The UK Data Service shares information on the stakeholders attending their upcoming event: Perspectives on Engagement and Impact.
We are in the final stages of preparing for our Perspectives on Engagement and Impact event for Early Career Researchers, which is next week in Manchester – the time has flown by!
With just over a week to go, we want to share the many perspectives you’ll hear from on the day, whether that’s during the lightning keynotes, CLOSER workshop, or in our dynamic Q&A session.
You can jump to each activity using the links below:
Lightning keynotes
Chimdimma Noelyn Onah, King’s College London
Chimdimma Noelyn Onah is a researcher and the founder of Nombas Pro, a data consultancy that delivers bespoke data products and training solutions. As a researcher, Noelyn is currently working at King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership (GIWL), working on the UK Gender Equality Index project.
Her current research interest is the application of data analytics and machine learning methods to societal problems.
Noelyn completed her PhD (and a second Master’s) at the University of Manchester in 2023, funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council.
Her research examined the United Kingdom’s reimbursement system, developing an alternative data-driven reimbursement system to improve fairness and equitability.
She received her first Master’s degree in Business Analytics: Operational Research and Risk Management from the University of Manchester in 2017. Noelyn holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics and Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
The GIWL team worked with us to create a case study on the Gender Equality Index exploring how they engaged with stakeholders by submitting evidence to Parliament Committees, engaging with NGOs and civil organisations, launching a dedicated website and hosting webinars.
Tom Pottrill, Resolve Poverty
Tom is a Policy Officer at Resolve Poverty, focusing primarily on how different levels of governance can design, implement and evaluate strategic responses to poverty.
To this end, he develops policy ideas, conducts qualitative and quantitative research, and delivers consultancy and training for bodies to more effectively tackle poverty.
Prior to joining Resolve Poverty, Tom completed a Public Policy MSc at University College London (UCL) and a degree in Politics, Philosophy & Economics (PPE) at the University of Manchester.
Tom is determined that the institutions that govern us, the public services that provide for us, and the public policies that shape our lives should recognise and execute their role in addressing poverty.
Tom wrote on the Data Impact blog post for us about Resolve Poverty’s Mission Critical report:
“The evidence is clear. Devolving access to social security data to all local and regional authorities would enable them to tackle poverty more effectively now. Here’s how.”
Rhiannon Williams, NHS
Rhiannon is an Evaluation Analyst at the North West Ambulance Service, where she uses mixed methods analysis to evaluate real-world interventions in the ambulance sector.
Before joining the NHS, she carried out a PhD and post-doc at the University of Sheffield. Her PhD was part of the Data Analytics & Society Centre for Doctoral Training and used quantitative analysis to explore the impacts of Universal Credit in the UK.
As a Data impact Fellow, Rhiannon has contributed to the Data Impact blog on several occasions, including her post on Universal Credit and practical policies.
“Data analysis is a powerful tool for understanding policy and how it impacts people…However, in practice, the implementation of policy doesn’t always happen to everyone all at once.”
Adam Davis, local government
Adam Davis is a Swansea councillor.
He works with his constituents on a local level and is conscious of the problems that research needs to address.
He sits on several scrutiny boards and believes data plays a huge role in not only making decisions but ensuring those decisions have as much impact as possible.
“Behind every dataset is a human story, and behind every policy decision are people who feel its consequences in their daily lives. As policymakers, it’s our responsibility to bridge the gap between policy and the people it affects.”
CLOSER
Rob Davies
Rob leads CLOSER’s Policy and Dialogue team, which works to increase the visibility, use and impact of longitudinal population studies, data and research.
Prior to taking up the position at CLOSER in 2016, Rob worked in and around governments and parliaments, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the House of Lords, and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
From February 2021 to April 2023, Rob was seconded part-time to the UK Parliament and the Welsh Parliament to develop their respective Areas of Research Interest pilot projects.
He regularly shares new opportunities for engagement and relevant political updates.
Charlotte Campbell
Charlotte supports the policy engagement activities of the Policy and Dialogue team at CLOSER, alongside her main CLOSER role which focuses on data harmonisation and cross-study research.
Charlotte completed her PhD in Social Epidemiology at UCL in 2023 and has research experience in healthy ageing, social relationships and isolation, and biosocial research.
Fiona Lemon and Jennie Blows
Fiona is CLOSER’s Communications Manager. She is a Chartered Marketer and has over 20 years of experience in communications, marketing and editing. Fiona specialises in working with complex content, covering the social sciences, data, statistics, healthcare, macroeconomics, commodities, law, and the financial markets.
Prior to joining CLOSER, Fiona worked for organisations providing business intelligence and market insights, publishing, statistics, policy, and information services.
Jennie is CLOSER’s Digital Communications and Events Manager.
CLOSER have also discussed mobilising research in the Data Impact blog posts on their Policy Hub and Policy Surgeries.
