Honor Horsfall, Intern at Time to Shine

I’m an MA student, at the University of Sheffield’s politics department, studying Governance and Public Policy. 

Over the summer I worked as an intern at Time to Shine in order to gain more experience in social research. 

My small piece of research contributes to a wider evidence base that is being gathered to inform future lottery funding. 

I worked on an evaluation report of the impact of the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) approach on social isolation in older people. 

This involved visiting projects and talking to group members about their experience of being part of the group. 

Visiting the groups was a particularly enjoyable experience because everyone was very happy to talk to me and answer my questions. 

The theoretical exploration of the ABCD approach was interesting to learn and write about. 

The research was interesting because the project was very flexible in its focus and allowed for me to explore issues that arose during the research. 

The report assesses the appropriateness of the use of ABCD in reducing social isolation and loneliness and compares this to independent factors that have been seen to be effective. 

Hearing people’s stories was touching and has made more aware of the problems people encounter as they grow older.