Over the past 12 years Lisa has undertaken a body of research funded by the Department of Health and the Department for Education (formally Department for Children, Schools and Families) to inform policy and practice.

Lisa currently manages the Costs and Outcomes research programme, which aims to explore the relationship between needs, costs and outcomes of services provided to vulnerable children. In 2005 Lisa was seconded to DCSF to work with the Looked After children Taskforce to disseminate research findings and produce a practice guide and resource pack to assist children’s services department with the strategic development and planning of services to best meet the needs of vulnerable children.