We are Hopkins Van Mil

We bring people together to inform the future.

 
 
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Welcome

Film maker Paul Wyatt’s film on how HVM brings people together to inform the future.

At HVM we focus on facilitating engagement so that voices are heard, learning is shared and understanding achieved.

In practice this means finding the right process for people to explore their hopes, fears, challenges and aspirations for the future. We create safe and trusted spaces for productive and emotionally engaging discussions on the issues for which society has no clear answers as yet.

Enabling everyone who needs to, including those with lived experience of an issue, technical specialists, people and communities from all parts of society, to work together as equals to take actionable, better informed and powerful decisions.

 

What we do

HVM facilitates engagement so that voices are heard, learning is shared and understanding achieved.

The team has extensive skills and experience in preparing for, designing, facilitating and reporting on effective research and stakeholder engagement programmes on complex issues. We support teams to navigate organisational change and to re-think systems and structures. We are skilled at reporting on engagement and deliberative findings in ways which are useful to decision makers and enriching to policy makers.

 

Social research

HVM specialises in using social research techniques such as the design, facilitation and reporting on deliberative processes including public dialogue and Citizens’ Juries. We put people's views at the centre of big issues. The team ask questions, observe situations and listen. We focus on those issues on which society has no clear answers as yet including on repairing our food system; the environment and climate; health and social care; and AI, machine learning and data use. The topics are often complex, sensitive and nuanced including on the legal position on assisted dying, genetic technologies and early human embryo research. We support people across society to explore these issues, using a balanced range of evidence to come to considered conclusions on the future. This enables policy makers to make informed decisions on future policy and current action.

Stakeholder engagement

HVM comprises a team of expert facilitators. As such we plan for, design and deliver stakeholder engagement meetings, workshops and events. We listen to what organisations aim to get out of their planned session and co-design with them a process which will achieve the best outcome for all involved. We provide objective facilitation to ensure the group can focus on what needs to be discussed so that ideas, solutions and decisions can flow from the process.