The Collective
Collaborative Social Change, Driven by Experience and Integrity
Who we are and what we stand for...
Paradigm Collective
Paradigm Collective is a partnership of subject matter specialists who share a common philosophy: that lasting, sustainable social change begins within communities themselves.
We bridge the gap between pioneering organisations, statutory services and grassroots initiatives, creating strong, multi-pathway partnerships that deliver tangible results for the people they serve.
Our team brings together many decades of combined experience across statutory services, criminal justice, finance, governance and the third sector. This unique blend of skills, insight and lived experience allows us to design and deliver solutions that are not only innovative, but also deeply rooted in the realities faced by communities every day.
We are committed to trauma-informed practice, inclusivity and amplifying the voices of those with lived experience. Our mission is to empower individuals, build strong partnerships and measure impact, ensuring every initiative creates meaningful, measurable and sustainable change.
The Collective
David Clarke
Director
I’ve enjoyed a long and varied career across a range of sectors and disciplines including finance, criminal justice, voluntary and statutory organisations. Roles have encompassed business ownership, business development including fund sourcing, brand/product innovation, programme implementation & delivery, creation of bespoke data management systems and reporting mechanisms and governance lead over SME audit and finance functions.
Most recently I’ve worked for a police service, leading the development and implementation of an innovative county wide, reducing offending programme galvanising an exceptional team including colleagues from the 3rd Sector and wider statutory and stakeholder networks. The programme significantly improved collaboration between statutory and community organisations, promoted autonomy of delivery, achieving significant impact in reducing offending and most importantly improving wellbeing and opportunities available to the client group.
I’m interested in helping marginalised communities develop their own pathways to improved wellbeing, personal development and sustainable change. I came to the 3rd Sector having retired from a career in corporate financial services and a lifelong interest in the causes of disadvantage and how sustainable, social change can be achieved.
My values have been influenced by my own early childhood experiences and a reflection of how I benefitted from exposure to positive environments and supportive people—protective factors helping develop my resilience and personal philosophy of life. I’m a firm believer in the human capacity to change and championing the interests of people who are often denied opportunities purely by virtue of their circumstances.
I’ve previously served as a magistrate, board member of a regional probation service and board roles in several small and medium sized 3rd Sector organisations.
Susannah Clarke KPM
Director
I began my career with Lancashire Constabulary back in 1990 and worked across a wide range of roles in both uniform and CID. Over the years, I’ve led innovative work in public protection, focusing on issues like child sexual exploitation, human trafficking, domestic abuse and honour-based abuse.
I’ve always been driven to try to improve the multi-agency response provided to vulnerable people. Before retiring from the police in 2022, I served as Detective Chief Superintendent and Head of CID for Lancashire.
During my time in policing, I played a role in multiple national working groups most of which focussed on working more effectively in vulnerable communities.
As the Director of the Lancashire Violence Network, (LVRN) I began to reflect on what more I could have achieved in policing with a greater focus on prevention and tackling the root causes of vulnerability. I had unfortunately witnessed first-hand the intergenerational cycle of crime and violence in families, often driven by poverty and social factors.
By treating the underlying symptoms and driving real, meaningful change, in the VRN I led a dedicated network of professionals with a strong sense of the importance of understanding the impact of trauma on children and families. Working with colleagues with lived experience of the criminal justice system taught me that there is much to improve if we are truly to adopt a more preventative mindset but also that there is ALWAYS hope.
Ged Docherty
I am a recently early retired employee of both Lancashire County and Blackpool Council having enjoyed a lengthy career working with children and their families.
Having grown up in a large family with a strong sense of community and social justice it was inevitable that I would choose the vocational profession that I did.
Beginning in the crucial arena of Early Help I eventually progressed to Child Protection and Safeguarding having undertaken my social work degree. My knowledge skills and abilities were certainly strengthened and indeed stretched within the worlds of court work, child protection and my eventual multi-agency collaboration as a specialist Child Sexual Exploitation social worker.
In my ongoing search for new challenges and to deepen my knowledge base as a practitioner I moved to Blackpool where I had the transformational opportunity of leading and recruiting the North West’s first and only For Baby’s Sake Team; a unique and cycle breaking approach to working with perpetrators and victims of domestic violence and abuse.
The success of the model, in working with the most vulnerable and high risk babies and their parents was recognised by the team securing the Children and Young People national safeguarding award in 2022.
It is now time for me to take my skills and abilities, coupled with my passions onto pastures new. I am excited by affecting systems changes which are truly transformational, by trauma informed practice which is embraced and embedded.
By advocating for men within the world of child protection they can be supported to be the safest and healthiest versions of themselves and the parent their child needs. The only way for any of this to be achieved is via training delivered by skilled, knowledgeable and passionate expert practitioners with a strong foundation and a value base which puts the needs of the most vulnerable at the core of all they do and believe in.
Professor Amanda Kirby MBBS MRCGP PhD FCGI
Amanda is an emeritus professor at the University of South Wales, honorary professor at Cardiff University and Visiting Professor at Trinity College Dublin.
She is the founder and CEO of Do-IT Solutions, a globally recognised tech-for-good company specialising in neurodiversity screening and support tools for education and employment.
With more than 35 years of clinical and research experience in neurodiversity, Amanda has authored 10 books and over 100 research papers. Her 2021 book, Neurodiversity at Work, won the EDI Business Book Award. She was the Chair of the ADHD Foundation and has worked closely with several other charities in this sector. She has been a contributor to developing global standards, such as the UK’s BSI’s Design for the Mind guidelines. She is currently writing her 11 th book on Neurodiversity and Parenting.
Amanda is a LinkedIn Top Voice with 150,000+ followers and has a weekly subscriber based to her Neurodiversity 101 newsletter of 165,000+.
Her passion remains championing neurodivergent talent and creating inclusive workplaces as a parent, grandparent of neurodivergent family members as well as recognising herself as having neurodivergent traits.
Dr Lindsay Youansamouth
Lindsay is an academic member of the School of Social Sciences, Lancaster University. Since 2020, she has held a teaching leadership role in overseeing Lancaster University’s partnership with the largest social work charity in England (Frontline), for delivery of two national postgraduate social work education programmes. As a social work educator, principles and values such as social justice, inclusion, empathy, compassion, solidarity with those who are disadvantaged and developing human potential, underpin her work.
Lindsay’s research focuses primarily on three connected areas: multi-agency working, interventions to prevent violence and engaging fathers. Her research contributes to informing and improving justice for children and adults. At Lancaster University, Lindsay is a member of the Centre for Child and Family Justice Research. She has also held previous research positions at Higher Education Institutes, including the University of East Anglia.
Lindsay’s extensive frontline practice experience – in prisons, mental health, domestic violence and abuse and child protection services – influences her passion in advocating for relationship-based, restorative and therapeutic approaches. She brings a wealth of experience in collaborating with ‘experts-by-experience’ to harness collective learning and develop effective approaches to tackle social inequalities. Lindsay recently served as Academic Advisor to the Lancashire Violence Reduction Network for a 6-year period, overseeing research and evaluation. Her specialist interest lies in using research and evaluation to prevent (and respond to) trauma across the life-course.