I did both my BA and MSc at the OU so I was familiar with OU practices before I decided to do a PhD. I did look at some other universities but they seemed closed to distance learning students. The OU is already very well set up for this so this attracted me.
"I believe I got far more assistance at the OU than I would have got at any other more traditional university."
I did my PhD with the OU Business School with supervisors Dr Kristen Reid, Dr Jill Mordaunt and Dr Leslie Budd, and was impressed by how good the OU was at explaining what was on offer to me. My supervisors helped me to decide on my theme and focus my ideas into a coherent project plan.
My thesis examines the process of a European Union funding programme and its implementation within a network context, and asks how institutional and network factors influence which organisations acquire funding. It focuses on one European programme and one project partnership that was successful in gaining funds, and details the processes and influences that determined the way in which such programmes are developed and funds are distributed.
I decided to focus on the structural barriers that voluntary organisations in particular face when they are seeking funding. I looked at how money filters down to grassroots organisations, and how this is affected by decisions and processes within governing organisations such as the Welsh Government and European Commission. I found that institutional rules and norms shaped the mechanisms by which funding was distributed, which in turn affected which organisations were able to access funding. I also found that there are certain voluntary organisations that will get funding due to how they have orientated themselves.
My call to Government as a result of my research is that they need to take into account that not all organisations that can deliver high quality outcomes are geared up to complete heavy duty paperwork. Many of these organisations would be highly effective in achieving government goals of reducing economic inactivity and disadvantage, but they are not being given the support to do so because of these bureaucratic barriers. There is a huge pool of talent that Governments can use if they can just embrace the holistic approaches championed by some voluntary sector organisations instead of throttling them with paperwork.
When I started my research, I had been working in grant-making for the Big Lottery Fund and the Arts Council of Wales. I now manage the Wales Governance Centre in Cardiff University; a job I got just before I finished my PhD which I believe was a direct result of my studies.
When asked how my research will change the world, I don’t think it will, but if it changes just one tiny part of it here in Wales, then that would be lovely. If the Welsh Government took notice and reformed their European Social Fund programme, then organisations that are getting fantastic results could continue to do so in bigger numbers.