Dr Mel Steer

My research interests include social policy, poverty and disadvantage, social and health inequity, the social determinants of health, austerity and changes to the welfare state and social justice. I'm interested in policy-relevant research findings to inform policy and practice for positive social change.

Before starting my PhD (completed 2015), I worked as a Senior Research Officer for the Home Office (Crime and Community Safety) for seven years, in research and policy roles for local government and the third sector, and in housing management roles for local authorities and housing associations. I completed a PGCE in Post Compulsory Education and training (literacy specialism) and gained experience teaching functional English to adults in the community and at a male prison in the North East region. 

I'm a member of the Tyne and Wear Citizens UK Living Wage Action Team, an Associate member of Fuse (Centre for translational research in public health) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. 

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Local authority austerity and place-based working: a qualitative exploration of a pilot policy implementation in a market town, Steer, M. 14 Jul 2023, In: People, Policy and Place
• Conclusion: hope in an age of austerity and a time of anxiety, Shucksmith, M., Davoudi, S., Todd, L., Steer, M. 26 Apr 2021, Hope under neoliberal austerity, Bristol, Policy Press
• Drive to thrive: a place-based approach to tackling poverty in Gateshead, Steer, M., Walker, M. 26 Apr 2021, Hope under neoliberal austerity, Bristol, Policy Press
• Hope Under Neoliberal Austerity: Responses from Civil Society and Civic Universities, Steer, M., Davoudi, S., Shucksmith, M., Todd, L. 26 Apr 2021
• Islands of hope in a sea of despair: civil society in an age of austerity, Davoudi, S., Steer, M., Shucksmith, M., Todd, L. 26 Apr 2021, Hope under neoliberal austerity, Bristol, Policy Press
• The civic university: introduction, Todd, L., Davoudi, S., Shucksmith, M., Steer, M. 26 Apr 2021, Hope under neoliberal austerity, Bristol, Policy Press
• The North East of England: place, economy and people, Brooks, E., Steer, M. 26 Apr 2021, Hope under neoliberal austerity, Bristol, Policy Press
• The public sector and civil society: introduction, Steer, M., Davoudi, S., Todd, L., Shucksmith, M. 26 Apr 2021, Hope under neoliberal austerity, Bristol, Policy Press
• Does domiciliary welfare rights advice improve health-related quality of life in independent-living, socio-economically disadvantaged people aged ≥60 years? Randomised controlled trial, economic and process evaluations in the North East of England, Howel, D., Moffatt, S., Haighton, K., Bryant, A., Becker, F., Steer, M., Lawson, S., Aspray, T., Milne, E., Vale, L., McColl, E., White, M. 10 Jan 2019, In: PLoS One
• Link workers’ perspectives on factors enabling and preventing client engagement with social prescribing, Wildman, J., Moffatt, S., Penn, L., O'Brien, N., Steer, M., Hill, C. 1 Jul 2019, In: Health and Social Care in the Community

• PGCE June 22 2015
• Social Policy PhD June 11 2015
• Fellow (FHEA) Higher Education Academy (HEA) 2017