Change Talk

Imogen Blood
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Change Talk explores the complex dynamics of social change through insightful conversations with experts, practitioners, and thought leaders. Hosted by Imogen Blood, a social research consultant and MSC training specialist, this podcast delves into practical approaches for creating meaningful change in society. Imogen runs a social research company: https://www.imogenblood.co.uk/

Episodes

  1. Andrew Redfern. Save our Supported Housing!

    11/20/2025

    Andrew Redfern. Save our Supported Housing!

    Change Talk

    1h 1m
  2. Lived Experience Voices

    10/23/2025

    Lived Experience Voices

    Please subscribed to the channel, like and/or leave a comment In this episode of ChangeTalk, I'm joined by representatives from three different lived experience groups working in different parts of England to improve services for people experiencing homelessness, multiple & compound needs, addiction, and poverty. Monica from LEAF in Oxford, Astrid from Lived Insights in York and Nicky & Cindy from Common Ambition in Brighton & Hove. We reflect on the benefits of lived experience involvement/ co-production, what it takes to do this well, what changes have come about as a result of their work and what needs to happen next. 'It needs to be in the core of how things are done'. Common Ambition: https://www.bhcommonambition.org Lived Insights: https://livedinsights.org/ LEAF: https://oxfordgatehouse.org/services-activities/leaf/ Imogen runs a social research consultancy Imogen Blood & Associates (IBA): https://www.imogenblood.co.uk/ IBA is proud to have worked with each of these three groups: With LEAF on the Housing-led Feasibility Study for Oxfordshire: https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/housing-models-and-access/oxfordshire-feasibility-study/ With Lived Insights on the York Drug & Alcohol Strategy With Common Ambition on the Evaluation of the Changing Futures Multi-disciplinary Team: https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-04/IBA%20CF%20MDT%20Evaluation%20Final%20Report%2003032025.pdf and recently in looking at Oasis Project's women-only drug and alcohol support services. Chapters 1:08 - Introductions 7:07 - Why co-produce? 15:50 - What does good look like? 35:25 - Impact and change 48:45 - What else needs to happen?

    1h 2m
  3. Jane Farrell on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

    10/09/2025

    Jane Farrell on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

    Please subscribe to the channel, like and/or leave a comment!! In this episode, I'm speaking to Jane Farrell (former co-founder and CEO of Equality Works/ EW Group) who has spent over 30 years improving diversity and equity in workplaces . We talk about unconscious bias, institutional discrimination, equality monitoring, building a business case, what it means to take a strategic approach to Diversity, Equity Inclusion (and how you can do this on a tight budget). Jane Farrell Consultancy: https://www.janefarrellconsultancy.com Imogen runs a social research consultancy Imogen Blood & Associates: https://www.imogenblood.co.uk/ Imogen specialises in Equality Impact Assessment, and the analysis of equality monitoring data. Discussed in the podcast: 1999: Report of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-stephen-lawrence-inquiry On racial inequalities in UK maternity services https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmwomeq/94/report.html Evidence for business case for DEI: McKinsey: Diversity matters even more (2023): https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-matters-even-more-the-case-for-holistic-impact Deloitte: Missing out: The business case for customer diversity: https://www.deloitte.com/au/en/services/consulting/perspectives/business-case-customer-diversity.html Chapters 1:09 - Introduction 2:13 - Finding hope in tough times 07:35 - Social class 11:39 - Doing DEI on a shoestring 16:24 - Access, Experience, Outcome 17:55 - Unconscious bias 23:26 - Institutional Discrimination 27:39 - Monitoring data 32:24 - DEI is life or death 35:09 - Strategic approach in a criminal justice setting 42:39 - Workforce and/or service provision 45:44 - Building a business case 50:53 - DEI in the care sector 53:39 - Advice for those working on DEI

