“How has coaching on your Clore Fellowship supported you in your subsequent arts practice?”
We would like to invite you to participate in a research study funded by the Clore Leadership Programme and supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, supervised by Aston University.
Before you decide if you would like to participate, take time to read the following information carefully and, if you wish, discuss it with others such as line managers, board members or colleagues. Please contact a member of the research team – whose contact emails can be found at the end of this sheet – if anything in this document is unclear, or if you would like any further information.
What is the purpose of the study?
We would like to conduct a short pilot research project that looks at the possible impacts of personal coaching in enabling and supporting individuals from minoritised backgrounds to form leadership styles that are authentic and unique, specifically exploring how coaching can help to build social capital.
We wish to carry out 10 qualitative research interviews with cultural leaders who have participated in the Clore Fellowship programme. In these conversations, the interviewer will listen for social capital clues and build a picture of what results or benefits coaching can achieve in this context, with particular reference to the skills outlined in existing literature about leadership development and social capital.
Why have I been invited?
You are being invited to take part in this study because you have completed the Clore Fellowship programme within the last 10 years and consider yourself to have one or more of the protected characteristics that indicates you are from a background that has been minoritised by systems, structures, or society in the past.
For the purposes of the research, we are particularly interested in applications from those who have one or more of the following protected characteristics: gender, race, sexuality and disability, or any other background which has led to being marginalised by the leadership majority.
What will happen to me if I take part?
If you are selected and agree to take part, we will ask you to sign and return the consent form attached with this Information Sheet. Please print and sign it and then either scan it and email it back to us or email me for a postal address to send it in the post. There is also a form containing basic information and monitoring questions (the “pre-interview form”). You can return that by email.
The researcher will then send an online link for you to book your interview, which will be conducted on Zoom. The interview will not be video recorded, but the audio will be recorded by transcription software.
You will be reminded of your interview slot a few days before hand. You will not need to carry out any preparation in advance.
The interview will be conducted by the lead researcher, Helga Henry, and will last up to 60 minutes. If you change your mind about participating you can stop at any time; please note that the honorarium is only paid to those who complete the interview in full.
Do I have to take part?
No. It is up to you to decide whether or not you wish to take part. If you do decide to participate, you will be asked to provide informed consent.
You can halt your participation in the research at any time before your scheduled interview by contacting the researcher by email and any data collected up to that point will not be used. If you wish to withdraw your data after participation in your scheduled interview, then you have up to 15 days to do so by contacting the researcher by email. After this point, your data will be anonymised and it will not be possible to withdraw it.
While the main research is a Clore Fellow, there is no obligation to take part and your Clore Fellowship is not a reason to participate.
Will my taking part in this study be kept confidential?
Yes. A code will be attached to all the data you provide to maintain anonymity. Analysis of your data will be undertaken using coded data. We need to collect personal data (such as a name and contact details) and we will only use this to contact you to arrange an interview. The data we collect will be stored electronically on a secure cloud storage device.
If during the study you tell the researcher something that causes them to have concerns in relation to my health and/or welfare they may need to breach your confidentiality.
To ensure the quality of the research Aston University may need to access your data to check that the data has been recorded accurately e.g. for the purposes of audit. If this is required, your personal data will be treated as confidential by the individuals accessing your data.
How will the conversation during the interview be recorded and the information I provide managed?
With your permission we will audio record the interview using otter.ai, a web-based piece of software which links to the Zoom platform used for the interviews and we will also record the Zoom as a back up. I may also take brief notes during the call. The recording is transcribed and a member of the research team will turn that transcription into a document. This process will involve removing any information which could be used to identify individuals e.g. names, locations etc.
Audio recordings will be destroyed as soon as the transcripts have been checked for accuracy.
We will ensure that anything you have told us that is included in the reporting of the study will be anonymous. You of course are free not to answer any questions that are asked without giving a reason.
The consent form includes an agreement to your anonymised data being used by the researcher for future research and anonymised direct quotes being used in publications resulting from the study.
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
There are no specific benefits to taking part. It is hoped that the interview will be a positive experience and the questions may create an opportunity for reflection on your development as a leader and therefore be of some value to your ongoing leadership development.
What will happen to the results of the study?
The results of this study will be shared on the Clore Leadership website, will be shared in a webinar and subsequently may be published in scientific journals and/or presented at conferences. If the results of the study are published, your identity will remain anonymous
A copy of the study can be forwarded to you when it has been completed if you request it.
Expenses and payments
In recognition of the time and emotional labour involved in participating in this research, there is an honorarium of £150 paid to each participant. This payment is provided from the project funding which has been provided by the Clore Leadership Foundation. At the end of the interview, the payment will be made by bank transfer and we will ask you for your bank details to make that transfer. We will ask you to sign a receipt that will be sent to you. You can print, sign and scan the document back or send an email confirming receipt of the payment. Apart from the honorarium there are no other expenses available.
What if I have a concern about my participation in the study?
If you have any concerns about your participation in this study, please speak to the research team and they will do their best to answer your questions. Contact details can be found at the end of this information sheet.
If during the interview itself, you find you are experiencing difficulty or discomfort I will also use my listening and coaching skills to to handle them appropriately, including signposting some specific help or follow up if this seems appropriate – for example, AASHNA, a list of therapists working to recognise the ways in which culture, faith, religion, colour, social background, sexuality, gender and neurodiversity affect people’s experiences, and BAATN (The Black, African and Asian Therapy Network), a list of therapists from Black, African and Asian backgrounds, which additionally signposts local mental health and advocacy services.
If the research team are unable to address your concerns or you wish to make a complaint about how the study is being conducted you should contact the Aston University Research Integrity Office at research_governance@aston.ac.uk or via the University switchboard on +44 (0)121 204 3000.
If there are any related issues that you want to discuss or report you can email (or email at the address below) write to Professor Helen Higson at Aston University at the following address:
Professor Helen Higson,
Associate Dean, Accreditations, Aston Business School
Head of Mathematics Department
Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK
Research Team
This research is being carried out by Helga Henry, cultural consultant who can be contacted at helga@helgahenry.com. Her supervisor is Professor Helen Higson, Email: h.e.higson@aston.ac.uk.
Thank you for taking time to read this information sheet. If you have any questions regarding the study please don’t hesitate to ask one of the research team.
Aston University takes its obligations under data and privacy law seriously and complies with the Data Protection Act 2018 (“DPA”) and the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 as retained in UK law by the Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (“the UK GDPR”).
Aston University is the sponsor for this study based in the United Kingdom. We will be using information from you in order to undertake this study. Aston University will process your personal data in order to register you as a participant and to manage your participation in the study. It will process your personal data on the grounds that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest (GDPR Article 6(1)(e).
Aston University may process special categories of data about you which includes details about your health. Aston University will process this data on the grounds that it is necessary for statistical or research purposes (GDPR Article 9(2)(j)). Aston University will keep identifiable information about you for 6 years after the study has finished.
Your rights to access, change or move your information are limited, as we need to manage your information in specific ways in order for the research to be reliable and accurate. If you withdraw from the study, we will keep the information about you that we have already obtained. To safeguard your rights, we will use the minimum personally identifiable information possible.
You can find out more about how we use your information at https://www.aston.ac.uk/about/statutes-ordinances-regulations/publication-scheme/policies-regulations/data-protection or by contacting our Data Protection Officer at dp_officer@aston.ac.uk.
If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Officer who will investigate the matter. If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data in a way that is not lawful you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Helga Henry 