“I believe social enterprises have the potential to make a real difference in people’s lives and communities.
Understanding how they grow and sustain their impact can help researchers, practitioners, and policymakers make better-informed decisions.
I hope my research can contribute, even in a small way, to helping organisations create greater social impact and reach more people who can benefit from their work.”
For NUSC member Azadeh Yazdanifard, a career in software engineering and IT management sparked a deeper curiosity about the forces that shape organisational success. After many years working in information technology within a university setting, and gaining experience across a range of business-related activities, she found herself increasingly drawn to questions of organisational growth, adaptation and impact.
Returning to academia through doctoral study at the University of Greenwich gave her the opportunity to explore these questions in greater depth. Having moved from Iran to the UK to embark on this new chapter, Azadeh describes the experience as both “challenging and rewarding”, allowing her to combine years of professional experience with a passion for research. As she explains:
Since moving to the UK, I have particularly enjoyed discovering London’s cultural life and learning from different people, places, and experiences.
I am naturally curious and enjoy exploring new ideas and perspectives. These activities help me stay creative, maintain balance, and bring fresh ways of thinking to both my research and everyday life.
Today, her work uses Social Network Analysis to investigate how social enterprises scale their impact and navigate complex challenges. We spoke to Azadeh about her research journey, what motivates her work, and the interests she pursues beyond academia.
Throughout my career, I observed that some organisations were able to grow and expand their impact successfully, while others faced challenges despite having committed people and valuable ideas.
These observations stayed with me for many years and made me curious about what drives sustainable growth. When I discovered Social Network Analysis, I was fascinated by its ability to reveal patterns and connections that are often hidden beneath the surface.
This research brings together my interests in technology, organisations, and social impact.
One of the aspects of research that she finds most rewarding is Social Network Analysis and its ability to uncover “connections that are not immediately obvious”. The approach offers a unique way of exploring “how ideas relate to one another and how patterns emerge over time”, revealing relationships that might otherwise remain hidden.
Motivated by the important role social enterprises play in addressing social and environmental challenges, her research seeks to bring together knowledge that is often scattered across different studies. The aim is to identify the key themes, strategies and connections that influence how social enterprises grow and increase their impact.
As she explains:
“To understand how social enterprises grow, we need to understand the networks of ideas, knowledge and strategies that shape their development.”
By mapping these networks and relationships, Azadeh will generate valuable insights into sustainable organisational growth and social impact, helping researchers and practitioners better understand what enables social enterprises to succeed and scale their work.
Cover photo by ROCKETMANN TEAM from Pexels
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