Clenton Farquharson MBE, is a disabled person with lived experience who draws upon health and social care. As a consultant, he focuses on: fairness, equity, a just society, anti-oppression, diversity, inclusion, and multiple disadvantages. Clenton's work relies heavily on the idea of intersectionality to improve health and social care.
Clenton is Chair of the Think Local Act Personal programme board and Quality Matters. He is also a member of the Coalition for Personalised Care, the Social Care Sector COVID-19 Stakeholder Group, and the NHS Assembly. Currently, Clenton is also a trustee of the Race Equality Foundation and an ambassador for both Disability Rights UK, and Skills for Care. He is also a director of Community Navigator Services CIC.
Clenton was named in Disability News Services' list of influential disabled people. He was listed in the top 50 of HSJ's most influential Black, Asian, and minority ethnic people in health. He was also voted top social care leader in the recent Social Care Top 30 awards hosted by Care Talk magazine.
Job Titles:
- Strategic Communications Advisor
David Brindle is a senior commentator on UK public services with expertise in health and social care - he was the Guardian's Public Services Editor for over 16 years. He now freelances, and is chair of Ambient Support, a charity that provides care and support for older people, people with mental health needs, and people with learning disabilities.
Deborah is a health and social care policy expert, strategy and change management consultant, and tech entrepreneur. Based in London, she works across the UK, Europe, and the US.
Deborah translates policy and commercial ideas into practical strategies, service innovation, and new products. She works with senior leaders in government, healthcare, and nonprofits. Her work has involved government agencies, think tanks, other consultancies, academic units and other health tech start-up companies.
She also has extensive experience in charity governance, having been a trustee and Vice Chair at Breast Cancer Care for nine years, a trustee at Equinox Care, and now a trustee at the Film and Television Charity.
Currently, she is Director of Policy, Research and Information at the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE).
Job Titles:
- Professor of Social Policy at Ulster University
Deirdre Heenan is Professor of Social Policy at Ulster University and a member of the Institute for Research in Social Sciences. Her research interests include the integration of health and social care, devolution, and mental health. She has published widely on politics and healthcare and is a Senior Research Associate with the Nuffield Trust. She is also Senior Research Fellow at Pivotal, Northern Ireland's public policy forum. Deirdre is a regular political commentator for the BBC, RTE and UTV on both television and radio, as well being a regular columnist for the Sunday Business Post.
A Distinguished Teaching Fellow of the Higher Education Authority, Prof Heenan is Course Director for Social Policy at Ulster University. She is part of the newly established ARINS Project, and has been appointed to serve on a number of boards.
Carol represents ADASS (the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services) on IMPACT's Leadership Team. She is a passionate advocate of evidence-informed policy and practice in adult social care.
Carol started her career as a researcher, working in academic and government settings. During her career, she has been a Director of Adult Social Care, a Director of Children's Services, the Chief Officer of an integrated health and care organisation, an inspector of social services, and the Director of Services for a national disability charity.
She has co-chaired ADASS's Learning Disability and Performance, Standards and Informatics Networks. Most recently she has been an ADASS Trustee where she worked closely with the Association's nine regions. Carol retired as the Director of Adult Social Care and Housing Needs on the Isle of Wight in September 2021. Since then she has worked as an independent consultant. She primarily supports councils and ADASS to prepare for the forthcoming assurance of adult social care by the Care Quality Commission.
Job Titles:
- Project Officer ( Coleraine, Northern Ireland )
I joined IMPACT because I believe that it will make a real difference to how social care is delivered, thus making a difference to the lives of those most vulnerable in our society. I have worked as a researcher over the last 30+ years in the voluntary sector, the Northern Ireland Assembly, and in academia. My experience in the voluntary sector and in government policy making has given me an insight into the implementation of policies in communities.
Job Titles:
- Research Fellow at the Centre for International Research
Dr Kate Hamblin is a Research Fellow at the Centre for International Research on Care, Labour and Equalities (CIRCLE), University of Sheffield. Kate's research has focused on technology and its role in care systems in the UK and further afield. She has explored experiences of technology-enabled care services for people with cognitive impairment, dual sensory impairment, and unpaid carers.
Kate has examined issues related to employment, including the balance between unpaid care and paid work. She has also been involved in research that has explored the impact of artistic activities on health and wellbeing. Kate joined IMPACT because she is passionate about supporting change in adult social care and learning from those with practice and lived experience.
Job Titles:
- Project Officer ( Stirling, Scotland )
I believe that identifying and sharing evidence about what works in social care, and overcoming barriers to the implementation of evidence-based practice, are vital ways to enable more people to live good lives. My career started in academic research, completing a PhD in traditional music and tourism at the University of Glasgow. I have worked as a Research Officer at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Later, I worked in policy and research roles in the local government Improvement Service and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (Solace). More recently, as Scotland Development Officer for Shared Lives Plus, I worked to develop, grow and raise awareness of the Shared Lives model of social care within Scotland.
Dr Miro Griffiths MBE is a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellow in Disability Studies, within the School of Sociology and Social Policy, at the University of Leeds.
Emily leads on Carers UK work on unpaid carers. Her work focuses on policy, parliamentary research, and media work. It encompasses many issues relating to caring including employment.
Emily was responsible for Carers UK's Advice and Information services for 15 years. Her work transformed the service into a wider digital offer. She has worked on numerous pieces of legislation across nine different Government departments building up unpaid carers' rights. She leads Carers Week, one of the UK's biggest awareness weeks involving thousands of local events. Emily also established Carers Rights Day, which is now in its 21st year.
She has undertaken over 40 pieces of original research into carers and caring. She has been part of the Government's Adult Social Care COVID-19 Taskforce and co-chairs the Carers Advisory Group.
