Suzanne Wilson
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Suzanne is a Research Fellow in Social Inclusion and Community Engagement. The research agenda, which is in partnership with the Samuel Lindow Foundation and The Centre for Citizenship and Community, is to work with communities to identify effective and sustainable means of increasing community capital. This expanding portfolio of research focuses on working-class, coastal communities, often regarded as being ‘left-behind’.
Our Centre for Citizenship and Community has developed the Connected Communities research approach (Parsfield, et al., 2015). The approach is used as a strategy for action based research in exploring how the community dimension of people’s lives contributes to well-being, and can be developed to analyse how different interventions build resilient, inclusive communities and empower individuals to take greater control of their lives, through relationships based on shared concerns and mutual trust. This process can serve to enhance community capital which refers to “the sum of assets including relationships in a community and the value that accrues from these” (Parsfield, et al., 2015, p.12). Rather than being a fixed methodological framework, the Connected Communities approach is purposefully one that is bespoke, responding to the unique features of each community as appropriate.
In Cumbria, the approach has been used in some white working-class coastal communities with children and young people acting as community researchers. Completed research projects have shown that the children involved developed their community consciousness, their capacity and their sense of having a stake in their community, and co-produced interventions have been successful development to meet the needs of communities.
This work is supported by Suzanne's membership on West Cumbria Child Poverty Forum (WCCPF), whose aim is to share information and expertise and raise the profile of child poverty in West Cumbria, keeping the issue at the forefront of the public, and statutory services.
- PhD Social Inclusion and Public Policy, UCLan, 2024
- MPhil Applied Policy Science, UCLan, 2017
- MSc Psychological Research Methods, Lancaster University, 2013
- BSc (Hons) Psychology, University of Bath, 2006
- An Introduction to Brief, Solution Focused Therapy, 2016
- CMI Level 5 Certificate in Leadership & Management, 2015
- AQA Counselling Skills Level 1& 2, 2011
- Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector, 2010
- Winner of the Local Trust Essay Competition 2025
- Finalist of the Innovation in Politics Awards 2024
- Cumbria Golden Apple Awards 'Best Community Initiative', 2019
- The John O’Donoghue Award for Research’ for excellence in educational research, 2017
- Community Engagement
- Community Resilience
- Community Development
- Citizenship
- Young People
- Northern Coastal Communities
- External Affiliations and Roles
- Parent Governor, St James’ CofE Infant and Nursery School West Cumbria Child Poverty Forum
- South Whitehaven Youth Partnership: Trustee
- Cumbria Community Foundation: Trustee and Grants Panel Member
- British Psychological Society
- European Community Psychology Association
- Applied Social Policy Association
- Academics Against Poverty
- sBritish Educational Research Association
Recent research projects:
Child Poverty: West Cumbria Child Poverty Forum (2017-)
West Cumbria Child Poverty Forum (WCCPF) promotes social inclusion in families experiencing poverty by working with stakeholder organisations to ensure that policy development and implementation reflect the best interests of such families. Facilitated by UCLan, members include the local authorities, statutory services and the third sector.
WCCPF influences change by holding themed events attended by MPs, local authorities, schools, housing authorities and third-sector organisations, facilitating dialogue and encouraging collaboration. The events have received a collective audience of over 400 people, leading to the publication of a several reports. These publications have attracted national/international interest through multiple dissemination events and presentations.
The proposed work for the next five years will build on the established reputation and influence of WCCPF, piloting the newly developing policy-lab format to facilitate policy co-production. We want to continue to bring all parties together to create a new way of participatory working to provide inclusive opportunities for young people.
Outputs and impact:
Events:
- Trauma, social exclusion and policy reform: Friday 17th May 2024, UCLan Westlakes Campus, Moor Row.
- Poverty Informed Social Prescribing, Wednesday 7th February 2024, UCLan Westlakes Campus, Moor Row.
- Understanding the real impact and consequences of the increased cost-of-living on children and young people, next steps: Wednesday 22nd November, UCLan Westlakes Campus, Moor Row.
