Mark Ellison

My profile

Biography

I am a Research Fellow in the Policy Evaluation & Research Unit (PERU) at Manchester Metropolitan University. I work in the fields of Environmental Criminology, Data Management and Evaluation.

I lead on managing interdisciplinary projects, data collection / analysis and developing relationships with external partners to undertake impactful research. I am currently working with several police forces, violence reduction units, local authorities, and partners on a range of Big Data and evaluation projects.

I currently teach on the undergraduate (3rd year) Space, Place and Crime unit, and the QSTEP Quantitative MSc programme (Data Management / Big Data Analytics).

I am currently the project manager and research evaluation lead supporting the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (VRU). I have led on evaluations of the GM Hospital Navigators Programme, Community led Programme, and PIED (Prevention, prosecution, intervention, education, and diversion) Programme. I have supported the VRUs Strategic Needs Assessments, RCT of Hotspot Policing evaluation, development of theory of change/logic models, and outcomes frameworks to support the evidence-led public health approach to violence reduction.

Prior to this, I was the project manager for the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Operational Analytics / Data Science project, understanding demand upon GMP across Greater Manchester, including the areas of Domestic Abuse, Missing Persons, Mental Ill Health, and Knife Crime. I have also worked with police forces on a variety of projects including the relationship between crime and alcohol outlets in the West Midlands (working with West Midlands Police (WMP)), the impact of minimum unit pricing on crime and disorder (Police Scotland / NHS Health Scotland). I have also supported the ESRC Understanding Inequalities project and developing research with Police Scotland.

Previously, I have supported Interserve / Purple Futures (Probation Community Rehabilitation Companies) with demand, business, and outcomes modelling. I have worked on a Troubled Families data-mining project with Manchester City Council. I have previously worked on a range of Criminal Justice projects and evaluations including; Greater Manchester ICO evaluation, Manchester College / Novus impact of education on re-offending, GM Transforming Justice Project, London Criminal Justice Partnership Reducing Reoffending evaluation, HMP Preston impact evaluation, Wigan DAAT Payment by Results Pilot and London Probation Trust evaluations. I have also previously worked on the European FP7 MYPLACE project (contemporary views of young people), managing the UK survey (fieldwork / data collection) and analysing the consortium dataset of 17,000 records.

Prior to joining MMU in July 2011, I worked in the public sector for 11 years in a range of organisations and policy areas, and has led Information, Analysis and Research teams at Cumbria Constabulary, Blackpool Council Children & Young People’s Department, and Government Office for the North West. I have been PRINCE 2 trained and has managed several ICT projects. In a previous role with Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), I worked on Local Area Agreements (LAAs), Tools to capture and present Local Authority Performance Information (Data Interchange Hub/Places Analysis Tool) and analysis on the economic downturn (Risk, Resilience and Recovery, and PSA and Place). I have strong project management, research, and analytical skills, with a good knowledge of a range of software including MS Excel, MS Access, R, QGIS, MapInfo, ARCGIS and SPSS.

Projects

Areas of Expertise
 

  • Management of large datasets
  • Quantitative analysis
  • Performance Management
  • Project Management
  • Data Visualisation
  • Evaluation
  • Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
  • Crime and the Economy

Research Activity & Consultancy projects
 

  • Project Manager, Data Analytics and Evaluation, Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit, GMCA (2019-2025) - £1.080 million
  • Research Fellow, RCT Hotspot Policing, GMP/HO (2021-22) - £100k
  • Research Fellow, Evaluation of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) on Crime and Disorder in Scotland, NHS Health Scotland (2019-2021) - £97k
  • Project Manager, The Extent and Nature of Knife Crime in Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Police (2019) - £27k
  • Project Manager, Greater Manchester Police Data Science / Operational Analytics project, Greater Manchester (2016-2019)
  • Research Fellow, ESRC Understanding Inequalities (2018-2020)
  • Research Fellow, Crime and Alcohol Outlets in the West Midlands (2016-2019)
  • Research Fellow, Evaluation of Novus / The Manchester College Offender Learning in Prisons Programmes (2015-2017)
  • Research Fellow, Evaluation of Interserve / Purple Futures Community Rehabilitation Companies Offender Management Programmes (2015-2017)
  • Research Fellow, Evaluation of Interserve Enablers of Change Assessment tool (2016-2017)
  • Project Manager, Intensive Community Support (ICO) Evaluation, Police & Crime Commissioner (2014-2018) - £50k
  • Project Manager, Oxfordshire County Council Strategic Intelligence Assessment, (2012-19)
  •  Research Associate, Insight to Evaluation: Troubled Families Data Mining Exercise, Manchester City Council (2014-2016)
  • Project Manager, Evaluation of Rochdale Connections Trust Freedom Programme (2015) 
  • Research Associate, European FP7 MYPLACE (Memory, Youth, Political Legacy and Civic Engagement) Project, (2012-15)
  • Research Associate, Data analysis supporting GM Strategic Intelligence Assessment, New Economy (2014)
  • Research Associate, Impact Evaluation of the Inside Out project, HMP Preston (2014)
  • Project Manager, Specialist Financial Modelling Project Support for Wigan DAAT Payment by Results (2011-13)
  • Research Associate, Spatial Data Analysis of DHLE to support MMU Employability Review (2013)
  • Research Associate, HMP Grendon Cost Benefit Analysis Feasibility Study (2013)
  • Research Associate, Evaluation of the effect of effect of housing provision on re-offending (2012)
  • Project Manager, Impact and Economic Evaluation of Rochdale Connections Trust Targeted Youth Service (2011-12) 
  • Senior Research Assistant, Evaluation of London Reducing Reoffending Programmes, LCPS (2011-12)
  • Research Associate, Greater Manchester Crime Futures Project (2011-12)
  • Research Associate, Estimating the costs and benefits of an alcohol treatment requirement, Acorn Housing (2011)
  • Government Office North West Project Manager, Risk, Resilience and Recovery – Spatial Impact of the Economic Downturn, DCLG (2008-10)
  • Government Office North West Project Manager, PSA and Place, DCLG (2009-10)
  • Government Office North West Project Manager, Government Office Places Handbook, DCLG (2008-09)
  • Government Office North West Project Manager, DCLG Data Interchange Hub and Places Analysis Tool, DCLG (2008-10)
  • Various Analyses of Children, Family and Young People datasets, Blackpool Council (2006-2008)
  • Production of Crime and Disorder Audits and Strategies, Cumbria (2002-2005)
  • Research Analyst, Project Hammered – Targeted Policing Initiative (TPI) Alcohol Related Violent Crime and Domestic Violence, Cumbria Constabulary (2001-2003)

Teaching

Why do I teach?

I currently teach on the undergraduate (3rd year) Space, Place and Crime unit.

QSTEP Quantitative Methods MSc programme (Data Management / Big Data Analytics).

I enjoy teaching students practical and technical skills. I am an active researcher working with a range of criminal justice organisations. I use academic research and practical experience to inform my teaching.

Subject areas

Environmental Criminology

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Science

Quantitative Methods

Data Management

Research outputs