Researcher / Consultant

Giorgia Iacopini, MA, MSc

I joined the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (TIHR) as a Researcher/ Consultant in September 2009. Since joining, I have worked on a range of research and evaluation projects including: the Evaluation of Prevent programmes for Tower Hamlets (current), Birmingham and Peterborough City Councils; an action-research project to address behaviour change and teenage pregnancy for Brighton and Hove and the Evaluation of the Timely Information to Citizens pilots for Department of Communities and Local Government. I was also one of the TIHR consultants for the national workshops on local evaluation guidance of the Prevent programme and projects.

Alongside research and evaluation work, I have also been involved in the Group Relations programme of the TIHR and I worked as a consultant at the “Innovation and authority in organisations” Group Relations conference held in Vilnius, Lithuania, in September 2010.

Prior to joining the Institute, I worked as a Researcher for a variety of think tanks, such as the New Local Government Network (NLGN), Policy Studies Institute and CERFE group in Rome, Italy. I worked on research projects which covered a variety of policy areas including the local environment, worklessness, social care services and local democracy. I have also worked as a Housing Strategy officer for Westminster City Council.

I have an MA in Political Studies and International Relations and an MSc in Social and Political Theory from the University of Edinburgh and I have a particular interest in discourse analysis and the relations between discourse and power. Within this, my research interests include questions relating to public service reform, local governance and community cohesion. In particular, I am interested in the exploration of how individuals and groups of people experience “place” and how representations of place influence sense of belonging and identity. Alongside this, I have an interest in the ways in which people can be empowered to affect change in their own communities.

Publications include:

• Better with Age: remodeling care for older people
• The Local Journey to Work
• 21st Century Democracy - epetitioning and local government
• Families Matter - reshaping local services to support families
• Local Experiences, Global Perspectives - local government across the world (ed)