I joined the Shaping Futures team as Evaluation and Partnerships Officer in January 2020. My role is to work with the team and our partners to ensure that our activities are impactful, and we are meeting the aims of the programme, and accurately report our activities to the Office for Students, the wider partnership and our schools and colleges. This involves designing evaluations with delivery staff, and helping plan for different data collection methods depending on the activity. I then write reports our engagement with learners and schools/colleges and create impact reports based on our evaluation data. I have also analysed national datasets to help us to better understand the Liverpool City Region and the needs of our learners, which helps us design our activities.

After completing a degree in Geology with Palaeobiology, I worked as an analyst in Student Life at the University of Leicester, evaluating the effectiveness of careers and student retention activities; with a particular focus on the differences between underrepresented groups. Working on activities which aimed to improve students’ outcomes whilst at university made me more interested in what happened prior to arrival, so I really enjoy working in outreach with Shaping Futures and getting a real understanding of how activities help learners progress from year 9 through to graduation.

I am really keen to ensure our activities are helpful to our learners, and that our work can contribute to the wider knowledge base about what works in Higher Education outreach programmes.