Completed Work
SPIU has been researching poverty in Scotland since 1995. In this time, we have completed many projects for government (central and local), charities and voluntary organisations. Some Reports and Findings from earlier research can be downloaded free-of-charge from the ‘Poverty Information’ section of our website. Here we provide a brief description of some of our earlier work.
Evidence summary: health benefits of financial inclusion for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
2010. This project provides a summary of evidence on the health benefits of financial inclusion and assesses the need for more research. A review of academic literature and local monitoring / evaluation reports is available. The review is in pdf format and is in three parts. There is also a Summary: Health Benefits of Financial Inclusion . Contact Morag Gillespie for more information. Morag.Gillespie@gcal.ac.uk
Health Benefits of financial inclusion: Part 1
Health Benefits of Financial Inclusion Part 2
(Financial inclusion)
East Ayrshire Positive Play
This report provides an evaluation of the East Ayrshire Positive Play project and gives recommendations for its continued existence. Contact J.McKendrick@gcu.ac.uk
Child Poverty in Scotland: Taking the next steps
May 2009. A Viewpoint written by Stephen Sinclair and John McKendrick assessing progress in Scotland towards the goal of eradicating child poverty by 2020 and recommending further measures to ensure this target is met. Commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Contact Stephen Sinclair@gcu.ac.uk
(Poverty & equalities)
Understanding financial inclusion
This work was commissioned by Friends Provident Foundation. Reviews were undertaken of six aspects of financial inclusion research: access to banking services, to credit, to insurance, savings and assets, money advice and financial literacy and capability. The findings were discussed by relevant stakeholders and then the discussions were re-examined at a deliberative knowledge exchange conference by a wider range of stakeholders.The participants' views and lessons for the future are outlined in a summary report and in detail in the full report. Contact Stephen Sinclair at Stephen.Sinclair@gcu.ac.uk
Mental Health Financial Inclusion Project.
2008 - 2009. Evaluation project to assess the impact of a development project aiming to address financial inclusion issues for people with mental health problems in Glasgow and to inform wider practice in mainstream services. Funded by Glasgow City Council. Contact Morag Gillespie at Morag.Gillespie@gcu.ac.uk(FInancial inclusion, Poverty & equalities)
Survey of CAB debt clients
(Citizens Advice Scotland 2008-2009) This nine month study for Citizens Advice Scotland aimed to update the On the Cards report to identify trends and changes in the debt landscape in Scotland and assess the impact of recent legislative changes for CAB services and clients. The research involved over 275 surveys with CAB clients, ten key informant interviews with a sample of these survey respondents and a focus group interview with CAB advisors. Contact Morag Gillespie at Morag.Gillespie@gcu.ac.uk
(Financial inclusion)
Review of Evidence for Scottish Borders Council
January 2008 to December 2008. This project involved a systematic appraisal of published literature and statistical evidence to better understand the nature of rural poverty and poverty in the Scottish Borders. The research informed the work of the Scottish Borders Poverty and Social Exclusion Commission. Contact John McKendrick at J.McKendrick@gcu.ac.uk(Measuring poverty)
Mental Health Financial Inclusion Project
December 2007 to May 2008. Evaluation project to assess the impact of a development project aiming to address financial inclusion issues for people with mental health problems in North Lanarkshire and to inform wider practice in mainstream services. Funded by North Lanarkshire Council and SAMH. Contact Morag Gillespie at Morag.Gillespie@gcu.ac.uk
Presence Or Partnership? - Voluntary and Private Sector Influence in Community Planning in Scotland.
May 2007 to April 2008. This project explored the extent to which voluntary and private sector representatives were equal and effective partners in Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) in Scotland. CPPs are responsible for co-ordinated policy-making and joint service delivery between local authorities and other key public agencies in Scotland, and include representatives from the local community, voluntary and private sectors. The project sought to estimate relative voluntary and private sector involvement, integration and influence in CPPs, and their impact on CP processes and outputs. The research involved analysis of CP documents and interviews with key CPP participants in a case study Partnership. The project compared findings with studies of Local Strategic Partnerships in England, and related the analysis to contemporary theories of local governance reform and public sector modernisation in Britain. The project was funded by the Nuffield Foundation. The CPP Final Report and CPP Final Summary are available here. Contact Stephen Sinclair at Stephen.Sinclair@gcu.ac.uk(Poverty, community and well-being)
Media, Poverty and Public Opinion in the UK
July to December 2007. This six month project examined media, poverty and public opinion in the UK, aiming to (i) profile and compare representations of poverty in different UK media; (ii) identify the principal factors influencing those involved in producing media coverage of poverty; (iii) understand how UK media representations relate to the public’s understanding of poverty, and (iv) identify examples of effective practice in communicating poverty to the public.. Contact John McKendrick at J.McKendrick@gcu.ac.ukMeeting the Money Advice Needs of People in Glasgow with Mental Health Problems.
April 2007 to June 2007. Developing a Financial Awareness Strategy for people in the city with mental health problems. This involved exploration of issues and barriers for people with mental health problems and how services could meet their financial awareness and advice needs more effectively. Project funded by the Glasgow Association for Mental Health. Contact Morag Gillespie at Morag.Gillespie@gcu.ac.ukDeveloping an Equalities Hub for Glasgow
This summary report provides the results of a consultation by the Glasgow Equalities Partnership on the development of an Equalities Hub in Glasgow. Contact Morag.Gillespie@gcu.ac.uk
Gathering Community Responses to Let Glasgow Flourish.