- Understanding the real impact and consequences of the increased cost-of-living on children and young people, Monday 10th July 2023, UCLan Westlakes Campus, Moor Row.
- Building a Therapeutic Community around the Child:, Wednesday 21st October 2020, Online.
- Moving from a Transactional to a Relational Approach to Meet the Needs of Families: Friday 21st June 2019
- The Impact of Poor Housing on Children’s Life Chances: Thursday 27th September 2018, Moorclose Community Centre, Workington.
- Making a Difference in Your Community: Friday 15th September 2017, UCLan Westlakes Campus, Moor Row.
Publications:
- Slavin, Willie and Wilson, Suzanne (2021). Child Poverty and COVID 19– the Emerging Picture. Networking: Catholic Education Today, 22 (1). pp. 14-16.
- Wilson, Suzanne (2021). Parental Engagement Under Lockdown: Reflections on Disadvantaged Families’ Perceived Barriers in Home-Schooling. Networking: Catholic Education Today, 22 (1). pp. 37-38.
- Wilson, S., and Slavin, W., (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on families in West Cumbria (2020). Discussion Paper.
- Wilson, S. and Slavin, W. (2019). Child Poverty: Moving From a Transactional to Relational Approach to Meet the Needs of Families. Discussion Paper.
- Wilson, S., and Slavin, W., (2018). The Impact of Poor Housing on Children’s Life Chances. Discussion Paper.
- Wilson, S., and Slavin, W., (2017). Making a Difference in Your Community (2017). Discussion Paper.
Partners and collaborators:
- Cumberland Council
- Howgill Family Centre
Grants
- British Science Week, 2020 I ESRC, 2019 I #iwill, 2019
Conferences and events
- Wilson, S. (2019). "Police are people too": Revised perceptions and critical reflections of police-community identities. In: Identity, Diversity, Community Cohesion and Conflict: What Now?, 26 June 2019, University of Central Lancashire, Preston. Available at: http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/28851/ [accessed on 14.09.2021].
- Wilson, S. (2019). Cultivating Citizenship though Community Capital. In: XVI European Congress of Psychology 2019, 2-5 July 2019, Moscow, Russia. Available at: http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/28852/ [accessed on 14.09.2021].
- Wilson, S. (2019). Developing an Intergenerational Approach to Social Isolation through Connected Communities in West Cumbria. In: ODESSA PROJECT SYMPOSIUM: Towards Ageing-in-place: Policy and Practice Options, 1 March 2019, Royal Institute of British Architects, London. Available at: http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/28849/ [accessed on 14.09.2021].
- Wilson, S. and Williamson, E. (2019). Cultivating Citizenship through Connected Communities: Challenging Intergenerational Loneliness through Youth Led Co-Production. In: Communities for Change Seminar, 26 June 2019. Available at: http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/28853/ [accessed on 14.09.2021].
- Wilson, S. (2018). Community Capital: The Value of Connected Communities. In: The British Psychological Society Annual Conference 2018, 2-4 May 2018, East Midlands Conference Centre. Available at: http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/28847/ [accessed on 14.09.2021].
- Wilson, S. (2018). Cultivating Citizenship through Community Capital. In: 5th Conference in Community Psychology in Slovakia, 3-4 December 2018, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava. Available at: http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/28848/ [accessed on 14.09.2021].
- Wilson, S. and Morris, D. (2017). Community Capital: The Value of Connected Communities. In: British Psychological Society Community Psychology Festival 2017, 15th to 16th September 2017, Arnolfini Centre for Contemporary Art, Bristol. Available at: http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/20667/ [accessed on 14.09.2021].
- The Impact on Families Experiencing Poverty and The Role of Community Psychology. In: 78th Annual Conference International Council of Psychologists, 11-13 December 2020, Virtual.
- The Impact Of Poor Housing On Child Poverty And Children’s Life Chances. In: Tackling Child Poverty: The Way Forward, Wednesday 13th November 2019. London: UK.
- Child Driven Policy using Youth Participatory Action Research. In: Tackling Child Poverty: Building a Positive Future for Britain’s Youth, Tuesday 5 March 2019. London: UK.
