Kar Man Au

Overview

Kar Man is a research assistant and peer researcher at CASCADE, the Children's Social Care Research and Development Centre at Cardiff University. She is involved in several significant research projects, including an NIHR-funded study led by Professor Jonathan Scourfield, titled  "Family Group Conferencing for Children and Families: Evaluation of Implementation, Context, and Effectiveness (Family VOICE)," and a Nuffield Foundation-funded project led by Clive Dias,  "Parental Advocacy in England: A Realist Evaluation of Implementation." Additionally, Kar Man participated in another NIHR-funded research project led by Professor Jerry Tew at Birmingham University, focusing on "Family Group Conferencing in Adult Social Care and Mental Health: Exploring How it Works and What Difference It Can Make in People's Lives."

Beyond her research work, Kar Man is a Visiting Tutor at Royal Holloway, University of London, and collaborates with the University of Sussex. She also serves as a  Parent Advocate for Child Protection and Family Group Conferences at the London Borough of Camden. Kar Man is a member and coordinator of the Camden Family Advisory Board. Furthermore, she is a lay member of the Camden Safeguarding Children Partnership. She is an Independent Consultant (Social Work-related) for the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

Kar Man is a multifaceted professional who embodies the principles of Relational Activism in her various roles as an activist, consultant, and administrator at Relational Activism. She is deeply committed to leveraging her experience and relationships to drive social change, focusing on many interconnected areas. Her interests span Family Group Conferences, Peer/Parent Advocacy, Participation, Co-Design, Child Protection, Child Development, and Domestic Abuse.

As a relational activist, Kar Man deeply believes in the transformative power of personal and informal relationships to effect sustained change. Her approach, which emphasises empathy, compassion, and network-building, is not just a strategy but a deeply held belief. Her work at Relational Activism involves advocating for these causes, consulting on projects, and managing administrative tasks to further the organisation's mission of making change happen through relational means.