An Immersion in Values: Reflections on the Past Year
As my Head of Learning, Research and Evaluation role at TSIP draws to an end, I wanted to reflect on the achievements and learning of the past year.
I joined TSIP with mixed academic and consultancy expertise, having led research and evaluation programmes in charity and public sectors for around 15 years. TSIP’s authentic and non-tokenistic commitment to social issues and societal betterment through their work was what stood out to me from the outset. It has been a joy working with a team of people who place values at the centre of what they do – from the partnerships we build at TSIP, to the research and evaluation methods we use, alongside ensuring that our work has a tangible impact and makes a difference to those whose voices are seldom heard.
As part of the Senior Leadership Team, my role at TSIP has involved creating and overseeing strategy for research and evaluation – identifying our preferred ways of working through drawing on the rich skill-set of the team and growing our service line by building partnerships with wide-ranging organisations connected by an interest in improving their impact. You can read about our approach to learning, research and evaluation here.
I have had the pleasure of working with numerous organisations and institutions, including the Wellcome Trust, British Science Association, UKRI, The University of Edinburgh, Impact on Urban Health, Sport England, Oasis Hub Waterloo, and Middlesex University to name a few. I am especially proud of cementing our partnership with Mental Fight Club to evaluate their Artists Residency Programme. I know that the work of Mental Fight Club has provided a lifeline to their numerous patrons during the pandemic.
Landscape photo by Maria Kordowicz
Internally, I delivered training in research and evaluation methods to our community researchers (now leading their own spin off organisation - Centric) and to our community learners as part of our own community led fund in Walworth, and supported our consultants with formulating best fit and rigorous approaches to our clients’ needs. For me, it was important to emphasise through my teaching the roots of participatory approaches and the socio-political reform and contextual changes which have led to their uptake. I also taught a handful of team members ethnographically-informed evaluation methods - the discipline I consider myself to specialise in.
Much of our work involves helping organisations to develop an evaluative mindset, whilst promoting participatory and formative approaches, which help shape the programme or intervention that we are evaluating independently. This involves the inclusive facilitation expertise that TSIP has become recognised for. My colleagues have strong skills in understanding the nuances of relationships and multiple stakeholder agendas and in drawing the best out of diverse groups of people working together.
I also played a significant role in our recruitment drives as we expanded our operations. I was delighted when Amira Tharani joined our team as Principal Consultant in Evaluation to lead some of our key projects, with Nairat Ali bringing her impeccable organisation skills to support the delivery of the work as Project Officer. A notable period during my time in the role was overseeing our Evaluating Social Impact Internship, with three Summer interns supported to evaluate us at TSIP. We had much to learn from their insights about how to increase the reach of our work and their findings can be read here.
As TSIP continues to grow, we hope for even more opportunities to work at scale, given the policy move towards system integration and the scope that brings for greater societal impact. Our skills in understanding and managing complexity bring much to our multi-partner research and evaluation work. Our focus on the relational continues – we value the opportunity to have conversations and create ideas together, in particular with underrepresented and marginalised groups.
As I begin to make my return to academia and NHS organisational development, I hope to continue to provide associate input at TSIP. What has been my greatest joy in the past year, was being surrounded by a principled team, where people speak out, advocate for others, operate within an ethical framework and make democratic team-based decisions. I have learned how the wide-ranging entrepreneurship of my colleagues within and outside of TSIP contributes to the deep expertise and passion for social issues that we hold at our core. If your interest has been piqued, do have a read about my colleagues and if you recognise alignment to your own work then please reach out.
As a final point, and it might well be stated in our name, but it is worth re-emphasising that at TSIP, we believe that the sustainability of social innovation will always rest on the strength and diversity of our partnerships.
Thank you to my clients and colleagues for a successful and fulfilling year!