Key Messages from Scotland’s Housing First Pathfinder Evaluation

Prof Sarah Johnsen and Dr Janice Blenkinsopp reflect on key learning from Scotland’s Housing First Pathfinder following publication of the evaluation’s final report. Scotland’s Housing First Pathfinder programme ran for three years from April 2019 and provided independent tenancies and support for 579 individuals across five areas: Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Stirling.  It served […]


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Social Innovation Partnership Learning Programme

New research published today by the Institute of Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE) at Heriot-Watt University could provide important lessons for the future delivery of public services in Scotland, helping to inform how these services respond to the impact of poverty on both individuals and their communities. The Social Innovation Partnership (SIP), a unique collaboration between […]


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Ending Street Homelessness Globally

The first global initiative aimed at ending street homelessness has revealed key ingredients for success along with common systemic barriers, new research from I-SPHERE, Heriot-Watt University has found. The Institute of Global Homelessness’ (IGH) A Place to Call Home, launched in 2017, is the first concerted effort to support cities across the globe to eradicate street homelessness. […]


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Homelessness Monitor England 2022 published today

The Homelessness Monitor: England 2022, our in-depth state of the nation report on homelessness trends across the country for Crisis has been published today. Headline findings include that Councils across England are warning of a rise in the number of people experiencing homelessness as the impact of the withdrawal of pandemic protections, such as the […]


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Meeting Housing Demand

In this blog Professor Glen Bramley reflects on decades of parliamentary and governmental inquiries into meeting housing demand and the significance of the latest report from the House of Lords’ Built Environment Committee. The House of Lords Built Environment Committee recently published a new report on Meeting Housing Demand [1]. Having contributed written evidence to […]


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Positionality, values and metaphysical stance in qualitative research

Contributing to debates on ‘positionality’ in social research, Profs Sarah Johnsen and Suzanne Fitzpatrick reflect on the methodological implications of researchers’ values, and in particular metaphysical stance.  These observations are the focus of a recently published journal paper which was inspired by their experiences during a study of the role of faith-based organisations (FBOs) in […]


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We are recruiting

I-SPHERE are currently recruiting for a part time Research Associate to join our team to work on the next phase of our flagship research on Destitution in the UK for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Find out more and apply for the post here The closing date is 16th January 2022.


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Understanding Attachment: Implications for Homelessness Service Provision

Dr Nikoletta Theodorou discusses some of the findings from her PhD, recently completed within I-SPHERE, and here focusses on frontline support worker responses to the attachment styles of people experiencing Multiple Exclusion Homelessness (MEH). A growing body of research has highlighted the prevalence of unresolved losses, trauma and childhood adversity affecting individuals with experience of […]


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I-SPHERE Newsletter

This newsletter provides a round-up of what the I-SPHERE team have been up to over the Summer and Autumn and what is coming up this winter. Appointments and Reviews Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick was appointed to Glasgow Alliance to End Homelessness Advisory Board.  The Advisory Board is made up of experts from public health, social policy, […]


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BAME Homelessness Research Intern

We are currently recruiting for our first of three paid research interns to undertake independent research on issues of race and homelessness in the UK as part of our exciting new Homelessness and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Groups in the UK: A knowledge and capacity building programme. Based anywhere in the UK, the post […]


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