Hi, I’m Sofia and I am a BSocSc Sociology student at the University of Manchester. I spent my summer working at Resolve Poverty as part of the Q-step programme which is a scheme run by the University of Manchester. Rida, my fellow Q-step partner, and I spent the summer looking at private sector organisations and researching their anti-poverty initiatives. The aim was to understand if the approaches made by these organisations were making a difference in peoples lives and improving their outcomes.

The project was based off the Money Matters programme which Resolve Poverty has put out partnering with Kellogg’s, helping families maximise their incomes and managing debts. With the data they collated, I was able to conduct research whilst I was on the programme, which enabled to me to practice the skills I have learnt on my degree. This was mainly qualitative research where I initially investigated companies that were improving the outcomes of people’s lives. Once this had been completed, relevant people within the companies/organisations were contacted to undergo interviews, interviewing 5 organisations in total.

Each interview was recorded, transcribed and analysed with thematic analysis where themes were created to code the information. This was then written in a case study. The findings from initiatives in the UK were compared to global ones in countries like Australia and Brazil.

Following my placement, I became more confident in working independently doing task by myself and working on individual sections of the research as well as improving my teamwork. Communication skills were key, making sure my colleague and I were up to date with what point of the research we were both at communicating daily made sure we knew exactly what to complete. The research skills I learnt on this fellowship were extremely valuable, conducting research first hand gave me the skills I need to take forward into my dissertation.  Time management was key in making sure each deadline was met, as this was a fast past project.

Overall, the placement was invaluable to me, and helped shape my future career goals, as I complete my final year.

You can read more about Sofia’s project here.

Written by Sofia Doherty Criscuolo, a third year Sociology Student 

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