Impact

Impact and Public Engagement

Research that travels beyond academia

My research is motivated by a commitment to producing evidence that is not only academically rigorous, but also useful beyond the university. I am interested in how research can inform policy, strengthen organisational practice, support public debate and help people make better decisions.

Across my work, I aim to translate complex evidence into clear, accessible and practical outputs for different audiences, including policymakers, employers, business leaders, charities, public institutions and wider communities. This includes public facing toolkits, research blogs, technical reports, stakeholder engagement and evidence based resources designed to support decision making.

My impact work is closely connected to my research interests in labour markets, wellbeing, inequality, productivity, maternal employment, disability and work, and immigrant integration. I see public engagement as an essential part of academic work: research should be careful and credible, but it should also be communicated in ways that people can understand, trust and use.

Wales Productivity Toolkit

The Wales Productivity Toolkit is an evidence based resource developed to support Welsh businesses and organisations in understanding, assessing and improving productivity. It translates productivity research into practical guidance for employers, managers and policy stakeholders.

My contribution to this work includes supporting the development, updating and communication of website resources linked to the Wales Productivity Forum. The toolkit is designed to make productivity evidence more accessible to businesses and organisations by presenting practical steps, diagnostic tools and guidance that can support improvement.

This work reflects my broader interest in making academic and policy research usable for real world decision making, particularly in relation to regional economic development, management practice, work organisation and productivity.

WORKFEED Employer Toolkit

The WORKFEED Employer Toolkit was developed as part of research on maternal wellbeing, infant feeding and return to paid work. It provides practical guidance for employers and line managers on how to support breastfeeding employees returning to paid work.

The toolkit translates research evidence on workplace constraints, maternal employment, breastfeeding continuation and organisational support into employer facing guidance. It highlights the importance of workplace accommodation, communication, flexibility, privacy, managerial awareness and supportive organisational cultures.

This output is part of a wider commitment to improving the conditions under which mothers return to work, and to showing that breastfeeding continuation is shaped not only by individual choices, but also by workplace structures and employer support.

Research reports and applied evidence

I have contributed to a series of technical reports on maternal wellbeing, infant feeding and return to paid work. These reports draw on quantitative and qualitative evidence, including Understanding Society analysis, attitudes surveys, maternal experience surveys, interviews, and HR and line manager surveys.

Together, these reports provide a detailed evidence base on the barriers mothers face when combining breastfeeding and paid work, and on how employers and institutions can better support maternal wellbeing and infant feeding decisions.

The reports contribute to public understanding and policy debate by documenting the practical, emotional, economic and workplace constraints that shape mothers’ choices and opportunities after childbirth.

Policy and stakeholder engagement

Through my role with the Wales Productivity Forum at Cardiff University, I contribute to research communication and stakeholder engagement on productivity, regional development and labour market issues. This includes supporting evidence based resources, writing public facing blogs, contributing to dissemination activities and helping connect academic research with policy and business audiences.

My work in this area is focused on making productivity research clear, relevant and usable. I am particularly interested in how evidence can support better conversations about work, health, skills, business support, public policy and regional economic performance.

Public writing and research communication

I regularly write research blogs and public facing insights that translate academic and policy debates for wider audiences. My public writing has covered productivity, welfare, regional economic development, public policy and Wales’s economic challenges.

These pieces form part of my wider approach to impact: communicating research clearly, showing why evidence matters, and making complex issues accessible without losing analytical rigour.

My approach to impact

My approach to impact is grounded in three principles:

Clarity
Research should be communicated in a way that is understandable to the people who need it.

Credibility
Public facing outputs should be grounded in rigorous evidence, transparent interpretation and careful analysis.

Usefulness
Research should help inform decisions, improve practice and contribute to meaningful public and policy debate.

Across my academic and public facing work, I aim to produce research that is clear, credible and built to be used, not only reviewed.