Talking about the event, Rob says:
“This interactive lecture and practical workshop session will focus on what influences policymakers and the different ways researchers can inform and shape policy discussions, along with a set of tips, resources, and tools to help you on your journey to policy impact”
Data Impact Fellows panel
Rhiannon Williams will be joined by:
Natasha Chilman
Natasha is a Research Associate and Teaching Fellow in Population Mental Health, King’s College London.
She uses multiple methods spanning epidemiology, data science, coproduction, and qualitative interviews to research mental health inequalities. Her PhD focused on inequalities in mental health and multimorbidity for people who have experienced homelessness, during which Natasha was a UK Data Service Impact Fellow 2023-2024.
She now works as a postdoctoral researcher for the UKRI Population Health Improvement (PHI-UK) Population Mental Health Consortium, which brings together 10+ partnerships across universities, local government, voluntary organisations, and people with lived experience, to understand what can be done to prevent the onset of mental health problems, using insights from large-scale linked data.
Niels Blom
Niels Blom is a Lecturer in Social Statistics and Criminology at the University of Manchester.
His research focuses on violence and abuse and its relationship with socioeconomic inequalities, health, and wellbeing, with a specific focus on intimate partner violence. Prior work concerned family formation and dissolution, relationship quality, couples’ division of labour, and economic inequalities.
Esmerelda Bon
Esmerelda is a Labour Market Analyst.
Esmerelda is interested in mechanisms of persuasion, which led her to pursue a degree in applied linguistics and a PhD in Political Science. Her academic work has focused on Northern Europe and has contributed to policymaking in the UK.
Ben Brindle
Ben is a Researcher at the Migration Observatory.
His research interests include net migration, the economic impacts of migration, work visas, and how migration patterns respond to changes in visa policy. He is part of the Hong Kong BN(O) panel survey project team, which analyses the integration of BN(O)s into the UK economy and society. It is the first longitudinal social science study to track a major migrant group from the time of their arrival in the UK.
Previously, Ben worked in the Migration Research Division at the International Organisation for Migration, where he supported the preparation of research papers and reports for publication on various migration topics, including the 2022 World Migration Report.
Ben completed his PhD at the University of Brighton, which explored how the UK labour market and UK firms responded to immigration in the decade following the financial crisis.
Our Data Impact Fellows have written a variety of blog posts for our Data Impact blog and we encourage you to give them a read!
Stakeholder “speed-dating”
We complete our exciting line up with perspectives Ben Martin and Victoria Carr from the Economic Social Research Council (ESRC), along with:
Elisa Bullen
Elisa Bullen manages the demographic research team within Manchester City Council’s Performance, Research & Intelligence service.
She specialises in population analysis and insight, helping senior leaders and partners understand community needs, assess future demand, and shape effective policy and services. She is currently undertaking a full-time research project as a Research Fellow at the University of Manchester.
Edward Fulker
Ed is the Evaluation Manager at North West Ambulance Service NHS trust.
The team focus on providing robust evaluations for decision making in emergency care interventions. Prior to the NHS, Ed was an intelligence analyst in the Royal Navy, which he started post BSc in Statistics (MMU).
Emily Gibbs
In 2023, Emily began Project 365, a large-scale records management and Microsoft migration project which is due to complete in 2026 – with an aim to create a blueprint for the NHS.
Emily completed her PhD in Cold War History at the University of Liverpool.
She spent some time lecturing, teaching on the power of lived experiences, storytelling, and memory in history. After completing her doctorate, Emily started working for the North West Ambulance Service. She currently works as the trust’s Knowledge Manager in the Evaluation Team, specialising in qualitative data collection and analysis.
She has completed several evaluations on various projects in the ambulance service including pre-alerts, digitalisation projects, wellbeing, and digital capability.
Ellen O’Connor
Ellen is a Research Manager in the Campaigns, Policy and Research team at the Royal British Legion, where she works to understand the demographics and needs of the Armed Forces community.
She uses these insights to ensure that the organisation’s policy, campaigning, strategy and service design are grounded in high-quality data and robust evidence.
Morgan Brown
As part of the Campaigns, Policy, and Research team at the Royal British Legion, Morgan brings together research and evidence to inform policy recommendations, enhance service provision, and ensure the voices of the Armed Forces community are heard.
“Morgan shared how Census data is allowing them to influence and shape Royal British Legion policy in their Data Impact blog post.”
The UK Data Service impact team
(left) Finn Dymond-Green (They/Them) is the Director of Impact at the UK Data Service.
(middle) Eve Little (She/Her) and (right) Sophie Gawryla (She/Her) are the Research Impact and Engagement Managers at the UK Data Service.
Finn has recently shared an overview of the impact of the UK Data Service across 2025. You can also read their discussion on the importance of the Data Impact blog.
Sophie Gawryla and Eve Little have also reflected on their top five blog posts – you can read about the voices in the data and the voices behind the data on our Data Impact blog.
One week to go
If you are already registered and looking forward to Perspectives on Engagement and Impact, we can’t wait to welcome you to Manchester on February 11!
If you haven’t signed up yet, please register your interest and we will be in touch if a spot becomes available.
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