Your title, when you joined and what motivated you to join ELBA:
Head of Research and Impact. I joined ELBA in 2017, just as I was starting my PhD exploring the collective action problem of skills shortages in England. Joining ELBA was key in ensuring I grounded my research and learnings in the real world.

Key contributions or focus:
I lead the organisation’s impact evaluation strategy and Theory of Change, and am very fortunate to work across ELBA and BIG Alliance as primary evaluator on a range of programmes and projects. I write the Annual Impact Digest, which celebrates the social change that resulted directly from all of the work delivered within the financial year across ELBA’s Education, Employment and Community strands.

In January 2026 we soft launched The Impact Practice, which I am also leading. The Impact Practice is a specialist impact evaluation consultancy developed by ELBA and BIG Alliance. We provide professional-grade research services exclusively for business partners who need credible evidence to inform strategic CSR decisions.

Professional background and perspective:
Before joining ELBA, I led the monitoring and evaluation of the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics Community Programme, designed and delivered the first robust Evidence Base for Skills in East of England, and built the blueprint for evaluating cross-border activity aimed at preserving Syria’s intangible heritage. Recently, I started the first global working group for youth policy at the International Youth Federation.

In 2022 I completed my PhD in Political Economy Research at King’s College London. My doctoral thesis explored local governance aspects of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) policy in the UK, with specific focus on the impact of collaboration and cooperation on trust building, decision making, and behaviour change amongst small firms. The findings highlighted ways in which local networks can help address the collective action problem of skills shortages in England.