31st July 2026 Welcome to The 81 Fellowship

31/07/2026

If you’re reading this, thank you for being here.

The idea for The 81 Fellowship has been sitting with me for a long time. Not because I didn’t know what I wanted to say, but because I wasn’t sure where to say it.

For much of my career, I’ve worked across criminal justice, psychology, research and higher education. I’ve spent years working directly with children, young people and adults whose lives have been shaped by trauma, disadvantage, violence and exclusion. Alongside that, I’ve completed doctoral research, taught at university, contributed to national policy discussions and tried to bridge the gap between research and real-world practice.

One thing has become increasingly clear to me. Some of the most important conversations aren’t happening where they should be.

Too often, research stays in journals. Policy stays in government documents. Practice stays inside organisations. Professionals become trapped within their own systems, speaking only to people who already think the same way.

The result is that genuinely useful ideas struggle to travel.

The 81 Fellowship exists to change that.

This isn’t an organisation. It isn’t a consultancy. It isn’t a lobbying group. It’s simply a place to think.

A place where evidence matters, but so does experience. Where difficult questions are welcomed rather than avoided. Where ideas can be tested, challenged and refined without needing to fit neatly into organisational agendas or political narratives.

The name reflects something important to me.

A fellowship is a community built around learning, curiosity and shared purpose. It’s about bringing people together who care deeply about improving systems, even if they disagree about how to do it. Progress rarely comes from certainty. More often, it comes from thoughtful discussion, intellectual honesty and a willingness to change our minds.

That’s the kind of community I hope this becomes.

You won’t find sensational headlines or outrage designed to generate clicks.

Instead, you’ll find thoughtful writing about criminal justice, psychology, youth justice, public services, leadership, organisational culture, evidence, policy and the challenges facing those who work within complex systems. Occasionally there will be broader reflections on society, ethics, technology or anything else that feels worth exploring.

Sometimes I’ll write about research. Sometimes about practice. Sometimes about ideas that are still unfinished. Not every article will provide answers. Some will simply ask better questions.

If there’s one theme that will run through everything I write, it’s this: people matter.

Systems exist to serve people, not the other way around. When organisations lose sight of that, good intentions become bureaucracy, innovation becomes compliance, and the people doing the work become exhausted. I’ve seen that happen throughout my career, and I believe we can do better.

I’m not claiming to have all the answers. I’m still learning. This site is part of that process.

Whether you’re a practitioner, researcher, policymaker, student or simply someone interested in how we build fairer and more effective public services, I hope you’ll find something here that challenges your thinking, confirms something you’ve long suspected, or simply encourages you to see an issue from a different perspective.

If that happens, then The 81 Fellowship will have achieved exactly what it set out to do.

Welcome.

I’m glad you’re here.