DMSS Research & Consultancy was established in 2006 by Di McNeish and Sara Scott.
Di McNeish
My expertise is in family policy and children's services. Following an early career in social work practice and management, I worked for the voluntary sector. As Director of Policy and Research for the children’s charity, Barnardo’s, I was responsible for the organisation's internal and external research programme, and its lobbying and campaigning agenda.
I also played a key role in promoting evidence-informed practice in children's services, as co-director of the 'What Workds for Children' collaboration (involving Barnardo's, the University of York and City University), co-editor of What Works for Children (Open University Press, 2002) and trustee of the Social Care Institute for Excellence.
As co-director of DMSS I have maintained my commitment to using the best available evidence to achieve social change, through our creative programme of research, evaluation and policy development.
Examples of recent work include: my appointment as specialist advisor to the Government's Beacon Scheme on preventing and tackling child poverty; membership of the independent review on social mobility set up by the Liberal Democrats and being part of the team led by Sir Michael Marmot, carrying out the review of health inequalities in England.
Associate Researchers
Claire Turner is an experienced researcher and evaluator who has managed a range of qualitative health and social research projects including commissions from the Welsh Assembly; Department of Health; Social Exclusion Unit; and the Social Care Institute for Excellence.
As well as her work with DMSS, Claire is Principal Policy Officer for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation where she leads their programme on alcohol misuse among young people. Previously, Claire worked as the lead community regeneration consultant at GENECON, a specialist regeneration consultancy firm, where she conducted a number of evaluation projects focused on community and employment issues. She also expanded her research skills to include cost-benefit analysis and quantitative research methods.
Prior to joining GENECON, Claire was a Principal Policy and Practice Officer at Barnardo’s, with responsibility for a national programme on emotional wellbeing and mental health.
Claire has expertise in supporting community and peer led research and evaluation projects. This has included training young adults with mental health problems as evaluators, and establishing and facilitating Barnardo’s young people-led research project.
In 2006, she managed the production of the SCIE Practice Guide: the participation of young people in developing social care services.
Anna Ludvigsen is an anthropologist by background, with considerable experience of research with children and families. She brings to the team specific skills in observational methods, as well as a wide range of both qualitative and quantitative research expertise.
Until 2007 Anna was a research officer with Barnardo’s, working closely with Di McNeish and Sara Scott. Among many other projects, Anna worked with Sara on a major evaluation of a regeneration programme in South London, using a theory of change approach.
She has a special interest in children’s play and children’s attitudes to healthy eating, and has led several research projects on these topics. She is lead author of ‘Burger Boy and Sporty Girl: children and young people’s attitudes towards food in school’ and is currently undertaking PhD research on children and food at the University of Sheffield.
Our current projects
Evaluation of Tender’s Healthy Relationship Education in Schools, 2010-2012
Impact Assessment of Comic Relief’s grant funding on mental health, 2011-12
Evaluation of Altogether Better (a health promotion programme across Yorkshire and the Humber) 2009-12
Facilitation of a special interest group on children for NHS London, leading to the production of guidance for Health and Wellbeing Boards, 2011
Our current and recent partners
These include Inequality Agenda; the National Centre for Social Research; Children England; and the Institute of Education Social Science Research Unit.