My early work explored international retirement migration, and used ethnographic research to understand how later-life migration enabled the re-imagining of ageing and social class identities. Over recent years, my research has focused on urban responses to migrants and their consequences for social justice. From 2016-2019, I led mixed-methods research into city-led innovation in asylum seeker reception, evaluating the Utrecht Refugee Launchpad in the Netherlands, funded by the EC’s Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) scheme. Our evaluation was selected as a good practice by the UIA, and drew out learning from the initiative’s use of co-housing and co-learning to address local hostility, and improve newcomers' wellbeing and labour market prospects. From 2012-2014 I led a four-country international study on rights and entitlements of Family Migrants across Europe, funded by the EU’s European Fund for the Integration of third country nationals (EIF). In 2015-2016, I worked with European urban governments to facilitate migrant parents' engagement with their children's schools (see here). 

Parental identities is a theme I am examining further following research with the families of autistic children and young people on the experiences of the COVID-19 lockdown. This was funded by the British Educational Research Association and inspired by my own experiences as a parent. 

I am a passionate sociologist who believes in using research to inform change, especially through partnerships with urban local governments, NGOs, and social enterprises. In 2016, I was part of a University of Oxford team that developed a prize-winning online tool to simplify assessment by local government and NGOs of migrant families’ eligibility for welfare and housing support. I am co-Editor in Chief of the journal Evidence & Policy, as well as Series Editor of the BSA Sociological Futures book series.