10. Delivering Locally

Dr Diane Delaney is a researcher and practitioner with over 25 years of experience across health, social work and education in Scotland.  She completed her PhD at the University of Strathclyde, where she explored the role and value of parents and carers during their interactions with professionals about the health, wellbeing, and developmental progress of children aged 3-5 years.  Her research addresses gaps in the Scottish evidence base and is grounded in policies that recognise the vital contribution families make to children's development and outcomes. 

In 2018, Diane co-founded the Give Them Time Campaign and an associated support group for parents and professionals.  The campaign achieved legislative changes in Scotland in August 2023, ensuring equitable access to funding for families choosing to defer their eligible four year olds' school start.  Although this key aim has been realised, Diane continues to advocate for improved understanding of parental and child rights.

Adopting feminist perspectives, Diane champions equity, inclusion and the voices of families in the creation and delivery of services and policy.  Committed to social justice, human rights, and participatory principles, she integrates lived experience with evidence-informed research to influence policy and practice.  Her work is driven by a strong interest in how families' lived experiences intersect with professional practices and policy aims, promoting inclusive, democratic decision making, collaborative partnerships, and wellbeing for children, families and communities. 

Dr Ruth Lightbody is a senior lecturer in politics at Glasgow Caledonian University and a research leader at the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit (SPIRU). Her research focuses on deliberative democracy and community engagement, particularly exploring how they can be used to implement policy changes which tackle social inequalities.
Her research highlights the undervalued contributions of women as knowledge producers and evidence providers in policymaking. Recently, she has explored parent and baby groups (playgroups) as vital spaces for knowledge exchange, social capital development and trauma support for perinatal women and families.
Ruth was awarded an Academic Fellowship at the Scottish Parliament in 2023 to develop an evaluation framework for measuring deliberative principles and practice within the Parliament. She has led projects funded by the British Academy/Leverhulme, the Scottish Government and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. She is currently working on initiatives related to early years care provision in Glasgow.