Evidence-based practice for lasting impact
About Methods for Change
Methods for Change is delivered by the Institute for Methods Innovation, a scientific, charitable, and non-profit institute committed to higher learning through the advancement of education and educational capacities in support of educational establishments, such as schools, colleges, and universities.
Methods for Change’s provision of research, analysis, training, advice and consultation services are designed to enable professionals and organisations to boost their impact and improve social outcomes.
With registered offices in Ireland, United States and United Kingdom, we work closely with stakeholders to deliver research training, evaluation frameworks, systems, and services globally. Clients have included UNESCO, Science Foundation Ireland, The Wellcome Trust, Research Councils UK / UK Research and Innovation, the European Commission, Disney Conservation Fund, The University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Parque das Aves and Arts Council England, as well as pan-European research bodies such as the European Space Agency.
Meet our trainers
Dr. Eric Jensen
Dr. Eric A. Jensen is a social scientist with a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in sociology. Author of Doing Real Research: A Practical Guide to Social Research (SAGE), Dr. Jensen brings extensive methodological expertise in quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods social research and evaluation. Jensen has been working in science communication research and practice since 2001, beginning with a National Science Foundation-funded project on International Ethics and Equity Issues Relating to Biotechnology.
Jensen has delivered hundreds of training workshops on evaluation methods and evidence-based science communication, as well as leading and consulting on projects large and small on public engagement with research, impact evaluation, socially responsible research and environmental communication. Jensen’s latest book is Science Communication: An introduction.
In addition to being Director of Research at The Institute for Methods Innovation, he is a professor at the University of Warwick (on a career break), a visiting research scientist at the University of Illinois working on a Sloan Foundation-funded project on research software policy and a senior researcher at the Thriving Natural Capital Challenge Centre at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC).
Dr. Aaron Jensen
Dr. Aaron Jensen’s social research experience includes nearly a decade of leading and supporting roles in the design, coordination and delivery of 30+ research and innovation projects globally. He has demonstrated proficiency and expertise as a professional evaluation consultant with advanced social research methods in a wide range of real-world contexts.
His social research portfolio includes postdoctoral-level contributions to eight European Commission-funded (H2020) projects requiring expertise in social research. He has co-authored numerous competitive proposals and grant applications that secured awards from national, government, and higher education funders for large-scale, multi-national projects.
Dr. Jensen often works at the intersection between research and technical teams to ensure robust methodologies, data management and data protection (GDPR). He has co-founded multiple enterprises and research initiatives and co-developed an innovative, propriety digital research technology to maximize the efficient delivery of advanced research protocols with process automation and dynamic insights with real-time analytics.
Daniela Martin
Daniela Martin is a science communicator with more than 15 years of experience in project management, media production, teaching, and research. She has been a consultant in strategic communication, and social and cultural management for governments, universities, and international organizations such as UNESCO, UN-Habitat, Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), ITESO and the Government of the State of Jalisco, Mexico.
Daniela is the Director of Communications at The Institute for Methods Innovation where she leads communication planning efforts and manages the company’s social media and online presence. Since joining IMI, she has contributed to over a dozen research projects, including several large EU projects funded by the European Commission. She is also a Research and Communications Associate at the Institute for Science and Innovation Communication where she is involved in the EU-funded project AURORA.
Over the past few years, Daniela has worked as a university professor in Mexico (ITESO) and Germany (Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences), teaching subjects related to science communication, cultural management, citizen science, and media production. She also has extensive experience in communication and media production, having worked with international production companies such as Disney and LucasFilm Ltd.
Lali van Zuydam
Lali is a Research and Communications Associate with The Institute for Methods Innovation where she works on large-scale European Commission research projects (such as HYPOP, Project Ô and RRING) as well as impact evaluation and survey research training for participants all over the world. She is also involved with the German Institute for Science and Innovation Communication (inscico) as a Science Communication Specialist for the AURORA project.
Lali holds a Master’s Degree in Science and Technology Journalism from Stellenbosch University in South Africa and is currently enrolled for her PhD in Science and Technology Studies at the same institution. Through her affiliation with Stellenbosch University, Lali recently joined an international research project, funded by Meta, to explore fact-checking practices in the Global South. Her areas of interest include science communication, science journalism and plain language writing.