Professor Paul Montgomery

Professor Paul Montgomery

Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology
Professor of Social Intervention
Director of Postgraduate Research for the School of Social Policy
Cross Whitehall Trials Panel Advisor and Affiliate Professor at the Department of Family Studies, University of Malta

Contact details

Email
p.x.montgomery@bham.ac.uk
Address
School of Social Policy
Muirhead Tower
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Prof Montgomery arrived at Birmingham University in 2017 to take up his current post after twenty years at Oxford University where he was Professor of Psycho-social Intervention. His work is methodologically based in three main areas: Systematic Reviews, Trials (many of them RCTs) and Methods Advances in Complex Interventions. Topically, his work is wide ranging and includes Sleep where he originally did his doctorate, Education Interventions for Children, Empowerment Interventions for Women in LMICs, as well as broader policy advice for policymakers. 

He is a member of the Cross-Whitehall Trial Advice Panel, Cabinet Office, Government of the United Kingdom and is an Affiliate Professor, Department of Family Studies, University of Malta. Paul is also on the Advisory Panel of two “What Works Centres” -Wellbeing and Children’s Social Care.

Currently Prof Montgomery sits on NIHR and ESRC panels and is an Editor for the International Journal of Social Welfare and for the Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group (DPLPG) of the Cochrane Collaboration.

Feedback and office hours

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays 11am-1pm

Qualifications

  • DPhil Oxford 2002- Child Psychiatry
  • DipSW 1996 Oxford
  • MSc 1996 Oxford Applied Social Studies
  • BA (Hons) 1984 Keele Geography and Economics

Biography

Professor Montgomery’s current academic work can be considered in two broad categories: (1) Methodology of Psycho-Social Intervention, (2) Studies and trials related to Behavioural Interventions.

Methodology

Paul's methodological work is having a considerable impact on the ways that randomised trials and systematic reviews are conducted and reported in the rapidly growing field of social intervention. He has recently spearheaded the development of CONSORT-SPI, a reporting guideline for randomised trials of complex psychological and social interventions. He also led the development of the Oxford Implementation Index, and has researched the significance and utility of so-called 'empty reviews' (i.e., systematic reviews which find no studies eligible for inclusion). Currently he is leading the GRADE Extension for Complex Interventions funded by ESRC.

Behavioural Interventions

Paul's study of behavioural interventions began with his doctoral work evaluating Brief Interventions for sleep problems, and has evolved into a large, successful programme of systematic reviews and (mostly) randomised trials. Of note, recently he developed and piloted an evidence-based training manual to support democratic policing in Israel. As well, following promising results in a recent pilot study in Ghana, Paul (with colleagues at the Saïd Business School) is conducting a large trial of puberty education and sanitary pad provision for girls' empowerment, this time in Uganda. 

Teaching

Paul teaches on the MA in Social Policy for which he leads the Policy Evaluation Module and contributes to the Policy Futures Module. He also contributes to the Social Work MA where he teaches Research Methods.

Postgraduate supervision

Currently, Paul is teaching 5 PhD candidates.

Doctoral research

PhD title
Brief treatment for child sleep disorders (University of Oxford, 2001)

Research

Research interests

 Paul's key areas of research focus are:

Methodology in psycho-social interventions

Nutrition research

Behavioural interventions

Current projects

  • LGBTQ+ young people's experiences of social care
    What Works for Children’s Social Care and other What Works Centres,(£267,000) April 2021 – March 2023, Principal Investigator.

