The Disability Insight logo. A dark blue background with an orange block with an orange circle cut out the side, it's essentially a wonky I. In white text it says disability insight in large capitalised letters and below says in smaller white text "Evidence from experience"

I have been lucky enough to work on a number of projects where I have brought my lived experience as a disabled researcher to university teams across the UK.

To access my publications on ORCID, you can do so here.

WISHES – Workplace Intervention for Sustainable Health and Employment Support.

Coproduction Co-lead for University of Strathclyde

WISHES is a major trial of job crafting and the first to test whether job crafting can improve employment outcomes for workers with health conditions and disabilities. It is led by Professor Adam Whitworth and funded by the NIHR. My role in WISHES is to centre the lived experience of disabled people in shaping the trial and disseminating its findings.

In a parliamentary building, Catherine Hale is sat between 3 colleagues. She is wearing a grey blazer and black top and is presenting to the audience

Can flexible working help disability inclusion? Overcoming barriers to Flex Plus working

Collaboration with Professor Ben Geiger (Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy) and Professor Kim Hoque (King’s Business School), King’s College London.

Research Associate

Evidence shows many disabled people need Flex Plus working – reduced hours, flexible working times and working from home – in order to get into and stay in work. I led employer-focused research into the barriers and levers for implementing Flex Plus working to improve employment opportunities for people with fluctuating, energy-limiting conditions.

Chronic Illness Inclusion logo. White background with blue text saying chronic illness inclusion. There is an icon that is a blue circle with a white five point star and between each point are different coloured circles

Chronic Illness Inclusion Project

Part of the DRILL (Disability Research into Independent Living and Learning) project, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

Founder, Lead Researcher and Director.

From 2017 to 2022, I led a groundbreaking project exploring disability identity and social change for people with chronic illness through emancipatory research. Combining large surveys with in-depth qualitative research, we developed innovative online methods to reach underserved communities. A key legacy of the CIIP is the concepts of energy limiting conditions and energy impairment as a framework for disability inclusion.

The astriid logo with is a white background with grey lettering and a stripe beneath astrrid which is a few different colours

Supporting people with long-term conditions at work

Head of Research and Consultancy, Astriid.

Astriid is an employment support charity for people with long-term health conditions. I led evidence-gathering on the employment aspirations and support needs of beneficiaries and developed a consultancy arm for the charity to train businesses on how to support people with long-term conditions in the workplace. Services included training workshops, e-learning and employee disability inclusion survey.

Chronic illness, welfare and work

Associate Researcher at the University of Leeds. ESRC Knowledge Exchange Programme.

People with chronic illness are trapped between a disability benefit system that doesn’t recognise their needs and a labour market that systematically excludes them. I led analysis and reporting on qualitative data from Chronic lllness Inclusion Project in partnership with Professor Jo Ingold, Professor Kate Hardy and Stef Benstead.

The cover of a piece of research which says Creating more inclusive workplaces for academics with energy limiting conditions. There is a graphic of someone trying to climb a broken ladder

Creating more inclusive workplaces for academics with energy limiting conditions

University of Liverpool/Independent Social Research Foundation. 

Consultant

A set of guides for academics with ELC, line managers, HR, funders, publishers, union & EDI reps & conference organisers. Based on research with Cripping The Exhaustion Economy: Radically Reimagining the Neoliberal Academy from the Sick Bed led by Professor Bethan Evans.

A green logo with white text that says welfare experiences. There is a white four pointed star separating the two words

WelfareExperiences Project

Coproduction Lead for bid development. University of Kent.

‘WelfareExperiences’ Project is a large mixed-methods coproduced comparison of how it feels to claim benefits in five European countries, led by Professor Ben Geiger. I led coproduction in the bid development stage, securing the involvement of grassroots anti-poverty organisations and Disabled People’s Organisations across five European nations.