    59 min
  4. Penelope Green on Mental Health Supported Housing

    09/25/2025

    Penelope Green on Mental Health Supported Housing

    Please subscribe to the channel, like and/or leave a comment!! In this episode, we hear from Penelope Green, who left the civil service (after 18 years, holding senior roles at the Department of Health & Social Care and the Cabinet Office) to work for Look Ahead, a supported housing provider. We talk about the benefits of supported housing for people with mental health conditions and for the NHS, and reflect on opportunities to better integrate housing into Neighbourhood Health initiatives. Penelope Green: https://www.linkedin.com/in/penelope-green-83a78985/ Imogen runs a social research consultancy Imogen Blood & Associates: https://www.imogenblood.co.uk/ IBA's report for the Greater London Authority on Mental Health Supported Housing is due to be published in late 2025. Discussed in the podcast: Look Ahead: https://www.lookahead.org.uk Wates Family Enterprise Trust: https://www.wfet.org.uk Nat Fed #SOSHousing: https://www.housing.org.uk/our-work/supported-housing/save-our-supported-housing/ Penelope's report: The future of supported housing – how can we deliver more, faster: Scaling capital funding https://www.lookahead.org.uk/we-have-the-capital-now-lets-build-the-homes-say-experts/ HACT – Housing and health services: https://hact.org.uk/tools-and-services/housing-services/ Oaklands St Kilda’s Community Rehabilitation Supported Living Service for young people: https://www.lookahead.org.uk/app/uploads/2025/03/Oaklands-brochure.pdf Sussex MH and housing strategy: https://hact.org.uk/publications/mental-health-and-housing-a-strategic-plan-for-integrating-housing-and-mental-health-across-sussex/ NHS England: Neighbourhood health guidelines 2025/6: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/neighbourhood-health-guidelines-2025-26/ Chapters 0:00 - Intro 1:23 - Look Ahead's supported housing 3:20 - Role in Neighbourhood Health 6:40 - Securing NHS funding for housing support 14:35 - Scaling up in a complex system? 19:15 - Asks of central government: raising profile 23:26 - Barriers to central government action 32:38 - Asks of central government: Housing Benefit 39:10 - Ideal size of mental health schemes 42:23 - Profile and skills of workforce 50:12 - How to change local systems 55:12 - Integrating Housing in Neighbourhood Health

    1h 2m

  5. 08/21/2025

    Mark John-Williams on Circles Of Support

    In this episode, we hear from Mark John-Williams who has over 40 years experience in the care and support sector about the Circles of Support model and how it can mobilise family, friends, neighbours and acquaintances to provide support for an individual. Mark John-Williams: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-john-williams-99519289/ His short video on Circles of Support: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2ybw3DFVEQ Imogen runs a social research consultancy Imogen Blood & Associates: https://www.imogenblood.co.uk/ She provides training on positive risk-taking in care and support. She also provides MSC training: https://www.seralliance.org/ Discussed in the podcast: Supported Decision-Making: https://paradigm-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Print-copy-2023-MASTER-Supported-Decisions-Making-booklet-27-September-A5_Wiro_Bound_SEB.pdf.pdf Judith Snow: https://www.community-circles.co.uk/judith-snow-a-pioneer-woman/ The Harvard Longitudinal Study: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/01/harvard-happiness-study-relationships/672753/ Gather My Crew: https://www.gathermycrew.org.au Here 2 There/ For Mi: https://www.here2there.me.uk Hilary Cottam: Radical Help: https://www.hilarycottam.com/radical-help/ Chapters 0:00 - Intro 1:50 - What is a 'circle of support'? 5:05 - Steps involved in setting up a circle 11:05 - What if there's no one to invite? 14:55 - How fits with paid services 19:14 - Importance of relationships 22:44 - Positive risk-taking and safeguarding 33:15 - Relevance to homelessness/ addiction 36:13 - Learning from the pandemic 41:22 - Using apps to facilitate 47:53 - Knowing how to help 50:30 - Spreading the model 1:02:00 - Reducing demand for health & care

    1h 8m
  6. Most Significant Change part 2 - A deep dive with Nick Andrews

    08/07/2025

    Most Significant Change part 2 - A deep dive with Nick Andrews

    Imogen revisits Most Significant Change - this time with Nick Andrews to explore the methodology in depth, discussing story collection, editing, and the transformative power of narrative evaluation in social care and beyond.   Further resources from DEEP on MSC: A Storytelling Framework for Social Care in Wales: https://insightcollective.socialcare.wales/a-storytelling-framework-for-social-care-in-wales MSC blog: https://insightcollective.socialcare.wales/whats-on/news-and-blogs/from-metrics-to-meaning-most-significant-change-as-a-learning-focused-approach-to-evaluation-in-wales MSC film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey0pk1clewI Discussed in the podcast: Rick Davies and Jess Dart: The Most Significant Change Technique - a guide to its use: https://mande.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/MSCGuide.pdf Neil Mercer on Oracy/ Exploratory Talk: https://oracycambridge.org/talk-rules/ Glen Robert: Experience-based Co-production: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXG0G1LrK3I Rupert Higham on Dialogue Learning: https://sms.cam.ac.uk/media/2158639/ Anne Edwards on Common Knowledge: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/person/anne-edwards/ Iain McGilchrist: The Matter with Things, podcast with Rebel Wisdom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U99dQrZdVTg ChangeTalk Podcast on Deep Democracy: https://youtu.be/1R_MMiCz6QE?si=pTxOPhqanhVH6o_l Imogen Blood for Joseph Rowntree Foundation - A Better Life: Valuing our Later Years: https://www.housinglin.org.uk/_assets/Resources/Housing/OtherOrganisation/older-people-support-full.pdf   Imogen runs a social research consultancy Imogen Blood & Associates: https://www.imogenblood.co.uk/ She also provides MSC training: https://www.seralliance.org/   Nick Andrews is based at the University of Swansea: He delivers the DEEP project, funded by Social Care Wales: https://insightcollective.socialcare.wales/developing-evidence-enriched-practice-deep-2     Chapters   0:00 - Introduction 1:22 - What is MSC? 3:18 - How to collect stories 9:04 - Neither life story nor case study 12:35 - What caused the change? 15:46 - Titles, editing, individuals v groups 20:22 - Panels: story selection 26:27 - When and why to use MSC? 38:48 - Limitations/ health warnings 45:45 - How to argue nicely 57:00 - MSC process creates change 01:10:00 - How we met/ Nick's work