    There are two linked studies: the first qualitatively assesses the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth in residential care, the second evaluates an LGBTQ+ training programme for social workers working with LGBTQ+ young people. This project is the first in the UK to gather experiences of LGBTQ+ young people in residential care, and to understand what works and what needs to change to improve LGBTQ knowledge for social workers. Both studies are co-produced, working with stakeholder groups including youth, carers, social workers, support organisations and policymakers that are connected to LGBTQ+ young people.  With: Dr Jason Schaub

  • Professor Montgomery is a member of the Cross-Whitehall Trial Advice Panel, Cabinet Office, Government of the United Kingdom and is an Affiliate Professor, Department of Family Studies, University of Malta. He is also on the Advisory Panel of two “What Works Centres” -Wellbeing and Children’s Social Care.
  • Currently Professor Montgomery sits on NIHR and ESRC panels and is an Editor for the International Journal of Social Welfare and for the Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group (DPLPG) of the Cochrane Collaboration

Other activities

  • Member, Cross-Whitehall Trial Advice Panel, Cabinet Office, Government of the United Kingdom
  • Affiliate Professor, Department of Family Studies, University of Malta
  • Member, Advisory Panel, What Works Centre for Wellbeing, London
  • NIHR Doctoral Panel Member
  • Associate Editor – Systematic Literature Reviews, International Journal of Social Welfare
  • Editor, Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group (DPLPG) of the Cochrane Collaboration
  • Consulting Editor, Information for Practice, New York University (NYU)

Publications

Foster, J.; Montgomery, P. A Study of Environmentally Friendly Menstrual Absorbents in the Context of Social Change for Adolescent Girls in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 9766. 

Bach-Mortensen, A.M and Montgomery, P. (2019) Does sector matter for the quality of care services? A secondary analysis of social care services regulated by the Care Inspectorate in Scotland, Vol 9, 2. BMJ Open 

Montgomery, P., Grant, S., Mayo-Wilson, E., Macdonald, G. Michie, S., Hopewell, S. and
Moher, D. on behalf of the CONSORT-SPI Group (2018) Reporting randomised trials of social and psychological interventions: the CONSORT-SPI 2018 Extension. 

Grant, S. , Mayo-Wilson, E., Montgomery, P., Macdonald, G., Michie, S., Hopewell, S. and
Moher, D. on behalf of the CONSORT-SPI Group (2018). CONSORT-SPI 2018 Explanation and Elaboration: guidance for reporting social and psychological intervention trials. 

Montgomery, P., Spreckelsen, T. F., Burton, A., Burton, J.R., Richardson, A.J. (2018).  Docosahexaenoic acid for reading, working memory and behavior in UK children aged 7-9: A randomized controlled trial for replication (the DOLAB II study). Plos One. 13:2. 1-26. E 

Bach-Mortensen, A., Lange, B. and Montgomery, P. (2018). Barriers and facilitators to implementing evidence-based interventions among third sector organisations: a systematic review. Implementation Science, 13:103. 

Mongomery,P. Spreckelsen, T.F., Burton, A., Burton, J. R., Richardson, A.J. (2018) Docosahexaenoic acid for reading, working memory and behavior in UK children aged 7-9: A randomized controlled trial for replication 0192909. 

Montgomery, P., Movsisyan. A., Grant, S., Macdonald, G. & Rehfuess, E. (2019). Considerations of complexity in rating certainty of evidence in systematic reviews: a primer on using the GRADE approach in global health. BMJ Global Health. 4:e000848. 

Bach-Mortensen, A., & Montgomery, P. (2019). Does sector matter for the quality of care services? A secondary analysis of care services regulated by the Care Inspectorate in Scotland. BMJ Open. 2019;9:e022975. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022975. 

Weisman, C.B. & Montgomery, P. (2019). Functional Family Therapy (FFT) for Behavior Disordered Youth Aged 10–18: An Overview of Reviews. Research on Social Work Practice. Vol. 29(3) 333-346. DOI: 10.1177/1049731518792309. 

Expertise

Paul Montgomery is  Professor of Social Intervention at the University of Birmingham. He is also a member of the Cross Whitehall Trials Panel and assesses evidence for two of the UK Government What Works? Groups. His doctorate was in child sleep disorders and since that time he has developed into a methodologist more broadly looking into how we know whether given interventions are effective. His studies have taken place in the UK, Scandinavia, Africa and the Middle East.