Amaze seeks parent carers to be trained as researchers for Balancing Act Project 

Amaze is excited to be taking part in an international project called Balancing Act.   

Balancing Act will look at the balance between ‘formal’ and ‘natural’ support for disabled people and their families, in six different locations around the world (‘formal support’ is that from local and national government and paid support and ‘natural support’ is that from family, friends or peer support networks.  Find out more about the Balancing Act project here.

We are looking to recruit up to five parent carers from Brighton & Hove or East Sussex as researchers who will conduct interviews during this initial research phase of the project.  Each researcher will interview 4 or 5 parent carers, with the goal of learning more about Amaze and how we support families.  Comparable research is taking place in the next few months across the six case study areas, and it is an important principle of the project that the research team bring lived experience and have the opportunity to gain research experience. 

Researchers carrying out the interviews will: 

• Have lived experience of being a parent carer of a child or young person with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) 

• Be paid £25/hour for the work they complete, including time spent in training, conducting interviews, any preparation and follow up, plus travel and caring costs 

• Be available to participate in data collector training provided by academics from Queens University Canada, scheduled to take place September 24-26 in central Brighton, 10am-2pm each day (12 hours in total). Lunch will be provided. 

• Be available and able to commit to carrying out the interviews with parent carers between 30 September and 11 October 2024 and to commit to a debrief session with the research team that will take place before 25 October. We estimate that each researcher might spend 10 hours in interviews and another 10 hours working on associated tasks, although this will vary. 

• Be provided with technology to record audio files.  You will be expected to upload audio files, memos, and any other research data into a secure cloud server 

• Be supported by an Amaze member of staff who will help with recruiting interviewees, scheduling interview slots and other administrative or tech support needs. 

• Need to sign and adhere to a confidentiality agreement 

• Be culturally aware and sensitive to different accessibility needs of individuals being interviewed 

• Have strong communication skills, be good at listening and conversation, and be open to feedback and constructive input 

• Have an eye for detail and ability to understand and follow detailed and specific directions (e.g., how to get informed consent, where to upload data, and procedures to ensure the confidentiality of participants). 

We will be seeking to recruit five researchers able to engage with a diverse range of parent carers, so ideally covering different geographical areas and from different backgrounds.   

To find out more about the Balancing Act Project and this opportunity, or to express an interest in a researcher role, please contact [email protected]. If expressing an interest, please state in a couple of paragraphs what skills or experience you could bring to the project role and confirm your availability to commit to the training and delivery schedule as set out.  The deadline for expressing an interest is 5pm on Friday 19 August.

Thank you!