Reflection on my career journey presented as part of the University of Sheffield Seminar Series on Career Options outside Academia - PGR Faculty Forum Event

1. Gardens, books and
digital
A journey from academia
to industry
Alice Mathers
@Al_Mathers
Parks, books and digital
From academia to industry
Alice Mathers
@Al_Mathers

2. A life in landscape
@Al_Mathers @Al_Mathers

3. Learnings
@Al_Mathers
- I did not know enough
- People and participation mattered
- I wanted to challenge and experiment
- Design was important
- Research might help me
@Al_Mathers

4. Questions
@Al_Mathers
- What lay behind meaningful design?
- How could hidden people become visible?
- If it wasn’t my design did I still have a role to play?
@Al_Mathers

5. PhD and beyond
@Al_Mathers @Al_Mathers

6. Outcomes
@Al_Mathers
- I learnt
- It was absorbing
- It was interesting
- It had (limited) impact
- I was good at some things...less so at others
- I could do more
@Al_Mathers

7. Curiosity
@Al_Mathers
- What did impact mean for me?
- How did research work in the real world?
- Could I find a way to continue to learn if I wasn’t in
academia?
@Al_Mathers

8. Chance encounters
@Al_Mathers @Al_Mathers

9. Openness
@Al_Mathers
- I knew nothing about digital or digital inclusion
- I had limited experience outside of academia
BUT
- I wanted to work with and for people
- I cared about how people's stories were told
- I wanted to tell their stories to change things
- I ‘knew’ what good looked like
@Al_Mathers

10. Prove what you can do
@Al_Mathers @Al_Mathers

11. Change the culture
@Al_Mathers
- I created Good Things Foundation’s research team
- We began to evaluate every piece of delivery
- We proved our impact
- We generated income
- We built a reputation
- We continually evolve and try to improve
- We brought research, evaluation and design
together!
@Al_Mathers

12. @Al_Mathers

14. @Al_Mathers

15. How we change
the worldGood Things Foundation’s Social Impact Theory of Change

16. Individual

17. It’s your turn to change the narrative
@Al_Mathers @Al_Mathers

18. Dr Alice Mathers
Head of Research and Explorations
alice@goodthingsfoundation.org
How We Change the World
@Al_Mathers