Collaboratory Researcher Profiles
Project Title: Foodbank Referral and Support Systems through Evidence-Based Insights: A Leicester Case Study?
What were you doing (e.g. type of work/study) before your PhD/Placement?
Prior to the placement, I had just completed my Masters in Social Research at Keele University and I was looking for something to further my development as a researcher and so this placement came at a really good time and was a perfect platform to further my skills. My connection to Leicester is through my undergraduate Sociology degree at the University of Leicester, where I learnt first hand about the struggles that a lot of people in the area were facing as my degree years overlapped with the start of Covid.
What are you researching?
I am researching foodbank referral and support in and around the Leicester area.
What motivated you to apply for this specific Placement project?
My motivation to apply for this specific placement really arose when I saw the kind of things Collaboratory wanted to explore as they seemed to all be topics that want to make a difference in wider society.
Why do you think this research is important?
This research is of major importance as foodbank referral has been on the rise ever since Covid and the cost of living crisis, so exploring how people experience food banks and what can be done to support these people further was of immense interest to me.
What difference do you hope to make in Leicester/Leicestershire through this research?
I wish to provide a bit of evidence to show the good that food banks already do and their crucial role in the Leicester area, as well as providing a little evidence of where this work can be furthered and possible ways in which people’s experiences of food banks can be improved. Also, the voices of those who run food banks in the area and those who use the food bank are paramount and to have them being heard is of great interest to me.
What do you hope to be doing in five years’ time? (personally and/or professionally)
I hope that to gain further experience of researching in the field and proving to myself that I can go out of my comfort zone and conduct research that when I began my studies I would not have been able to do. I also wish to gain further experience that I can show to prospective employers to prove my worth as a researcher. In five years time I wish to have a job in research in some capacity, in which I can look back proudly on the way this placement really acted as a building block for a successful career.