“What do you do?” is a question that often comes up in conversation with someone you’re meeting for the first time or haven’t seen in a while. Some people (teachers, lawyers and doctors, for instance) have a simpler time answering this question than others (me).
My answers – “I’m a consultant” or “I work for a policy and economic consultancy” – are often met with a look of curiosity and/or slight panic. If my interlocutor does muster the courage to ask another question (rather than politely changing the subject), it will invariably be, “What does that mean?”.
My usual instinct is to explain my job using examples of projects. Luckily, SQW’s bread and butter is conducting interesting, varied projects in relation to social and economic development for a wide range of clients. For example, recently, we have supported: the British Film Institute understand the impact of two of its funds; the Office for Students and Research England to develop the evidence base on the nature of (and benefits from) students’ engagement in knowledge exchange activities; the Care Quality Commission to review improvement cultures in health and social care, and; Homes England improve understanding of social value in delivering new housing.
I’m particularly proud of the work we’ve been doing recently for the Youth Team at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). This began with three separate projects collectively called the Youth Evidence Base, and we’ve published a brief summary of these projects on the SQW website, here.
This project provides a good example of what SQW does, and why this is rewarding:
- We answer interesting, timely questions about issues that really matter. The Youth Evidence Base addresses three separate but related questions about the impact on young people of involvement in youth activities. The questions reflect a gap in the existing knowledge base and something both DCMS and wider youth sector want to know the answers to. Our research therefore has immediacy, relevance and impact
- We form close and long-standing relationships with clients. SQW’s clients are invariably passionate, knowledgeable and energetic, and the team at DCMS was no exception. We were delighted when the Youth Team recommissioned us to undertake further research for them building on the Youth Evidence Base findings and recommendations
- We work with partners collaboratively. SQW led the Youth Evidence Base research in partnership with the universities of Warwick and Essex, and the national charity, UK Youth. We also worked with a fantastic youth panel of young people from across the UK aged 16 to 25, who helped us shape the project and interpret our findings. SQW works with a diverse range of Associates and partners, enabling us to develop our own understanding through drawing on a wide range of perspectives, skills and experiences
- We share and disseminate our findings widely. We wrote full research reports and accompanying executive summaries providing an overview of the main messages (published on GOV.UK). We also provided a top-level summary of the research on the SQW website, here, and social media posts on X and LinkedIn. I encouraged schools to work more closely with the youth sector in an article for Schools Week, here, and highlighted some of the key messages across the three projects for Children and Young People Now, here.
So when I’m asked ‘what do you do?’, this is the sort of answer I’ll give! If you’d like to talk to us about our work, please get in touch. Likewise, if you’d be interested in working for us, keep an eye on our careers page where we post information about new jobs.