July to November 2007. This project gathers community responses to the findings of the Let Glasgow Flourish report. It involves recruiting, training and supporting community researchers involved in conducting roadshows. Funded by Glasgow and Clyde Health Board / Glasgow Centre for Population Health. Contact John McKendrick at J.McKendrick@gcu.ac.ukMoney Advice and Employability.
October 2005 to September 2007. This project involved evaluation of a money advice pilot project located within employability services. The main objective of the evaluation and research was to monitor and evaluate the project in order to inform future initiatives that meet the needs of people making the transition to work and to provide mainstream services with information that will allow them to understand the issues which affect these client groups. Project funded by Capital City Partnership. Contact Morag Gillespie at Morag.Gillespie@gcu.ac.ukService User Involvement in the Employability Field.
July 2005 to June 2007. The EQUAL Service User Involvement (SUI) Project is funded until July 2007 through the North Lanarkshire Equal Access Development Partnership and is managed by Gill Scott with Kate Lindsay as Research Fellow. The project as a whole looks at how SUI fits within employability service delivery and policy making. The projects included in the research are designed to support those who are some distance from the labour market but wish to enter or re-enter employment. Part of the research involved the recruitment and training of a group of peer researchers (community researchers) who then carried out research as part of a consultation managed by Equal Access Glasgow. Following this piece of work the community researchers were supported to deliver training to service users in the Equal funded Get On Project in Edinburgh. Visit http://www.serviceuser.org/ for more information. Contact Kate Lindsay at Kate.Lindsay@gcu.ac.ukSocial Inclusion Literature Review
December 2006 to February 2007. This project provided an overview of recent UK research into the relationship between communications technologies and social inclusion. It involved a rapid literature review and analysis to identify key recurring themes and findings from published research. Analysis was also undertaken of UK survey data on trends in access to and uptake of a range of information and communications technologies (ICTs). The project identified considerable evidence of a persistent ‘digital divide’ in the UK. The project was undertaken in collaboration with the Centre for Research into Socially Inclusive Services at Heriot-Watt University. Project funded by OFCOM. Contact Stephen Sinclair at Stephen.Sinclair@gcu.ac.ukClosing the Opportunity Gap: Phase 1 Evaluation
June 2006 to January 2007. Working in partnership with Inclusion, this four month project was commissioned by the Scottish Executive Social Inclusion Division to evaluate the impact of the main anti poverty programme in Scotland. The project involves a literature-based contextual commentary, secondary analysis of large scale surveys and other data sets, and qualitative research with minority and equality groups. Contact John McKendrick at J.McKendrick@gcu.ac.ukMoney Advice Projects for Vulnerable Groups.
2004 to 2007. This project evaluated 11 money advice projects that aimed to improve access to services for hard to reach groups including disabled people, lone parents, prisoners, young people and people with learning disabilities or mental health problems. The evaluation involved a range of methods, including qualitative interviews with 150 individuals. Funded by the Scottish Executive. Contact Morag Gillespie at Morag.Gillespie@gcu.ac.ukMoney Advice Projects for Vulnerable Groups.
July 2004 to June 2006. A two year project evaluating local authority and voluntary sector projects funded under a new Scottish Executive initiative. Contact Morag Gillespie at Morag.Gillespie@gcu.ac.ukClosing the Opportunity Gap: Scoping Study for Evaluation.
To 2006. Working in partnership with Inclusion, SPIU presented options for a multi-tier evaluation of the Scottish Executive’s anti-poverty programme to appraise progress towards meeting Target, Objectives and Aims. Contact John McKendrick at J.McKendrick@gcu.ac.ukWorking For Families – Rosemount HNC Pilot.
October 2004 to June 2005. An evaluation of an integrated support project for mothers entering full time HNC course, funded by Glasgow City Council.Contact Brenda Graham at B.M.Graham@gcu.ac.uk
Mentoring and Employability.
June 2003 to May 2005. An evaluation of mentoring supporting disadvantaged groups moving toward employment, funded by the Scottish Executive and EQUAL. Contact Louise Dobbie at L.Dobbie@gcu.ac.ukBenefits Advice in the Transition to Employment.
May 2003 to April 2005. A two year research and training project examining the role of advice services for marginalised groups during transitions to employment. The project aimed to understand more about the role of advice in supporting transitions to work for disadvantaged groups and to conduct research and develop resources to inform mainstream practice. The first stage of the project involved a literature review on the role of advice in supporting transitions to work. Research amongst advice providers and advice service users in the second stage involved questionnaire surveys and qualitative interviews. Funded: EQUAL Theme A: European Commission and Scottish Executive. Contact Morag Gillespie at Morag.Gillespie@gcu.ac.ukAccess to Leisure and Social Activities.
January to March 2005. A three month study mapping existing and planned national government initiatives designed to increase access to leisure and social activities for children living in poverty. Funded by Save the Children Scotland. Contact John McKendrick at J.McKendrick@gcu.ac.ukGender and Ethnicity Impact Assessment.
September 2004 to February 2005. This action research project aimed to develop the capacity of community researchers to carry out a gender and ethnicity impact assessment of social inclusion partnership and community planning activities. The research was conducted through a number of community based organisations and examined community members’ perceptions of issues of gender and ethnicity in the Greater Govan Social Inclusion Partnership area. In addition to the community researcher work a gender and ethnicity audit of SIP funded organisations was carried out. Project funded by Oxfam and the Greater Govan Social Inclusion Partnership. Contact Kate Lindsay at Kate.Lindsay@gcu.ac.ukFunding Money Advice Services
The requirement for money advice has increased, however the funding future of this advice, especially that in the voluntary sector, is uncertain. This report reviews current services and considers future options. Research commissioned by Friends Provident Foundation. (Poverty. community and well-being)