Emily has worked on the future of social care for nearly 29 years and is currently a Co-Chair of the Care and Support Alliance. She has been at Carers UK since 1996 and was awarded an OBE by HM The Queen in 2015 for services to carers.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive at Shared Lives Plus
- Expert
Ewan is Chief Executive at Shared Lives Plus, the UK Charity which represents the Shared Living sector. He is also Deputy Director for Policy Embedding at IMPACT. Before joining Shared Lives Plus, he was Deputy CEO at the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE). There he led the organisation's work on policy, communications, and delivery.
Ewan is an expert in strengths-based practice, innovation in adult social care, and coproduction. Co-production focuses on involving people in the design, commissioning, and delivery of care and support. Previously, he has also been a director of research at an independent social enterprise and consultancy. He was educated at the London School of Economics and Warwick University.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Public Management at Warwick Business School
Graeme Currie is Professor of Public Management at Warwick Business School. Graeme also leads DfE funded What Works SEND Service Improvement research programme and is a co-investigator in NIHR funded Health Determinants Research Centre.
Job Titles:
- Communications and Engagement Manager
Job Titles:
- Professor of Health Care Sciences at the Linnaeus University
Elizabeth is a Professor of Health Care Sciences at the Linnaeus University (LNU) in Sweden and Research Director at the Swedish Family Care Competence Centre (Nka), a national centre of excellence in the area of informal care.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Health Services and Systems Researcher
- Professor
Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite is a leading health services and systems researcher with an international reputation for his work investigating and contributing to systems improvement.
Jon Glasby is IMPACT's Director, with a background in social work. He is currently Professor of Health and Social Care at the University of Birmingham. Jon also sits on the Board of an NHS Trust and of a local authority children's service.
The University of Birmingham is committed to ‘research that matters'. The mission of Jon's part of the University is ‘to understand the world but also to change it.' Jon believes that evidence can make a massive difference to people's lives. However, this evidence needs to be fit for purpose, inclusive of different people's experiences and actually implemented in practice.
Adult social care touches people's lives in such important and intimate ways. He believes it's crucial that it's based on the best possible evidence of what works. For him, this feels like a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a real difference.
Judith Phillips is Deputy Principal (Research) and Professor of Gerontology at the University of Stirling. She is Research Director for the UKRI Healthy Ageing Challenge.
Job Titles:
- National Director for Scottish Care
As National Director for Scottish Care, Karen is working to shape the future of social care. She brings over 20 years sector-experience from frontline to Board level. Her passion is evidencing the impact in outcomes for people.
Karen has been frustrated by the failure of traditional research to move beyond the ‘proof of concept' stage. She believes IMPACT offers an exciting opportunity to reconsider our approach to evidence implementation, by recognising the value and capability of the social care sector.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive of the Care Workers' Charity
Karolina Gerlich is the Chief Executive of The Care Workers' Charity, and has worked as a care worker for over 12 years. She has previously led NACAS, and is a passionate advocate for the rights and wellbeing of the social care workforce, campaigning for positive change within the social care industry. Since she joined The Care Workers' Charity, Karolina has increased its efficiency, platform and support giving capacity. She is proud to represent the social care workforce, and embodies the mission that no care worker should face hardship alone.
Job Titles:
- Social Worker and Head of Policy and Research at the British Association of Social Workers
Luke Geoghegan is a qualified social worker and Head of Policy and Research at the British Association of Social Workers (BASW). BASW is the professional association for social work and social workers.
Luke believes the delivery of adult care services impacts on everyone sooner or later. This highlights a desperate need to share practical knowledge and expertise, both for individuals and the common good. This passion is what brings Luke to IMPACT. IMPACT provides an opportunity to ‘bottle' the knowledge, expertise, and good practice which is not widely available (but, is out there) and share it across all communities.
Job Titles:
- Digital Communications Officer ( Birmingham, England )
IMPACT offers a rare opportunity to work across the UK, implementing real change in the lives of real people. That's why I'm excited to be part of the IMPACT team. I'm a design-loving, communications professional with a background in Drama and Movement Therapy. I have worked in a number of sectors and specialise in showcasing personal stories in meaningful ways.
Sarah Jenkins is a Reader at Cardiff University's Business School and is the Wales Lead for IMPACT. Her research focuses on contemporary experiences of work and employment. She is particularly interested in diverse contexts of care delivery and the nature of work in adult social care. Sarah has undertaken research on skills, job quality and work meanings within a social care cooperative.
Sarah is passionate about raising the decent work agenda within the social care sector and her research is motivated to better appreciate and recognise the skills and diverse roles of employees in the sector.
Sophie is an accomplished Head of Operations, with expertise in delivering positive social change and equality through multidisciplinary engagement and leadership. She has experience leading and supporting initiatives both in third, public and Education sectors to achieve positive social change.
Sophie is committed to improving wellbeing and enhancing the lives of others throughout her career. She has worked with diverse stakeholders throughout her career and is recognised for her ability to bring people together to achieve objectives by negotiating, influencing, and partnering at all levels.
In Sophie's IMPACT role, she leads the professional services teams and all central operations. Her aim is to ensure effective and efficient underpinning operations are led, managed, and delivered effectively to achieve IMPACT's aims.
Job Titles:
- Project Officer ( Sheffield, England )
Job Titles:
- Director of Operations at Skills for Care
Tricia is the Director of Operations at Skills for Care. She is also a qualified social worker. Tricia has played a key role in Skills for Care's work supporting equality, diversity, and inclusion across social care.
She's also the Co-chair of the Department of Health and Social Care's (DHSC) Social Care Workforce Race Equalities Standards Advisory Group and BAME Communities Advisory Group COVID-19 Support Taskforce.