This event brought together third sector staff and academics for a morning of learning and discussion, focused on lessons learned from the field.

It was organised by Policy Scotland and the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit (SPIRU) at Glasgow Caledonian University, as part of Challenge Poverty Week 2019.

Three speakers from the third sector and local government shared their experiences of collaborating with academic researchers to understand the needs of their clients, improve their programmes and advocate for policy change.

The presenters were:

• Marion Davis of One Parent Families Scotland
• Jayne Jones from Assist FM/Argyll and Bute Council
• Laura Reilly from Bellville Community Garden Trust

They explained how third sector research collaborations can provide evidence for issues that are known anecdotally about a client base (e.g. lone parents and loneliness), the extent of an issue that is not well understood (e.g. why school pupils don’t access school meals), and how to evidence the impact of a programme for future funding.

Professor John McKendrick, from SPIRU, then shared an academic’s perspective on the value of these collaborations, and the type of collaborative projects that can be fruitful for both partners.

We have made these slides available for all those interested in this topic, which includes contact information for all of our speakers if you would like to know more.

Thanks to all those who attended this session as a way to kick off Challenge Poverty Week 2019. We look forward to organising more events with third sector partners in the coming months to continue the conversation.

Published as part of Policy Scotland’s contribution to Challenge Poverty Week 2019