- Conference Presentations
- Wilson, S. (2017). Bourdieu's 'habitus': The secret formula behind parental engagement in education? European Research Network About Parents in Education Conference (5th July 2017) Roehampton, UK.
- Day, S., McGuire, K. & Wylie, R., (2016). In This Together: Families and Education. Poster Presentation. Best of UCLan Event (18th November 2016), Preston, UK.
- Day, S. (2015). From Pulling Apart to Pulling Together: Exploring assumptions around ‘hard to reach’ parents’ engagement in education following the primary to secondary school transition. European Research Network About Parents in Education Conference (27th August 2015) Tromsø, Norway.
Use the links below to view their profiles:
- Centre for Community Connectedness and Co-operation
- British Science Week, 2020 I ESRC, 2019 I #iwill, 2019
- Wilson, S. (2019). "Police are people too": Revised perceptions and critical reflections of police-community identities. In: Identity, Diversity, Community Cohesion and Conflict: What Now?, 26 June 2019, University of Central Lancashire, Preston. Available at: http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/28851/ [accessed on 14.09.2021].
- Wilson, S. (2019). Cultivating Citizenship though Community Capital. In: XVI European Congress of Psychology 2019, 2-5 July 2019, Moscow, Russia. Available at: http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/28852/ [accessed on 14.09.2021].
- Wilson, S. (2019). Developing an Intergenerational Approach to Social Isolation through Connected Communities in West Cumbria. In: ODESSA PROJECT SYMPOSIUM: Towards Ageing-in-place: Policy and Practice Options, 1 March 2019, Royal Institute of British Architects, London. Available at: http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/28849/ [accessed on 14.09.2021].
- Wilson, S. and Williamson, E. (2019). Cultivating Citizenship through Connected Communities: Challenging Intergenerational Loneliness through Youth Led Co-Production. In: Communities for Change Seminar, 26 June 2019. Available at: http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/28853/ [accessed on 14.09.2021].
- Wilson, S. (2018). Community Capital: The Value of Connected Communities. In: The British Psychological Society Annual Conference 2018, 2-4 May 2018, East Midlands Conference Centre. Available at: http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/28847/ [accessed on 14.09.2021].
- Wilson, S. (2018). Cultivating Citizenship through Community Capital. In: 5th Conference in Community Psychology in Slovakia, 3-4 December 2018, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava. Available at: http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/28848/ [accessed on 14.09.2021].
- Wilson, S. and Morris, D. (2017). Community Capital: The Value of Connected Communities. In: British Psychological Society Community Psychology Festival 2017, 15th to 16th September 2017, Arnolfini Centre for Contemporary Art, Bristol. Available at: http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/20667/ [accessed on 14.09.2021].
- The Impact on Families Experiencing Poverty and The Role of Community Psychology. In: 78th Annual Conference International Council of Psychologists, 11-13 December 2020, Virtual.
- The Impact Of Poor Housing On Child Poverty And Children’s Life Chances. In: Tackling Child Poverty: The Way Forward, Wednesday 13th November 2019. London: UK.
- Child Driven Policy using Youth Participatory Action Research. In: Tackling Child Poverty: Building a Positive Future for Britain’s Youth, Tuesday 5 March 2019. London: UK.
- Conference Presentations
- Wilson, S. (2017). Bourdieu's 'habitus': The secret formula behind parental engagement in education? European Research Network About Parents in Education Conference (5th July 2017) Roehampton, UK.
- Day, S., McGuire, K. & Wylie, R., (2016). In This Together: Families and Education. Poster Presentation. Best of UCLan Event (18th November 2016), Preston, UK.
- Day, S. (2015). From Pulling Apart to Pulling Together: Exploring assumptions around ‘hard to reach’ parents’ engagement in education following the primary to secondary school transition. European Research Network About Parents in Education Conference (27th August 2015) Tromsø, Norway.
Telephone:+44 (0)1946 517226
Email: Email:Suzanne Wilson
Use the links below to view their profiles: