Helga Sneddon
Dr Helga Sneddon is the Director of Outcome Imps Ltd which provides support to organisations seeking to use evidence to improve outcomes.
Previously she was based at the Centre for Effective Services (CES) where she was involved in a wide range of project work ranging from whole-sector strategic development, supporting evidence-informed policy and practice to focused technical assistance for individual service-providing organisations.
Helga works with policy makers, commissioners and service providers on using evidence to improve services, effective implementation, evidence informed programmes and practices, and evaluation. She has particular interests in prevention and early intervention, implementation, children and families, area based initiatives and making evidence useable.
Helga's background is in psychology. Her research interests and publications focus on parenting and child development, particularly family interactions, prevention and early intervention, child maltreatment, and the effects of parenting initiatives and therapeutic interventions.
Recent work includes synthesizing the learning about improving outcomes for children and young people using prevention and early intervention approaches in 52 services across Ireland; working with the Irish government on developing, implementing and evaluating their national area based initiative to reduce child poverty; examining public expenditure in services for children and young people in N. Ireland for the N. Ireland's Commissioner for Children and Young People; developing a shared outcomes framework and evaluation support for 37 services funded under the Big Lottery Impact of Alcohol initiative; working with organisations to develop their monitoring and evaluation processes and working with funders to develop central evaluation strategies for commissioned services. As a Cochrane Fellow she is undertaking a systematic review on the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural therapy on adolescent sex offenders.
Prior to this, Helga was a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Child Care Research, Queen's University Belfast. She was Co-Principle Investigator on the Lifestart Evaluation which is examining the effects of the Lifestart programme on parents and children using Randomised Control trial and qualitative methods. Between 2002-2007, she was co-Principle investigator on the Growth, Learning & Development (GLAD) study which examined a broad range of factors influencing feeding and growth in one year old children. During 2002 she was also co-Principle Investigator on the ASC study which examined the care planning process and associated outcomes for adolescents being placed in residential or foster care. Previous to this she worked on a 20 year follow-up study of non-organic failure to thrive, and a study of the impact of the Children Order on service provision to children with disabilities.
Helga is experienced in undertaking research with parents and children as well as vulnerable groups. Research methods have included psychometric testing, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, developmental testing of children, and behavioural observations. She is particularly interested in mixed methods approaches such as combining Randomised Control trials (RCTs) with qualitative research.
She chaired the N. Ireland branch of BASPCAN (British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect) during its setup period and currently serves on the steering group. She also serves on the N. Ireland Homestart Executive Committee and the Editorial Boards of Child Abuse Review and Child Care in Practice.
Phone: +44 (0) 7894906003
Address: Outcome Imps Ltd
28 Cargans Road
Tandragee
Co. Armagh
N. Ireland
Previously she was based at the Centre for Effective Services (CES) where she was involved in a wide range of project work ranging from whole-sector strategic development, supporting evidence-informed policy and practice to focused technical assistance for individual service-providing organisations.
Helga works with policy makers, commissioners and service providers on using evidence to improve services, effective implementation, evidence informed programmes and practices, and evaluation. She has particular interests in prevention and early intervention, implementation, children and families, area based initiatives and making evidence useable.
Helga's background is in psychology. Her research interests and publications focus on parenting and child development, particularly family interactions, prevention and early intervention, child maltreatment, and the effects of parenting initiatives and therapeutic interventions.
Recent work includes synthesizing the learning about improving outcomes for children and young people using prevention and early intervention approaches in 52 services across Ireland; working with the Irish government on developing, implementing and evaluating their national area based initiative to reduce child poverty; examining public expenditure in services for children and young people in N. Ireland for the N. Ireland's Commissioner for Children and Young People; developing a shared outcomes framework and evaluation support for 37 services funded under the Big Lottery Impact of Alcohol initiative; working with organisations to develop their monitoring and evaluation processes and working with funders to develop central evaluation strategies for commissioned services. As a Cochrane Fellow she is undertaking a systematic review on the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural therapy on adolescent sex offenders.
Prior to this, Helga was a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Child Care Research, Queen's University Belfast. She was Co-Principle Investigator on the Lifestart Evaluation which is examining the effects of the Lifestart programme on parents and children using Randomised Control trial and qualitative methods. Between 2002-2007, she was co-Principle investigator on the Growth, Learning & Development (GLAD) study which examined a broad range of factors influencing feeding and growth in one year old children. During 2002 she was also co-Principle Investigator on the ASC study which examined the care planning process and associated outcomes for adolescents being placed in residential or foster care. Previous to this she worked on a 20 year follow-up study of non-organic failure to thrive, and a study of the impact of the Children Order on service provision to children with disabilities.
Helga is experienced in undertaking research with parents and children as well as vulnerable groups. Research methods have included psychometric testing, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, developmental testing of children, and behavioural observations. She is particularly interested in mixed methods approaches such as combining Randomised Control trials (RCTs) with qualitative research.
She chaired the N. Ireland branch of BASPCAN (British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect) during its setup period and currently serves on the steering group. She also serves on the N. Ireland Homestart Executive Committee and the Editorial Boards of Child Abuse Review and Child Care in Practice.
Phone: +44 (0) 7894906003
Address: Outcome Imps Ltd
28 Cargans Road
Tandragee
Co. Armagh
N. Ireland
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