Introducing: Dan Weir

I was tremendously excited to join the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, and the first weeks have not disappointed. The team have all made me feel very welcome. It’s clear from the start that they practise what they preach, looking after their own and each other’s mental wellbeing. The care and positivity here is striking. 

It’s a privilege to be taking over managing the Research and Policy team. I’m doing my best to get up to speed with all the projects we have coming up, and I’m looking forward to bringing my skills and experience to our work.

At university I studied law. Despite its dry reputation, I think it’s a fascinating subject, touching all of human experience. In particular, it taught me how dangerous it can be to make assumptions about people, and how important personal testimony is.

My career since finishing university has been pretty varied, but one of the most impactful jobs I’ve had was as a moderator for an online peer support forum run by Mind. I was immersed in the day to day experiences of people with mental health problems, and could see how great the obstacles they were facing could be. I also saw first hand the power of being listened to by someone who really understood.

I have tried to carry those lessons with me throughout my career. For the past ten years I have run a research and insight team in the insurance sector, and this taught me how challenging change can be. So often there’s a desire to do the right thing, but barriers ranging from software to budgetary constraints had to be overcome. I learned it’s frequently the voice of real people that has the power to influence decision making, unlocking resources to make change happen. 

The world isn’t perfect, but I believe we should try to make it better. Over the past few years, I have helped to run a few charities and NGOs, for example as a board member of Campaign Against Arms Trade or helping to get a protest rights charity, the Article 11 Trust, started. Fundamental to these organisations has been the agency of the people they are trying to help. Grounding change in lived experience is, in my opinion, the best way to find meaningful solutions.

Hearing people’s voices is at the heart of Money and Mental Health’s approach. Having access to a Research Community made up of thousands of people with lived experience of mental health problems means that the research we produce is rooted in people’s daily lives. It means our recommendations can be rooted in real reflections on the link between money and mental health. 

The quality of the work is also a testament to the team here. I have spent much of the last weeks poring over our reports, nodding along to insightful conclusions built upon diligent research and incisive analysis. I have been very impressed too by how practical the recommendations are.

For example, Debts and despair not only highlights the adverse impact of over frequent communications from creditors, but also identifies a potential tipping point at which communication goes from helpful to harmful. This is exactly the kind of nuanced conclusion that can drive much-needed change. 

We have just begun a three year project focussing on improving data sharing across key essential services sectors – a key recommendation from Always on your mind, which looked at the long term cycle of mental health problems and financial difficulties. Technically complex and with lots of moving parts, data sharing will be a challenge to get right but, with the potential to be immensely valuable, it is exactly the kind of work I am looking forward to participating in. 

If you have experience of mental health problems, or care for people who have, your input would be hugely valuable. Please consider joining our Research Community and help us continue to produce research and recommendations that have impact.

Similarly, if you work on some of the same issues as we do, please join our Professional Network for regular updates, opportunities and invitations.