Spreading ideas changing attitudes
Barod - Who we are
We have three worker-directors
MalAlan Anne
And two employees
Owen Catherine
We are a community interest company
Spreading ideas changing attitudes
What we do• Make easy read and accessible information
• Research
• Find out what people think
•Coffee shop conversations
•Provide speakers and thinkers
Barod and research• We are not academics – (but Anne has an MA)
• We have not had a research grant – (but we did try)
• We do practical policy research– Models for social care social enterprise– Coffee shop conversations
Spreading ideas changing attitudes
Ownership
Spreading ideas changing attitudes
• My space: academics involve “users”
• Your space: activists involve academics
• New space: people working together
Our experience
We head-hunted an academic
• Topic – Barod’s expertise
• Methods – Catherine’s expertise
• We knew we needed each other
• It was about the people, not our hats
Spreading ideas changing attitudes
Lessons we learnedon creating a new space
• Leave your ego outside the door
• Bring your expertise to the table for others to use
• Don’t gloss over or devalue anyone’s skills
Spreading ideas changing attitudes
But it’s not just about people
People can leave egos outside the door
But how do you leave your institution
outside the door?
Spreading ideas changing attitudes
(Maybe we will find the answer when someone works out how Structure and Agency interact in this context...)
Impact
What’s the point of research?
Life’s too short...
Impact of process
Impact of findings
Spreading ideas changing attitudes
Impact – our experience
• No impact from findings (as we didn’t get funded!)
• Impact on us:
– more confidence, better understanding
– developed the coffee shop conversations
• Impact on university:– Re-thinking inclusive research – MARS
Spreading ideas changing attitudes
Old and young together
• Feminist web sounds like the Ely Hospital project.
• Modern young women meeting people who in their life time had to do direct action so the young women had stuff they didn’t even have to
think about.• Maybe conversations always change people.
Spreading ideas changing attitudes
Our advice?
• Know who owns the space• Remember: if you involve me, you still hold the power
• Keep talking
• Keep it real
Spreading ideas changing attitudes