Head of the Institute for Community Studies
Isabella joined The Young Foundation in early 2024. She was previously Head of Qualitative Research Methods at Ipsos’s Social Research Institute, where she developed and led their social research training programme, founded their in-house Research Ethics Group, and led many large, complex and sensitive qualitative and evaluation studies for government departments.
Isabella is a qualitative and mixed methods expert with more than 15 years’ experience in researching vulnerable audiences. Her policy interests and research experience range widely, and include welfare support, housing, early years/ childcare, immigration, access to justice, and health inequalities. Her published research includes the evaluation work on the resettlement of Syrian refugees for the Home Office and the development of the Living Home Standard for Shelter.
Isabella has held a number of voluntary posts. Until recently, she was a trustee of the Social Research Association, where she led on advocacy and work on diversity and inclusion in the research profession, culminating in research published by The Young Foundation. She also recently served as Chair of the Board of a leading refugee and migrants’ charity (2017-2021) and was a founder member of Ipsos’s internal ethnic minority staff network, REACH.
At the Institute of Community Studies, Isabella works to bring the transformative and participatory dimensions of research practice to wider audiences through evidencing the difference these approaches make for communities.