    1h 16m
  7. Housing First with Nicholas Pleace

    07/18/2025

    Housing First with Nicholas Pleace

    Nicholas Pleace joins Imogen to discuss Housing First strategies, the European context, and how this approach is transforming homelessness services across the UK and beyond.   Nicholas and I first worked together on the Housing First Feasibility Study for the Liverpool City Region (Crisis, 2017): full report; summary version. Housing First Guide Europe (2016), Nicholas Pleace for FEANTSA https://www.feantsa.org/download/hfg_full_digital1907983494259831639.pdf Discussed in the podcast: US sociologist, Teresa Gowan identified 3 caricatures of homelessness: ‘sin-talk’, ‘sick-talk’ and ‘system-talk’, as described here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334047769_Street_Talk_Homeless_Discourses_and_the_Politics_of_Service_Provision Malcolm Gladwell: Million-Dollar Murray: The New Yorker, 02/05/2006: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/02/13/million-dollar-murray Blood, Birchall & Pleace (2021) Reducing, Changing, or Ending Housing First support, Homeless Link: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/197890/1/Reducing_changing_or_ending_Housing_First_support_2021_full_report.pdf Sam Tsemberis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Tsemberis In ‘A Traumatised System’ for Riverside, Nicholas and I describe the commissioning context for UK homelessness services: https://www.riverside.org.uk/care-and-support/homelessness-research-and-reports/a-traumatised-system/ Supporting People programme: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/rp12-40/ Housing First Fidelity Framework: we’ve recently published the framework Nicholas, Anita Birchall and I produced in 2019 here: https://www.imogenblood.co.uk/_files/ugd/775f77_2ccae7cd607e433da5c553c59081cd31.pdf   Imogen runs a social research consultancy Imogen Blood & Associates: https://www.imogenblood.co.uk/ She also provides MSC training: https://www.seralliance.org/   Chapters   00:00 - Nicholas’s research background 3:15 - Adapting Housing First into the European context 5:15 - What is Housing First? 9:45 - Why does it work for individuals? 13:15 - Systems change and Housing First 15:52 - Evidence-based intervention in homelessness 19:00 - Housing First’s origins in the US 23:28 - Finland’s Housing First strategy 26:02 - How Housing First developed in the UK 34:00 - Comparison to Housing First in Italy 35:30 - Impact of housing, health and care shortages on Housing First 39:00 - Too thinly spread to have strategic impact 43:50 - Preventing future demand 48:27 - Lack of join up 51:02 - Lack of step-up/ step-down options 56:06 - What is needed? 1:00:35 - The narrative gets in the way 1:06:50 - Housing First as part of mental health pathway? 1:12:50 - Fidelity to the model 1:21:03 - End

