CRIS stands for UCL’s Community Research Initiative for Students, and is a collaborative programme that connects Master’s students with voluntary and community sector organisations to co-create research that has real-world impact.
Ella McGill reached out to us last year about collaborating with The Survivors Trust on her dissertation through the initiative. Ella was keen to centre her research around our National Service Standards and its benefits for specialist sexual violence services.
Chris Sharif, Policy & Standards Manager at TST who worked closely with Ella throughout, says ‘It has been a pleasure to work with Ella to build upon the feedback and assessment of our own processes by using independent academic methods to review our National Service Standards.’
Hear from Ella about the project
Ella’s research was centred around interviews with the organisations who have achieved conformity with our Standards.
‘By speaking with Ella, organisations had the opportunity to share their experiences and provide feedback to ensure we can improve our processes, so our National Service Standards continue to set a benchmark for safe, resilient, survivor-led and trauma-informed specialist sexual violence services. Our UKAS accreditation provides nationally recognised credibility, and Ella’s research nicely supplements this with the experience of those organisations who have gone through the process.’
On 11th September 2025, UCL invited community partners and students to celebrate the Community Research Initiative Showcase at their East Marshgate Campus. An opportunity to come together, be curious and celebrate wonderful community-led research that will have a real impact in the community.
We want to wholeheartedly thank Ella for her time, expertise, willingness to learn and for providing us with valuable feedback to help our Standards continue to be the best for survivors.
Thank you, Ella!
