UofG Centre for Public Policy

Composite stories and infographics

Composite Story: The story of Michelle

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 15:19:00 BST

Read the story of Michelle, a composite story designed to illuminate the systems surrounding those living in poverty, and the impact of siloed decision making.

Infographic: Behind Michelle's story

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 15:19:00 BST

This infographic accompanies the story of Michelle, giving a flavour of the evidence that underpins her reality.

Composite Story: The story of the El-Amin family

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 15:19:00 BST

Read the story of the El-Amin family, a composite story designed to illuminate the systems surrounding those living in poverty, and the impact of siloed decision making.

Infographic: Behind the El-Amin's story

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 15:19:00 BST

This infographic accompanies the story of the El-Amin family, giving a flavour of the evidence that underpins their reality.

Composite Story: The Story of Anna

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:19:00 BST

Read the story of Anna, a composite story designed to illuminate the systems surrounding those living in poverty, and the impact of siloed decision making.

Infographic: Behind Anna's story

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:19:00 BST

This infographic accompanies the story of Anna, giving a flavour of the evidence that underpins her reality.

Composite Story: The Story of Anna (a person-centred approach)

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:19:00 BST

Read Anna's story, a person-centred approach. This version of Anna's story shows what is possible by taking a coordinated approach to policymaking where support and services are centred on lived experience expertise.

Composite Story: The Story of Graeme

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:19:00 BST

Read the story of Graeme, a composite story designed to illuminate the systems surrounding those living in poverty, and the impact of siloed decision making.

Infographic: Behind Graeme's story

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:19:00 BST

This infographic accompanies the story of Graeme, giving a flavour of the evidence that underpins his reality.

Composite Story: The Story of Lowrie

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:19:00 BST

Read the story of Lowrie, a composite story designed to illuminate the systems surrounding those living in poverty, and the impact of siloed decision making.

Infographic: Behind Lowrie's story

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:19:00 BST

This infographic accompanies the story of Lowrie, giving a flavour of the evidence that underpins his reality.

Composite Story: The Story of Zahra

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:19:00 BST

Read the story of Zahra, a composite story designed to illuminate the systems surrounding those living in poverty, and the impact of siloed decision making.

Infographic: Behind Zahra's story

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:19:00 BST

This infographic accompanies the story of Zahra, giving a flavour of the evidence that underpins her reality.

Project news and blogs

Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament

Scottish Budget: What does the continual increase in Social Security spending mean for Scotland?

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 10:47:00 GMT

28 January 2026: With an extra £0.6 billion in the Scottish Budget for social security, Dr Thomas Rochow writes about ensuring the welcomed increase in social security investment is coupled with long-term planning and action to address the structural causes of poverty, such as underemployment and unaffordable housing.

Learning about composite stories in Using Stories to Understand Systems workshop

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 12:17:00 GMT

13 November 2025: On 6 November, the Centre for Public Policy hosted a public workshop as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences, where participants learned about and created composite stories, a new way of bringing lived experience into research and policymaking.

Inperson event, using stories to understand systems.
Inperson event, using stories to understand systems.

Festival of Social Science - Using stories to understand systems

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 10:07:00 BST

As part of the Festival of Social Science, join the Centre for Public Policy for an in-person public event on 6 November 2025. This is an interactive, workshop where participants will create composite stories to explore multi-policy governance issues related to poverty. You will get to actively engage with evidence and practice collaborative storytelling, highlighting real-world policy challenges.

The State of Poverty: Systems and those stories of those navigating them, a photo of Kezia Dugdale and the University of Glasgow and Centre for Public Policy logos
The State of Poverty: Systems and those stories of those navigating them, a photo of Kezia Dugdale and the University of Glasgow and Centre for Public Policy logos

The State of Poverty: Systems and the stories of those navigating them

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 15:59:00 BST

9 October 2025: This Challenge Poverty Week, Professor Kezia Dugdale introduces the methodology and first outputs from the Centre's research project, the State of Poverty. This includes two composite stories designed to illuminate the systems surrounding those living in poverty, and the impact of siloed decision making.

Spotlight, Season 6, Episode 2, The State of Poverty: Systems, Silos and Solutions
Spotlight, Season 6, Episode 2, The State of Poverty: Systems, Silos and Solutions

New Spotlight podcast episode marks Challenge Poverty Week

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 15:38:00 BST

9 October 2025: Tune in to a Challenge Poverty Week special episode of the UofG Spotlight podcast episode - The State of Poverty: Systems, Silos and Solutions - that asks, can we really tackle poverty without changing how government works?

A photo of the launch event
A photo of the launch event

The State of Poverty: An Introduction

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 12:04:00 BST

15 July 2025: The Centre launched a new research project The State of Poverty on 23 June 2025. Dr Thomas Rochow shares more about the project, which is exploring how policy siloes shape experiences of poverty in Scotland. By understanding where government structures fail to connect, we aim to find practical ways to break down barriers and build better solutions.

The UK Parliament
The UK Parliament

How might young people be affected by the cuts to welfare?

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 10:17:00 GMT

28 March 2025: Following the Chancellor’s Spring Statement this week, the Centre for Public Policy’s Dr Thomas Rochow examines how proposed cuts to health-related benefits might acutely impact young people, writing that more should be done to recognise that it is increasingly difficult for young people to enter meaningful employment.

graphic with CPP, UofG and Robertson Trust logo
graphic with CPP, UofG and Robertson Trust logo

Centre for Public Policy secures funding for major anti-poverty project

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 10:59:00 GMT

16 December 2024: Funded by the Robertson Trust, the 18-month project will assess poverty in Scotland as a multi-level, multi-sector grand policy challenge, detailing the impact of siloed decision making on people living with poverty and use an innovative policy lab approach to drive solutions.

Learn more about this project: contact kimberley.somerside@glasgow.ac.uk

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