DISCOVERYPROGRAMME

In April Chris was informed that he'd successfully secured a job with his old employer Leman Brothers (or the part of it that survived the meltdown in 2008 and is now tying up loose ends). On April the 13th He dropped back in to hand over his work on the Mapping Project and to supply some feedback about the Discovery Programme as a whole. Here's a few highlights from his exit interview:

How would you describe the Discovery Programme in your own words?

People are working on stuff they’ve never done before, they’re developing a new skill set, something that can be applied when they want to get back into paid employment... Some people go through depression, some people go through very low moods. I looked forward to every Tuesday, coming here to work on this because I knew I was doing something, contributing something, something tangible that was being used. Working along side Jamie and a couple of other people from the outside world – I felt like I was part of a consultancy team effectively.

What did you like about the Discovery Programme?

We got some direction from Jamie [O’Brien]… about tracing people and how they react to their environments. I thought it was a good idea and it took me back to my engineering days – stuff I’d done previously, about ten years ago. I enjoyed working along side him, and then you involved different people from different centres, then speaking with [Rosten Woo] in the states – he had a great insight into how it should develop as well. So working with all these people I actually felt like I was working not actually as a volunteer, but more in some sort of paid environment…

So an important element was working with other professionals who were excited about the project?

That kind of rubbed off on me. I thought if they’re excited with work I’m doing, I feel better about myself. They weren’t looking for any financial gain in this. They were giving their time for a chance to be involved in the project. Because people were taking an interest in what I was doing I found that very motivating. It alleviated my mood. I felt a lot better about myself.

Did you feel you understood the point of the programme and that it was well explained?

Initially not. None of us had any idea. When we were tasked with the projects we had to get a bunch of people together and do a – this is a horrible term they use in IT called a ‘shake-out’. You do a big shake-out, you throw things around to figure out what you’re going to do and what you need. I was updating my CV after we started the project and I was thinking, ‘what do I call this?’ And what my CV says compared to what we ended up doing are two completely different things!

Do you feel the aims of the programme make sense?

They do definitely. I think the self-esteem issue is a big thing. It’s trying to get people motivated and excited again. It’s giving people something to look forward too – me especially anyway.

Was the support of the other team members useful to you, if so in what ways?

The only team member I had was Jamie. What a guy. He’s a very technical guy. He knows his stuff. He goes into great detail about things – don’t get me wrong, I did get the point but there were times I had to think exactly what it was he was getting through.

What skills did you develop or improve on whilst on the programme?

Probably my communication. Having to speak to a lot of people. Having to alter my accent so they understand me! I have to enunciate. My brain tries to say something and my mouth doesn’t react quickly enough. I end up stammering where I don’t mean to. I still can’t write properly, but I’m getting better on that. And also interpretation. Being able to interpret ideas and concepts that people come across, in what people are saying, that they struggle with. Trying to get that down on paper. Some people find it hard to explain what they’re doing. I was having to elaborate for them, give examples – so that’s interpretation of their problems.

What thing(s) could be improved about the way the programme worked?

I don’t think much. I didn’t have any problems with it. Speaking to the other members it seems like their projects are taking shape too.

What was the overall impact of the programme on you?

Self esteem. I feel more motivated, feel better about myself. And obviously that transition from leaving this and going to work, I felt pretty good about myself – going there I felt I could do it. I’ve got the motivation to actually do something. I hadn’t done anything for three years. The motivation was there to actually go ahead with this. If I hadn’t done this I’d have felt quite – not intimidated but a bit apprehensive about getting back into the work place. This got me using my brain again. It got me thinking in a way that I hadn’t for the best part of two-and-a-half years.

How would you see the programme developing in the future – do you have any suggestions?

In the future it may have some sort of revenue generating streams. But that might be quite a while. It might actually be devolved into some sort of off-shoot of Headway, to be some sort of revenue generating stream. I can see it working. Something that people can be involved in. Getting involved in looking at the numbers, getting cash involved. It’s another skill to work on. Try to expand on the group you’ve got at the moment. Try to find people that are keen to do it. Some people won’t want to be involved but a lot of people will be very interested in doing something like this. It’s only been seven months effectively, and people have only been working two or three days a week tops, so it will take its time to grow. I think someone’s going to pick [the project] up, I think it will end up going to new level afterwards. I wish I could still do it but paid employment takes precedent.

Thanks to Chris for all his hard work getting the Mapping Project up and running. And good luck chasing down those toxic assets!