Central Research Committee

The Central Research Committee (CRC) is chaired by Professor Tom Shakespeare. The Committee’s membership includes representatives from academia, leaders from Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) and other stakeholders from across the UK. The purpose of the Committee is to support the DRILL Programme Board (DPB), the National Advisory Groups (NAGs) and make stronger the DRILL ethos of co-production.

The CRC has made all final decisions on which projects to fund, assisted by the scoring and ranking by the NAGs of project applications from their nation.

DRILL Central Research Committee Members

Professor Tom Shakespeare (Chair of the Central Research Committee)

Tom Shakespeare is a Senior Lecturer at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Dr Bronagh Byrne
Dr Bronagh Byrne is Programme Director and Lecturer in Social Policy at Queen’s University Belfast. She is co-chair of the Queen’s University’s Disability Research Network.

Professor Nick Watson
Professor Nick Watson is a Professor at the Centre for Disability Research, Glasgow University and a Director of What Works Scotland.

Stephen Harris
Stephen was the Chief Executive of the Dewis Centre for Independent Living – a disabled people’s organisation based in South Wales.

Liz Sayce
Liz Sayce was Chief Executive of Disability Rights UK (and its legacy charity Radar) from 2007-2017, where she led work for equal participation for all.

Professor Mark Llewellyn

Mark is Director of the Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care and Professor of Health and Care Policy at the University of South Wales.

Professor Alison Koslowski

Alison is a Professor of Social Policy and Research Methods at the University of Edinburgh and is also the Chair of the DRILL Ethics Committee.


The Central Research Committee meet two times per year.

Special thanks is given to those members of the CRC whose contribution was invaluable & who have since resigned. We wish Philomena McCrory, Professor Paul Chaney, Mike Adams, Heather Fisken, Kaliani Lyle, Professor Jenny Morris  &  Professor Eric Emerson, the best of luck in all their future endeavours.