Ceri Davies, Director of the Centre for Deliberative Research, NatCen

As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
A vet! I was all about animal welfare (no coincidence we now have a rescue greyhound), organising petitions against mass live horse transport to Europe before I hit double figures and badgering my neighbours to sign.

When did you first turn towards a social research career?
I studied biology at the University of Bangor as an undergraduate, so it wasn’t until my MSc at Cranfield University when I chose a ‘communities and development’ elective to my course (Natural Resource Management). I spent the fieldwork for my thesis in Uganda, working in rural communities on a ‘social evaluation’ of technology for clean water supply. It was a bit of lightbulb moment – that communities were the experts in any attempt to transform the social issues they experienced and that a combination of research/evidence and action could be powerful.

What was your first professional job?
And first project there? I worked for the North Devon & Exmoor Regeneration company as a community development worker. My first project was supporting a community hub in Westward Ho! helping to develop and deliver a project that supported older people in their IT skills.

Where did your career go next? What motivated that/those moves?
I went to the Scarman Trust based in Brighton, to run a small grants programme that supported community groups addressing health inequalities. From there, it was on to the University of Brighton to run their Community Knowledge Exchange - a participatory research programme that brought together academics and community organisations on issues of social disadvantage.

I also spent (and still do) time on charity boards and in community activity, so I’ve always had one foot in research, and one in practice. In particular I’m motivated by the difference bringing different knowledges and perspectives together can make to understanding issues and creating change. Whilst at UoB I also completed my PhD which furthered this, looking at the role research can play in contributing to social issues/justice by breaking down the barriers between ‘science’ and society. NatCen was my first foray into agency life and I was optimistic it could give me an opportunity to continue having one foot in thinking and one in doing and continue to ‘make a difference’.

What has been your best professional moment?
Probably getting to launch the Centre for Deliberative Research last year, a real culmination of the things I had been thinking about and doing for nearly 15 years by that point. I’m extremely proud of that achievement and the potential there is for those of us working in and around participation and deliberation to drive change in citizen-institution relationships.

...and worst?
Being way out of my depth in my early 20s in the field in Uganda. I learned some seriously practical lessons in power, privilege and the potential of research to help or hinder societal issues.

Do you have a social research hero/heroine?
I have a trio of heroines! They are a bit more academic I guess, but Sandra Harding for her work on standpoint theory and Nancy Fraser and Iris Marion Young for their respective work on social justice and (social) justice and democracy; they have incredible vision for the work they do and explain complexity so beautifully. They have given me ways to articulate and engage with what are for me some of the fundamentals of what I think is important and drive my curiosity; and I’ve been able to make some of these more philosophical ideas practical through social research projects.

Do you have a favourite quote?
I have two. Amelia Earhart said ‘The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity’ and Angela Davis said ‘You have to act as if it were possible to transform the world, and you have to do it all the time’. They are both keepers when I’m stuck, or when I need a reminder to keep going.

What would you say to encourage a young person today considering a social research career?
Social research really does have the power to change things and can be a glorious mix of intellect and practicality. If you can tap into what you care about, social research will offer you the privilege of having that overlap with your career. And… learn to collaborate and partner, it’s a great asset and the trick is to know that it takes others along the way to help you get where you are going.