I am interested in engaging people with research through communication, and also in whether or how this activity can support evidence-based dialogue and decision making.
I have been at IDS since May 2007, and began working as Communications Officer in 2010. In June 2016, I was elected as a staff member to the IDS Board of Trustees, and held this role until July 2019.
I am currently leading communication and engagement for the following research consortia:
- Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID)
- Action for Empowerment and Accountability (A4EA)
Communication, marketing and online content development
I was seconded to The Guardian in August 2010, contributing to the development and launch of the award-winning Guardian Global Development site.
Since then I have gained considerable experience in social media engagement and content development, including delivering in-house Writing for the Web and “Get Read! How to write and promote your blog” training, developing and launching the Impact and Learning blog (2011), leading on social reporting from the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation’s seminal Mind the Gap; From Policy to Impact conference in Cuernavaca, Mexico (2011), working on the dissemination and promotion of acclaimed IDS Bulletin New Roles for Communication in Development (2012) and awarded a CIM-accredited Diploma in Digital Marketing (2013-14).
In 2015, I led on the marketing strategy for re-launching the IDS Bulletin as an open access journal. Launched in 2016, its new website achieved nearly 400,000 downloads, four times greater than anticipated.
In recent years, I have developed an interest and built my experience in translating research concepts and findings into infographic and animation formats.
Here are some examples:
- Time to care: the struggle to balance unpaid care and paid work (animation)
- Precarious lives or why it’s vital to protect the right to food in the face of market volatility (online, interactive research summary)
- Can the Private Sector Tackle Undernutrition Amongst the Poorest People? (infographic)
- Power, Violence, Citizenship and Agency project (PDF)
Project management in publication design and production
Additionally, I have also project-managed the design and production of the IDS Annual Review (2013, 2014 and 2015) as well as leading on the design of the IDS Strategy 2015-2020 (short version) (PDF).
Knowledge management
Previously, I was the editor for the Eldis Manuals and Toolkits Eldis Resource Guide and the Middle East and North Africa regional page. I also co-ordinated the production of Eldis on CD-ROM (Eldis OnDisc).
Prior to that, I worked for Citizens Advice Scotland on public affairs and social policy in Scotland in the areas of consumer debt, housing and employment rights. I graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA (Hons) in Arabic with politics and Middle Eastern history.
