One of our team's strengths is in bringing together people from a range of disciplines and backgrounds, such as urban planning, housing policy, education, social care, market research and customer service. Our multi-disciplinary approach has created a versatile team of consultants able to approach a subject from many different angles.
Lucy Robertson, Managing Director
Lucy has recently taken over as Managing Director of Craigforth, and has worked in housing for over 15 years including as a housing strategy manager for a Scottish local authority. A highly experienced qualitative social researcher, Lucy brings an up-to- date understanding of a broad range of research approaches and techniques. She is also very experienced in working with a broad range of people and organisations, including highly vulnerable people. Lucy also has a particular interest in the role of the PRS in the housing system and led the team that developed good practice in local authority engagement with the PRS, including options for working with private landlords to house homeless households. In addition, Lucy offers particular experience and understanding in relation to homelessness/tenancy sustainment, housing allocations/CHR/CBL, housing options, and housing service evaluation. She heads Craigforth's work in these particular areas, as well as leading on consultation analysis.
Chris Thornton, Associate Director
Chris has wide ranging experience in housing-related research. He has significant expertise in undertaking housing market and needs-related studies including recent housing market and HNDA studies in North Ayrshire, Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park, East Lothian, Dundee and Moray. This includes a specific focus on particular housing and care/support needs, with a number of wide ranging studies assessing particular needs within East Lothian, Angus and Aberdeenshire. Chris also has recent experience in supporting local authorities in strategy and policy development across housing and other policy areasw, including recent commissions to assist in the development of key elements of the LHS, antisocial behaviour strategy, older people’s housing strategies, and temporary accommodation strategies. Chris' remit also includes Craigforth's large scale survey, consultation and Citizens' Panel work. Within this strand of work Chris has developed and managed the consultation programme with the Scottish Housing Regulator's National Panel of Tenants and Service Users, since it was established in 2013.
Amanda Britain, Associate Director
Amanda is a leading figure in Scottish housing. She is an Associate with the Joint Improvement Team, helped set up the National Telecare Development Programme and is supporting the Wider Planning for an Ageing Population work programme. She has undertaken numerous housing focused research contracts, including strategic needs assessments for local authorities, policy and strategy development, and evaluation of approaches and projects for Scottish Government, NHS Scotland and local authorities. Amanda’s interest in accessing housing is also long-standing and amongst many other studies she was the principal author of the Scottish Government research on allocations – Tensions between Policy and Practice in Allocations. Recently, Amanda has had a key role in development of Age, Home and Community: A Strategy for Housing for Scotland's Older People, and brings nationally recognised expertise in relation to older people’s housing, and housing support services more widely.
Louise Blair, Survey Manager
Craigforth’s in-house survey team is led by Louise Blair, who joined Craigforth in early 2012 as our Survey Manager and who has since become a core member of our team. Louise has worked closely with Chris and Lucy in delivering a number of recent research contracts to explore customer experience and priorities. This includes most recently with the Regulator’s National Panel, our ongoing with Gypsies/Travellers in Highland, a private rented sector study for the Scottish Government, and our work reviewing sheltered and very sheltered/extra care housing provision in Renfrewshire. More widely Louise manages our survey team across all aspects of the survey fieldwork process – including projects involving postal, web-based and CATI surveys across multiple service areas, and with sample sizes of up to 30,000+. Louise also manages our processing and analysis functions in relation to our consultation analysis work for the Scottish Government, including for the very large scale Same Sex Marriage & Religious Civil Partnership and Independence Referendum consultations. Louise is also a highly experienced interviewer with particular and very considerable experience in talking to social housing tenants including older people and those in specialist housing.