Research team
We have research teams based in London and in Northern
Ireland and we are also supported by a number of research associates.
Our staff come from a range of disciplines and have a
variety of expertise.
London team
Becky Fauth,
Assistant Director
Ivana La
Valle, Director
Jen Gibb, Research
Officer
Joanna Lea, Research
Officer
Helena
Jelicic, Senior Research Officer
Rachel Blades,
Senior Research Officer
Becky Fauth,
Assistant Director
PhD Developmental Psychology
MSc Applied Statistics
BA Psychology and Anthropology
Becky Fauth is Assistant Director at the NCB Research
Centre. She joined the Centre as Principal Research
Officer in 2008. A developmental psychologist by training, Becky
has over 10 years experience as a social science researcher
conducting policy relevant research and evaluation on children and
families, focusing primarily on children growing up in
poverty. She previously worked as a Research Scientist at the
National Center for Children and Families at Columbia University
(USA) and as a Senior Researcher at The Work Foundation in
London.
Becky's methodological expertise is in quantitative methods,
mixed-method evaluations and systematic literature reviews. She
previously worked in social care with children and young
people.
Becky is currently on maternity leave.
Email: bfauth@ncb.org.uk
Direct tel: 020 7833 6814
Ivana La
Valle, Director
MSc Advanced Social Research Methods
BA Politics
Ivana joined the NCB Research Centre as Director in
2009. Previously Ivana worked at the National Centre
for Social Research (NatCen) for 11 years, where for the last six
years she directed a group specialising in research on children and
their families.
Ivana has a long-standing interest in family policy and
extensive experience of conducting research on childcare and early
years education, parenting support and family-work reconciliation.
Since the introduction of the National Childcare Strategy in 1998
she has been involved in some key studies, which have been used to
monitor the implementation of the Strategy and inform its
development (e.g. the DfE Parents Childcare Survey series;
the DfE Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey series, the
evaluations of Wraparound Care pilots; Neighbourhood Nurseries and
of the Free Offer for Disadvantaged Two Year Olds).
Ivana has considerable experience of evaluating parenting
support programmes. While at NatCen she co-directed the national
evaluation of Children's Centres, a large-scale, mixed-methods
study which aimed to provide a powerful and wide-range
evidence-base on the best way of supporting children and their
families. She directed the evaluation of Family Support
Projects (FIPs), which provide intensive support to families with
the highest level of need.
Ivana also has extensive experience of researching the interface
between work and family life: she directed the first detailed study
carried out in this country on the influence of atypical work on
family life and has written extensively on a range of
family-work reconciliation issues.
Email: ilavalle@ncb.org.uk
Direct tel: 020 7843 6072
Jen Gibb, Research
Officer
MA Social Policy
MSc Social Research Methods
Jen joined the NCB Research Centre as a Research Officer in
2010, prior to which she worked at the Thomas Coram Research Unit
at IOE. Jen is experienced in using both qualitative and
quantitative methods in a range of research and evaluation projects
related to services for children and families, including early
years provision, youth justice and health.
More recently, Jen has been working on a study of a DfE initiative
providing free early education for two year olds; analyzing pre and
post data from participants in the Youth4U- Young Inspectors
programme; and evaluating the educational benefits of the National
Top Trumps Tournament in schools. Currently she is conducting
research with local authorities piloting Payments by Results for
Children's Centres and is supporting the development of an
evaluation of advocacy for children going through Child Protection
proceedings.
She is particularly interested in the mental health and
emotional well-being of school-aged children and is currently
undertaking a PHD focusing on links between communication and
confiding with parents and anxiety and somatic symptoms in 7- 11
year olds.
Email: jgibb@ncb.org.uk
Direct tel: 020 7843 6324
Joanna Lea, Research
Officer
MSc Social Research Methods
BA Geography
Joanna has been a Research Officer at the NCB Research Centre
since early 2011, having previously worked as Research Assistant at
NCB since 2009. Prior to joining NCB, Joanna worked for
international NGOs on research to develop community projects.
Joanna is experienced using quantitative and qualitative methods
for research and evaluation and has worked on projects covering a
diversity of topics relating to children and young people. These
include childminding practice, the participation of disabled
children and young people in decision-making, and links between
care and custody. Joanna plays a key role in involving
children and young people in the work of the NCB Research Centre,
supporting the Young NCB Research Advisors.
Email: jlea@ncb.org.uk
Direct tel: 020 7843 6338
Helena
Jelicic, Senior Research Officer
PhD Applied Child and Youth Development
MA Applied Child and Youth Development
BA Psychology
Helena joined the NCB Research Centre in 2009, having
previously worked as a quantitative data analyst on the Effective
Pre-school, Primary, and Secondary Education 3-14 (EPPSE 3-14)
Project at the Institute of Education, University of London and as
a researcher at the Institute for Applied Research in Youth
Development, Tufts University (USA).
