Saffron Woodcraft

Saffron is the Neighbourhood Programme Leader and is responsible for the Young Foundation’s work on neighbourhoods and local social innovation.

Saffron is on maternity leave, please contact Melissa Magallanes for information about the Young Foundation's work on neighbourhoods, local social innovation and social network analysis.

Saffron leads on neighbourhoods policy research and innovation projects. She project manages the Neighbourhood Action Network programme and has carried out research about new neighbourhood governance models, neighbourhood involvement in public service delivery, neighbourhood problem-solving and the risks of neighbourhood governance. She is responsible for web innovation projects including fixmystreet.com, a new website developed with mySociety, and Neighbourhood Know-How, a new wiki for community groups.

Currently she is working on research about understanding local social innovation for NESTA and has recently completed research for Joseph Rowntree Foundation about the future role of ward councillors. Saffron is developing a new workstream on Social Network Analysis with the Centre for Collaborative Excellence. The first project involves mapping networks and relationships between residents and service providers in King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

More about Saffron

Previously Saffron was senior researcher at The Future Foundation working on social trend forecasting projects for the Home Office and Office of Science and Technology. Before this, she was Associate Director at communications agency Cohn & Wolfe, leading research, communications and community relations programmes about e-business, retail and town planning, and science and education, for public and private sector organisations. She has worked as an independent research and communications consultant in the public and voluntary sectors for Citylife, Initiative Ireland, NCH Action for Children, and UK for UNHCR.

Saffron has a Masters in Anthropology and Development from the London School of Economics.

Publications

Saffron has published several discussion papers about neighbourhood governance and has contributed articles about neighbourhood governance and local government reform to Society Guardian, New Start, Public Finance, Public Service Review, New Start, The Municipal Journal and Criminal Justice Matters.