Who we are

·        Valeria is a passionate public policy professional whose expertise, through following a human-centred approach, focuses on the governance of places, public service delivery and its impact on everyday life. She has worked in higher education and in the charity and public sectors promoting human rights, environmental democracy and tackling inequalities.

·        Steve is an experienced researcher who has spent much of his career in community halls, public meetings, campaign headquarters and council offices. His work focuses on local democracy, collaboration and community empowerment, and innovation in public services and governance. He has worked on local community research projects across the UK and abroad.

      Ryan is a participatory researcher and practitioner specialising in community-led research, public engagement and connecting lived experience to change. His work is committed to creating meaningful ways for communities to shape research, generate knowledge and influence the decisions that affect them. He has special interests in inequality, place, participation, power and how institutions can work more effectively with communities.

·        Madeleine researches and teaches public policy, planning and governance at the local and neighbourhood levels.  Her work is inspired by her experiences in and with different levels of government and with communities and civil society organisations seeking to make positive changes in their places through what they do, and who with.

      Aidan is a researcher in the fields of social policy, creativity and performance. He works with Collective Encounters as Co-Artistic Director (research lead) and investigates how local communities are developing lived-experience led creative strategies for questioning the standard narrative of economics. He has a specific interest in Trauma-Informed Practice.