In partnership with the incredible Rob Watson at Decentered Media we have pioneered a 'community reporter' model for community engagement in economic and social policy. Our first project, funded by the AHRC, was based around the national Census in 2021. We looked to encourage households to complete the census by providing a positive narrative around how the Census informs policy. Our second project, funded by the Alan Turing Institute, explored the design of a smart city that is inclusive of all.  

In an award winning KTP with the East Midlands Chambers of Commerce, and led by associate Harsh Shah, we set up a regional business intelligence capability that resulted in pioneering work on local skills improvement planning and collective intelligence.  

Rae, D., Cartwright, E., Gongora, M., Hobson, C., & Shah, H. (2024). ‘Insight unlocked’: Applying a collective intelligence approach to engage employers in informing local skills improvement planning. Industry and Higher Education, 38(2), 164-176. 

I have been involved in a range of work over a number of years on how to address poverty in Leicester and beyond. The most recent work focuses on early intervention through signposting to debt advice.