Welcoming our new Senior Project Manager – Olivia Hale
A short interview with our new Senior Project Manager, Olivia Hale (OH). Interviewer: Iwona Soppa (IS), Advocacy and Relations Manager at Data for Children Collaborative.
Olivia joined our team in May this year with extensive project management experience, thorough understanding of knowledge exchange and impact best practice in a research environment, and knowledge of internal structures/networks at the University of Edinburgh. Olivia has indeed hit the ground running in her new role.
In this interview, Olivia talks about the professional journey that brought her to Data for Children Collaborative and how her exceptional skills and knowledge will support us in driving our activities, goals, and overarching mission. We will also learn more about Olivia’s role and responsibilities, and what sparked her interest in joining our team.
IS: Olivia, we at the Data for Children Collaborative are so excited to welcome you to the team! We have now worked alongside you for a few weeks, and some of our extended colleagues on various projects have had a chance to meet you. We want to give everyone a chance to hear more about you and your role at the Collaborative.
You joined us from an internal post at the University of Edinburgh, where you were the Knowledge Exchange and Innovation (KEI) Manager at the Edinburgh College of Art. But that is not the only role you had at the University. Previously you worked as a Research Excellence Framework (REF) Officer where you project managed seven submissions across the College of Science & Engineering. As a system for assessing the UK’s research quality in higher education institutions, REF is hugely important to the University. That is quite a wide range of experiences of operating in quite different environments within this vast institution.
However, your journey with the University of Edinburgh starts earlier than that, adding even more to the wealth of knowledge you have gathered over the years. How did it all begin?
OH: Yes, I joined the University in 2018 as a staff member. Previously, I was a student at Moray House School of Education and Sport from 2017 to 18 and completed a master's degree in educational research. Shortly after that, I was successful in securing an administrative role supporting research and impact at Moray House School of Education and Sport. This experience originally piqued my interest in research impact. We were prepping for the REF 2021 submission, and I was working with the academics to evidence the impact of their research to inform case study developments. I found it a rewarding experience to actively contribute to this space. I am not an academic researcher that is investigating new insights. However, I have found that research impact is a space where I can actively influence and drive transformational positive change within my own sphere of influence. I act as a knowledge broker and support academics to drive positive benefits that derive from their research. Through this, I am able to participate in something that really matters.
IS: It is so interesting to hear you speak about the importance of having a positive contribution in your sphere of work. You also have significant project management skills that enable you to lead the efforts in the right direction, ensuring that these good things can be delivered in a timely and impactful manner.
OH: I have completed the PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner courses in project management. Therefore, I have the professional qualification to back up my experience and knowledge, but to be honest with you, project management has always been a personal strength of mine. I was exceptionally organised as a child, and it is something that influenced my character and career choice. The Research Excellence Framework and overseeing the submission for the seven units of assessment helped me realise that I could strategically play to my strengths which is why I sought out the Senior Project Manager role with Data for Children Collaborative. With project management you have the goal, but the steps and action you take to get there affords an opportunity for creativity which I quite enjoy.
IS: And then after working as the REF Officer, you moved to the Collage of Art, where you worked as the Knowledge Exchange and Innovation (KEI) Manager. That is quite a change from the previous environment. How did you find it?
OH: Yes- I moved on to working as the KEI Manager and oversaw impact operations and strategy for the five subject areas across the arts.
That was quite different from working in science and engineering. The research outputs vary vastly in the sciences vs the arts, but the work culture and environment also differed. This role was useful because I really honed my understanding of research impact best practice and supported architects, designers, historians, and musicians to plan for impact and evidence positive benefits due to their research. However, I felt a bit left out of the middle and the nitty gritty of project management. The one thing I like about the Data for Children Collaborative is that it is the best of both worlds for me: I oversee end-to-end project management of various significant, timely, and impact international research projects that will bring about a positive change and benefit to children.
IS: It is great to know what attracted you to join our team as the Senior Project Manager. The role itself is a new one. Can you tell us more about your role and responsibilities?
OH: I understand my role to be end-to-end project management: scoping a project, leading on project and impact planning, initiating the project and overseeing its development to successful completion, maintaining successful relationships with numerous international project partners, and following up afterwards to verify and measure any realistic impact that has occurred post-project. I’m the go-to person from the seed of an idea to project delivery, to realized positive changes and benefits across various impact types.
IS: And how do you feel your previous experience we discussed can help Data for Children Collaborative when it comes to thinking about the impacts of our projects and the ways in which we work?
OH: One of my biggest strengths that I bring to the Data for Children Collaborative is my experience with the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and what impact means in an academic context. I know that front to back and across disciplines. I will lead the Collaborative to strategically align to the University’s values driven by REF and the expectations that come with it. I will be able to help the Collaborative to verify and highlight the positive contributions and benefits they bring when it comes to the University's strategic REF objectives, and I will ensure they are actively contributing to impact case studies that get submitted by the University.
But I'm more than REF and can think outside that rigid framework of what impact is. I also have an established network of contacts across the University with a vast number of connections spanning many disciplines and covering wide expertise. Additionally, I have held numerous leadership roles in association with equality, diversity, and inclusion initiatives across the University which has further enhanced my network and understanding of University structures. I think that will be advantageous to support the Collaborative reaching out to the wider University research community and build relationships.
So, in sum, I suppose that I am well connected internally, which is a great match with the Collaborative because its strengths lie in focusing externally to the University. I'm bringing all my contacts internally, and I think that'll be useful further on when we're scoping new projects.
IS: How lucky are we to have you on board with all these connections! You have certainly seen a lot of internal workings of the University, and you are bringing your expertise to ensure the Collaborative is more embedded within this rich community. What do you think the Collaborative brings to this community that you have not seen before, and also what makes you excited about working with us?
OH: To me, I see the Data for Children Collaborative as an Edinburgh-based platform that serves as a launchpad to the world.
“I see the Data for Children Collaborative as an Edinburgh-based platform that serves as a launchpad to the world. ”
The thing that really attracted me to Data for Children Collaborative is its international focus for engagement and focus on world-leading impact that is both significant and timely. I enjoy that I physically work in the capital of Scotland, but my network and engagement feels limitless on an international scale. This platform is profoundly powerful for the University and associated research colleagues to drive transformational positive change to improve the lives of children. I am very happy to be part of the Data for Children Collaborative Team and I look forward to what the future has in store for us all!
Would you like to chat to Olivia or find out more? Email us on hello@dataforchildren.ed.ac.uk