Government Social Research
Anne Marie Dorian
I'm on the flexible working hours system, so I start work any time between 8.30am and 10.00am, depending on what I have on that day.
I begin most days by checking any e-mails that have arrived. The format of my day will then vary depending on what I'm working on. I may spend most of the day in the office if I have a report or literature review to write or I could be out at meetings with policy colleagues or research contractors. Training is also encouraged, so I may attend something like a seminar on the policy making process in Scotland or a training event on evaluation skills.
As for my day to day work, there are three main elements: providing research advice and assistance to colleagues throughout the Scottish Executive, conducting primary research and project managing larger research projects which have been commissioned out to external researchers at universities or private sector agencies. Advising colleagues covers a range of tasks from helping a policy colleague source evidence on a particular issue to developing a framework for evaluating a project or policy. Primary research can involve designing and administering a survey, conducting focus groups or interviews, analysing data and writing a report of research findings, or sourcing and collating research evidence for a literature review. The other main aspect of my job is project management. This involves commissioning out pieces of research to external agencies and then ensuring that the research process runs smoothly on a day-to-day basis. The commissioning process itself involves writing research specifications, evaluating the bids that are submitted from external agencies for contracts, sometimes interviewing potential contractors and obtaining the decision on which tenderer is best placed to conduct the research.
Phone calls and e-mails come in throughout the day with queries or requests for advice from colleagues and updates on progress from contracted research agencies. After a final check to ensure that I've followed all of these up I head for home between 4.30pm and 6.00 pm.