Helena's areas of interest and expertise include applied
evidence based research, quantitative methods and longitudinal
studies that can inform policies and programs serving children,
young people and their families.
Email: hjelicic@ncb.org.uk
Direct tel: 020 7843 6076
Rachel Blades, Senior Research
Officer
MRes Urban Geography
BA Geography
Rachel joined the NCB Research Centre as a Senior Research
Officer in 2007. She is a highly experienced researcher and
project manager currently leading on research into children and
young people's participation in strategic health service decisions
for the Office of the Children's Commissioner. Rachel has extensive
experience of qualitative research with children and families,
including disadvantaged groups and recently led NCB's research into
looked after children's views on the links between being in care
and offending.
She has managed a wide range of large and small scale, short and
long term evaluations such as the evaluations of Play England, the
Young Children's Voices Network, and the Life Routes Programme.
Rachel is also experienced in research designed to identify and
disseminate good practice. She has interviewed policymakers and
practitioners to establish what works well and why in a range of
settings and produced accessible reports for children's services
audiences. Previously, Rachel worked at Ecorys where she
carried out research and evaluation for varied national government
departments and organisations and managed several local authority
evaluations.
Email: rblades@ncb.org.uk
Direct tel: 020 7843 6336
Northern Ireland team
Rachel
Shannon, Research Officer
Richard
Nugent, Senior Research Officer
Teresa
Garaghty, Senior Research and Development Officer
Rachel
Shannon, Research Officer
PhD Community Disaster Risk Reduction
MRes Environmental Science
BSc Geography
Rachel is a Research Officer at NCB NI and has recently
completed a PhD exploring community vulnerability and resilience to
environmental hazards in Indonesia.
Prior this Rachel worked as a Research Assistant on the
Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance (ELRHA)
project at the University of Ulster, exploring social learning
and boundary work between the scientific and humanitarian
communities.
Rachel is experienced in conducting fieldwork in a variety
of settings, including overseas data collection on the tsunami
threatened island of Sumatra. She is also experienced in gathering
data from a range of research participants including scientistics,
community members and voluntary sector employees.
Email: rshannon@ncb.org.uk
Tel: 028 9089 1730
Richard
Nugent, Senior Research Officer
PhD Education
PG Dip Social Research Methods
MSc European Integration Studies
PGCE Economics and Business Studies
BSc Agricultural Economics and Management
Richard is a Senior Research Officer who recently joined
NCB having worked for seven years at PriceWaterhouseCooper's
International Survey Unit. Richard has worked on a wide variety of
social research projects, many of which have had an educational
aspect to them, including a longitudinal study of the Building
Schools for the Future programme.
Richard has managed many large scale, mixed method
studies. These have combined qualitative and quantitative
research techniques and involved the application of statistical
tests including regression.
Richard is currently working on two large longitudinal research
projects. One examines the pathways young people take after
compulsory education (employment, training or study), the other
exploring young people's access to ICT at home.
Email: rnugent@ncb.org.uk
Tel: 028 9089 1730
Teresa
Geraghty, Senior Research and Development Officer
MSc Women's Studies
MSc Rural Development
BSc Community Youth Work
Teresa has substantial experience of working in the field of
research and policy in Northern Ireland. She has carried out
research with a wide range of children and young people including
disabled young people, looked after children and pre-school
children.
Teresa is experienced in carrying out literature and
evidence reviews and policy analysis.
Email: tgeraghty@ncb.org.uk
Tel: 028 9089 1730
Our
research associates
Alice Reeves
Clarissa White
Alice Reeves
MPhil Philosophy
BA Philosophy
Alice has been working with the NCB Research Centre on an
Associate for three years. She is experienced in both quantitative
and qualitative methods. She previously worked at NatCen Social
Research for six years, managing a number of national
studies, mainly government-sponsored, in the field of
children and families. Topics included childcare and early years
education, child maintenance, support for families with high-level
needs, and how single parents make decisions about childcare and
work. Alice also undertook methodological work around research with
children, focusing on survey research and ethics, and ran an annual
training event on research with children and young people.
Clarissa
White
BSc Politics and Psychology
Clarissa has over 20 years' experience as an independent
researcher working for NatCen Social Research and
TNS-BMRB. Throughout her career she has specialised in
social research and evaluation of government policy for children,
young people and their families. Recent contracts she has
managed include: the evaluation of the Free School Meals Pilot, the
evaluation of Family Interventions (now part of the Troubled
Families Programme), an exploration of age portrayal in the media
for the BBC on behalf of the Creative Diversity Network, the
evaluation of the Intensive Intervention Projects for young people
and the evaluation of the Graduate Leader Fund. Between 2008 and
2010 she spent just over two years at the Department for Education
(DfE) establishing the Families Research and Analysis Team working
very closely with the Families Policy Group. Clarissa has written
and taught about qualitative research methods - specifically
research with children and young people, reporting qualitative
research, the design and use of focus groups and qualitative
deliberative activities.