Influencing hearts and minds through research

Quote: The only way things will improve in my view is for people to be open minded and truly listen to the people who have been through this.”

Recently we completed a research project with survivors of domestic abuse, and wanted to share a bit about how we did it and why it was so important to us that this research has an impact. We engaged with survivors of domestic abuse over a period of several months, to explore how they want to share their views, provide feedback and be involved in decision-making, in a way that is best for them.

Getting back out there…doing research while masked up

Photo of woman wearing mask

This week our team visited a high school in Essex to talk to sixth formers about their experiences of Covid-19 in terms of the impact to their mental health, relationships, education and future opportunities. Updated guidance meant that all pupils were now expected to wear face masks in classrooms, so this went for us researchers too...

Assessing the strength of communities in Essex

We commissioned Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OCSI) to undertake a review of community need and ‘left behind’ areas in Essex. The review sought to help us understand how Essex compares to other areas in terms of its levels of community need, and which factors are more significant than others in contributing to areas having high levels of need.

Visualising data in R - Part 2

In the age of 'fake news', making accurate, attractive, and informative plots is essential in bridging the gap between people and data. In Part 2 of his blog, Dr Dave Clark, takes us through the possibilities of visualising data using R so that we can tell an impactful story.