    1h 23m
  8. Lydia Guthrie on Supporting People to Change

    07/10/2025

    Lydia Guthrie on Supporting People to Change

    Lydia Guthrie shares insights on supporting personal change, attachment theory, and how to help people transform their lives through evidence-based approaches.   More information on Lydia Guthrie can be found on her website 'Change Point': https://changepointlearning.com/   Imogen runs a social research consultancy Imogen Blood & Associates: https://www.imogenblood.co.uk/ She also provides MSC training: https://www.seralliance.org/   Discussed in the podcast:   Motivational Interviewing: https://motivationalinterviewing.org/understanding-motivational-interviewing   Shadd Maruna on Desistance from Crime and Narrative Identity: https://britsoccrim.org/volume2/003.pdf   Our book: Blood, I. & Guthrie, L. (2018) Supporting Older People Using Attachment-Informed and Strengths-Based Approaches, Jessica Kingsley Publishers   Pat Crittenden Dynamic Maturation Model of Attachment and Adaptation: https://www.iasa-dmm.org/images/uploads/Attachment-theory-psychopaathology%20andpsychotherapyThedmm-approach.pdf   Dr Chip Chimera: https://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/therapist/Chip-Chimera-iAic3AAC   Chapters   0:00 - Intro 1:39 - Lydia’s career and background 6:42 - How to help people change 8:49 - Measuring our success 13:48 - Working with denial 23:45 - What is attachment theory? 27:30 - Attachment, parenting and gender 31:10 - Changing our attachment patterns 40:36 - Why systemic (family) therapy? 43:50 - The role of the family therapist 48:06: - Not making things worse 48:38 - Change takes time 53:24 - Implications for service design

    59 min
  9. Mark Robinson on Most Significant Change

    07/09/2025

    Mark Robinson on Most Significant Change

    Imogen and Mark Robinson explore how storytelling and narrative approaches can transform our understanding of social change, drawing from their extensive experience with Most Significant Change methodology and beyond.   Mark Robinson's consultancy Thinking Practice: https://www.thinkingpractice.co.uk/ Discussed in the podcast: Rick Davies & Jess Dart's 2005 book 'The most significant change technique: A guide to its use': https://www.mande.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2005/MSCGuide.pdf   Case Study on Ark: Stockton Arts Centre: https://arconline.co.uk/about-us/what-we-do/   MSC training with Future Arts Centres network: https://futureartscentres.org.uk   Will Storr: 'The Science of Storytelling' : https://www.thescienceofstorytelling.com   Failspace: How can the cultural sector better recognise and learn from failures? https://www.culturalvalue.org.uk/our-work/failspace/#intro   Imogen runs a social research consultancy Imogen Blood & Associates: https://www.imogenblood.co.uk/ She also provides MSC training: https://www.seralliance.org/ Chapters   0:00 - intro 1:00 - Mark's background and career 7:53 - What is Most Significant Change (MSC)? 10:50 - Applying MSC in the cultural sector 16:15 - Good tool for complex projects 18:25 - MSC gives a structure for thinking about stories 19:50 - Exploring cause and effect through stories 20:06 - 'The science of storytelling' book 22:49 - Particular fit between MSC and the cultural sector? 24:10 - MSC countering evaluation fatigue 28:17 - Limitations or considerations 35:06 - Complementing MSC with 'FailSpace' 38:10 - Deciding what is 'significant' 41:16 - Impact of involving the board in MSC 42:50 - MSC from using MSC 48:45 - Writing MSC stories 55:00 - A title for your story?

    1 hr
  10. Paul Connery on Deep Democracy

    07/09/2025

    Paul Connery on Deep Democracy

    Paul Connery joins Imogen to discuss community development approaches, participatory methods, and how grassroots initiatives can create sustainable social change. Paul Connery: LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-connery-335708100/ Discussed in the podcast: Homeless Link: https://homeless.org.uk Lankelly Chase: 'Hard Edges' Arnold Mindell: https://www.aamindell.net/worldwork Greg & Myrna Lewis: https://www.lewisdeepdemocracy.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopEn-d_xqL6WVYFtXe-M03dpR-b7vm6oB9zwH0y9vKy_-be3Lue Imogen runs a social research consultancy Imogen Blood & Associates: https://www.imogenblood.co.uk/ She also provides MSC training: https://www.seralliance.org/   Chapters   0:00 - intro 1:45 - Paul's background 3:05 - Co-production with multiply disadvantaged groups 8:42 - What is Deep Democracy? 12:50 - Building better teams 16:45 - Managers’ roles 20:05 - 5 stages of Deep Democracy 29:50 - As an informal tool 30:10 - Improving decision-making 30:56 - Role of the facilitator 38:52 - Purposeful inclusive meetings 40:52 - Online v face-to-face 43:55 - Change for groups 47:00 - Potential in different settings 48:45 - Personal change 51:00 - The wisdom of the minority

    53 min
  • 10 Episodes

About

Change Talk explores the complex dynamics of social change through insightful conversations with experts, practitioners, and thought leaders. Hosted by Imogen Blood, a social research consultant and MSC training specialist, this podcast delves into practical approaches for creating meaningful change in society. Imogen runs a social research company: https://www.imogenblood.co.uk/

Information

  • Creator
    Imogen Blood
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
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    Change Talk