Reader in Contemporary Theatre and Performance and Director of Schools Engagement (Drama)
Dr Maggie Inchley's research investigates the articulation of identity in contemporary writing and performance. Recently, she has been exploring themes such as the gendered aspects of vocal performance, and the cultural audibility of young people.
An engaged researcher, Maggie has been leading an AHRC-funded collaborative project to explore how socially engaged performance can provide opportunities for co-design with young people, especially those who are most frequently excluded from the academy.
In collaboration with People’s Palace Projects, The Verbatim Formula (TVF), uses techniques of verbatim theatre to gather testimonies from children and adults with experience of the children’s care system, aiming to create spaces for dialogue and change. Using participatory research methods, creative practices and verbatim performance techniques (where words from real people are used exactly as they were spoken), TVF has enabled children in care to share their stories authentically – giving them the power to shape their own narratives and inform policy discussions.
Maggie highlights that it was her existing relationships with individuals and organisations that proved invaluable for building new policy connections and that it often takes time and effort to build trusting relationships.
For example, a care leaver Maggie was already working with had ties to Wandsworth's care system and recommended Maggie to the Children's Services Manager. Through discussions with the Manager about the project, Maggie was able to collaborate with the Children in Care Council of Wandsworth, a vital community where children in care can connect and find solidarity in their experiences. This led to a series of events at the Battersea Arts Centre which involved social workers, people working in foster care, civil servants from the Department for Education (DfE) and care-experienced young people who had the opportunity to share their experiences of being in the care system.
As is often the case with academic-policy engagement, new connections sprung about from the networking at these events. Notably, a representative from the DfE who was in attendance invited Maggie to conduct a similar event for civil servants and the Minister for Children at the time, Nadhim Zahawi.
Policy impact doesn’t just happen at a wider systems level; depending on the context, impact can also take place at a more personal level. Through Maggie’s partnership with Wandsworth’s Children in Care Council, tangible progress was made at the local level, directly impacting people's lives. The testimonials shared using verbatim techniques informed the training Maggie led with people who work in care and education. It was these personal accounts that ultimately led the practitioners to reflect on their own practices and on how the way in which they implement policies affects young people. Even if it’s just small changes in practice, these small things can have huge impacts on young people’s lives.
Policymakers often start their searches for academic expertise online so it’s crucial that you appear as a credible source online – have a consistent profile across X, LinkedIn, your institutional profile, Research Gate, Google Scholar
Ensure you have a professional, up to date and findable online profile and presence. Policymakers often start their searches for academic expertise online so it’s crucial that you appear as a credible source online – have a consistent profile across X, LinkedIn, your institutional profile, Research Gate, Google Scholar, etc. For example, Maggie’s expertise in verbatim techniques is well-documented online.
As a result, she was identified by The Conversation, a leading publisher of research-based news and analysis, and invited to write a review of a play at the National Theatre that utilised verbatim techniques. The review was subsequently read by someone in the Home Office who invited Maggie to share her knowledge during a training day with civil servants in central London. This opportunity to interact directly with approximately 30 civil servants allowed her and her co-researchers to inform policy discussions.
Maggie and her team are keen to delve deeper into the history of children in care across various contexts and locations. In April 2024, Maggie and her team will be hosting creative workshops at an event at the Foundling Museum. Working within the Museum, built on the site of the Foundling Hospital, has given Maggie’s team a unique platform to explore historical narratives, particularly those dating back to the 18th century. They have been particularly interested in uncovering stories of children from the Black and Asian diaspora during the British Empire, and exploring how these resonate with experiences of children’s care today.
In an upcoming event on 17 April 2024 (3pm and 6pm), the co-researchers will explore practices of record-keeping in children’s care, how these can marginalize young people’s own voices. TVF’s co-researchers will offer creative methodologies for self-narration and care-ful listening.
This case study was supported by Audrey Tan (Policy Partnerships Manager, Mile End Institute) and Maja Wawrzynowicz (Policy Associate, Mile End Institute). If you’re interested in learning more about how you can build policy engagement into your own work, check out the Queen Mary Policy Hub’s Learning Resources and Policy Engagement How-To Guides.