Anglia Ruskin University

The sub-group of Community: Governance and Participation comprises a wide range of projects which look at different aspects of social inclusion and social exclusion in the context of 'community'. A variety of social groups are looked at including young people, adults with mental illness, the unemployed, offenders, poor white communities, and victims of political conflict. Projects relate to different aspects of 'community' including employment and participation, criminal justice and social inclusion, political conflict and community building, young people within the community.

Projects

Employment and Participation

SESAMI - Social inclusion through Employment Support for Adults with Mental Illness, April 2004 to September 2006 (Prof. Jenny Secker, Melanie Boyce)

The study comprised five main strands:

• Assessment of the extent to which six provider agencies in England were working in line with the international evidence base.
• Identification of the outcomes achieved for 155 clients by the agencies over a period of 12 months.
• Identification of predictors for moving into work.
• Exploration of clients' and service providers' views about what works in supporting clients towards employment.
• In-depth study of the perceptions and experiences of those who had moved into work.

Qualitative Evaluation of the Impact of the Pathways to Work Condition Management Programmes (CMPs), April 2006 - May 2007 (Prof. Jenny Secker)

This qualitative evaluation formed part of a wider national evaluation of the CMPs commissioned by the Department of Health. The aim of the qualitative evaluation was to explore perceptions of the operation of the programmes, their impact on participants' wellbeing, management of their condition and capacity to work, and their impact on the local health and social care economy. To achieve this, focus group discussions were held in each of the seven pilot sites with three groups of participants: former customers; practitioners providing the CMPs; and other stakeholders from health, social care and Jobcentre Plus. People who wished to take part but could not attend a focus group were offered a face to face or telephone interview.

Turning the Tide: Understanding the impact of having employment advisors in primary care, August 2007 - December 2008 (Melanie Boyce and Prof. Jenny Secker)

In collaboration with the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to address the research aims and objectives. The main aim of the research was to identify the processes which appeared to influence the effectiveness of employment advisers based in primary care. The target client group was people who were in jobs but experiencing difficulty, recently signed off sick, or out of work due to mental health problems.

The specific objectives were to understand and identify:

• What mechanisms seem to contribute to successful outcomes
• The influences (context variables) that support or impede these outcomes
• Patients' and GPs' views of the problems and successes of the intervention
• What influences GP take-up of the employment adviser service.

Evaluation of the Remploy Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Pilot, March 2009 - December 2009 (Melanie Boyce and Prof. Jenny Secker)

This evaluation of the pilot was designed in partnership by Remploy and Anglia Ruskin University in consultation with the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health. The aims were:

• To ascertain whether and measure how well the IPS pilot improved employment outcomes for people with severe and/or enduring mental health problems, in comparison with Remploy's existing approach.
• To assess the pilot's fidelity to the IPS approach.
• To explore clients' perceptions of what works and for whom in the delivery of employment support.

Evaluation of the Team East for Skills project, 2009 - 2011 (Dr Deb Holman and Dr Claudia Schneider)

Funded by the ESF and the UK Legacy Trust, the project provides training for socially excluded groups to help support people into employment or volunteering. The project is inspired by Olympics 2012 and participants engage in a range of sports/arts/theatre training opportunities as warm-up sessions, bronze or silver sessions, and can also take advantage of mentoring support. The evaluation examines the impact of these activities for participants, and how the consortium of voluntary bodies work together, and with what results. Focus groups, questionnaires and interviews are the main research instruments with an annual report produced each year for the project managers and the Co-Financing Organisation, EEDA. The first report was published in April 2010.

Emilia project, 2005 - 2010 (Prof. Shula Ramon)

The Emilia Project is an EU Research Framework 6 Integrated Project, focused on social inclusion in mental health (2005-2010). The project included eight demonstration sites and four supporting sites across Europe, and was conducted as an action research aimed at enhancing social inclusion of more than 200 people with severe mental illness through education, employment and social networking.

My roles in the project have included qualitative research and mainstreaming ethnicity and gender (www.emiliatraining.net).