When Maddy joined IDS as an international student, it was a local Brighton food project that helped her connect with her community. She went on to write her dissertation about their work, became a trustee of the project and now works in the Project Management Unit at IDS.
You can watch a brief interview with Maddy (four minutes) or read her full blog below.
Before I came to IDS, I was doing an undergraduate degree at Michigan State University in comparative cultures and politics.
I chose MA Power, Participation & Social Change because the name drew me in. I could tell that it was rooted in values related to activism and making the world a better place that I thought really aligned with my own. It was a good fit given my background in working with people, and in diversity, equity and inclusion.
I also thought that it would be really interesting to study participation at IDS, which was the place where it was created; a lot of the participatory work throughout history has happened here.
A challenging start
The biggest challenge I faced when I started at IDS was that, being an international student, I didn’t really know that much about Brighton when I moved here. I knew I didn’t want to live on campus, so I chose a house share in Bevendean, without knowing anything about the area.
Bevendean is a lovely community and I love it now, but at first it was very isolating. It is quite a rural area and not close the city centre. I hadn’t realised that the closest grocery stores were over a mile walk away. Because Bevendean is on the edge of the South Downs, it’s very hilly and I didn’t know how to use the buses, which can be quite unpredictable.
However, it actually turned out to be quite a blessing, as it allowed me to connect to my Very Local Food Hubs Brighton community and get to know people better.
Very Local Food Hubs
I stumbled upon the Bevendean Community Garden that was offering cooking workshops and growing workshops. Through that I got to know Very Local Food Hubs (VLFH) – a project that delivers veg boxes bi-weekly. The veg is from local farmers and local distributors, delivered at a subsidised / pay-as-you-feel rate.
After they supported me a little bit, I asked them if I could do my master’s dissertation on the work that they do, by and for people from the community.
My dissertation focused on how community helps you access resources. It’s not just about getting food or money, it’s also about getting to know people, building your network, forming friendships. It helps you find out about job opportunities and volunteering and connect more with nature.
A mutually beneficial relationship
I got a lot of data from VLFH that helped me with my dissertation. But I also gave back interview transcripts and analysis, and was a reflective partner for them, helping them plan for the future. In my dissertation I suggested that they start a community fridge, which is an alternative to a food bank. I was so proud when they opened their community fridge last month!
After finishing my dissertation in September 2022, I joined VLFH as a trustee, taking on the role of community researcher, and managing the relationship between the project and other academics. Last year I successfully bought in another IDS master’s student who did a really wonderful dissertation, which she received a merit for.
Working at IDS
After my master’s I spent two years working at Save the Children International, which was a brilliant experience getting to know an international non-profit. But I decided that remote working wasn’t really for me, and that I needed more experience being on this lovely campus and in the IDS building again, connecting with academics, fellows and students.
I came back and applied for a position in the Project Management Unit at IDS, and at the time of writing I’ve been here exactly a year. I’ve really enjoyed learning project management when it came to research projects.
Now I’ve applied to do my PhD at IDS, which I’ll start in September of next year. Through my PhD I hope to help strengthen the network of affordable food projects in Brighton & Hove and create change in the larger local food system.
MA Power, Participation & Social Change
This degree has really helped me shape my thinking in a completely different way. It’s allowed me to be really reflective about my previous academic work, when perhaps I was a bit distant from the subjects I was studying.
And through participation and through this degree, I’ve been able to understand that the relationship researchers have to the research itself is really essential in order to understand how we come to our conclusions and how we decide what evidence we use to make decisions. It’s really helped me understand the process of decision-making and the power dynamics that play into that, and how we can work with and against those power dynamics to reach a solution that is better for everyone, including the most marginalised.
Maddy studied MA Power, Participation & Social Change, class of 2021-22. For more information about this degree, please click below:
