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Staff Profile

Dr Deborah Harrison

Research Associate

  • Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 2579
  • Address: Newcastle University Business School
    Room 3.50, Frederick Douglass Centre
    Newcastle Helix
    2 Science Square
    Newcastle-upon-Tyne
    NE4 5TG
Background

Roles and Responsibilities

Deborah is a Research Associate focusing on the 'future of work'.

Background

Deborah's background is in public sector research, policy and service development. She has worked with a wide range of organisations including local authorities, NHS, emergency services, armed forces and the voluntary and community sector (VCS). Before joining Newcastle University, Deborah worked in a variety of academic and third sector positions including Coordinator of the North East Child Poverty Commission (NECPC), Research and Development Lead for the North of England Mental Health Development Unit (NEMHDU) and Service Designer for the national homeless charity Crisis.

Deborah's research interests span a breadth of issues related to work, inequalities and social justice. Recent research topics include: local responses to the recruitment and retention crisis in adult social care; employee representation and voice in the future of work; the role of public procurement in influencing work quality; organisational culture and workforce sustainability in the Fire and Rescue Service; and place-based approaches to systems change in the homelessness sector. She is passionate about participatory methods and the involvement of people with lived experience in research, service development and decision-making.

Qualifications

PhD in health services research, Newcastle University, 2012 (Thesis title: 'Redefining the Role of 'Non-Professionally Affiliated' Workers in Community Mental Health Care: A Qualitative Exploration of Co-Worker and Client Relationships') 

BSc (Hons) Psychology, Newcastle University, 2006

Previous Positions

  • Service Designer - Crisis (2020-21)
  • Research Fellow and Associate Lecturer - Northumbria University Business School (2019-20)
  • Coordinator - North East Child Poverty Commission (NECPC) - Institute for Local Governance, Durham University Business School (2015-18)
  • Research and Development Lead - North of England Mental Health Development Unit (NEMHDU) (2013-15)
  • Policy and Research Officer - National Energy Action (2011-13)
  • Freelance Researcher (2015-20), including work as a Carnegie UK Trust Associate (2019-20)

ORCID ID

0000-0002-5036-6698

Research

Research Interests 

Deborah's research interests span a range of issues related to work, inequalities and social justice. Within the 'future of work' theme, these include:

  • Work quality/decent work
  • The future of frontline service work in health and social care
  • Employee voice and representation
  • Skills transitions 

Wider interests include:

  • Public sector restructuring and workforce change
  • Involvement of people with lived experience in decision-making, governance and coproduction of services
  • Social value and the role of business in community development and regeneration 

Current Work

  • Supporting decent work in UK social care: Local responses, employment relations and frontline experience (HASS Faculty Research Fund, 2023-24)
  • Understanding and enhancing productivity in an organisational context (The Productivity Institute, 2023-24)

Recent Work

  • Engineering Futures (Alex Ferry Foundation, 2020-22)
  • Making Procurement Work for All: Procurement Practices as a Route to Fulfilling Work (Carnegie UK Trust, 2018-20) Making Procurement Work for All - Carnegie UK Trust
  • Measuring and improving workplace culture at Cleveland Fire Brigade (2019-20)
  • Evaluation of Gateshead Council's 'Making Every Contact Count' (MECC) public health programme (2019)

Funding 

  • The Productivity Institute - Understanding and Enhancing Productivity in an Organizational Context: Creating Value and Inclusive Growth for UK plc - £19k, 2023-24
  • Newcastle University Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) Faculty Research Fund - Supporting decent work in UK social care: Local responses, employment relations and frontline experience - £4k, 2023-24
  • National Institute for Health Research - North East Applied Research Collaboration (NE-ARC) - Mapping 'Making Every Contact Count' (MECC) implementation across the North East and Cumbria: A comparative analysis of delivery models, service reach and system-level relationships - £48k, 2020-22
  • Carnegie UK Trust - Making Procurement Work for All (Stage 3 advocacy work) - £15k, 2019-20
  • Cleveland Fire Brigade - Improving and Measuring Workplace Culture in Cleveland Fire Brigade - £40k, 2019
  • Gateshead Council - Evaluation of Gateshead Council's 'Making Every Contact Count' programme - £37k, 2019
  • Carnegie UK Trust - Procurement and Fulfilling Work: Research and development project - £38k, 2018-19
  • Big Lottery Reaching Communities Fund - A Day Out, Not a Handout: North East 2017 Summer Holiday Project, £380k, 2017-18
  • Millfield House Foundation - Strategic Partnership: Provision of research and policy support to the North East Child Poverty Commission - £120k, 2016-19
  • North East Child Poverty Trust - Regional child poverty feasibility study - £10k, 2015-16
  • Middlesbrough and Stockton Mind - Research input and evaluation of the Middlesbrough and Stockton Mind 'Living Life' service - £15k, 2014-15
  • Finchale Training College - Evaluation of the Finchale College mental health 'Transitions' programme - £40k, 2014-16
  • Middlesbrough and Stockton Mind - User-focused evaluation of the Middlesbrough and Stockton Mind Carers' Support Service - £10k, 2014
Publications