Social Justice Strategy & Consulting for Movements, Funders, and NGOs

NB Social Justice Studio.
Research. Planning. Practice

You want to make real change. So do we.

We work with people who care deeply about their communities, their work, and the futures they are building. Our role is to support you, your team, and your partners to find clarity, direction, and confidence in what you are doing.

We bring together evidence, strategy, cultural insight, and community knowledge to help people work well together, learn from each other, and build systems that are fairer, more connected, and more humane

the studio

Who we are

NB Social Justice Studio is a research, planning and practice partnership led by Dr Michael Barron and Jaime Nanci. Between us, we bring over four decades of experience working in social justice, across activism, the arts, human rights and equality policy, cultural practice, academia, philanthropy, and youth and community work.

We work with people in grassroots organisations, civil society, funding bodies, government and public services to strengthen social justice work and the wider world around it. Our approach is grounded in care, solidarity, community, and in a shared belief that good strategy must always stay connected to people, culture, and imagination.

Dr Michael Barron

michael@nbsocialjustice.studio

Dr Michael Barron is a strategist, author, researcher, community and youth worker, and social justice practitioner with more than 25 years’ experience. He is the author of How Ireland’s LGBTQ+ Youth Movement Was Built: Civil Society in the Pursuit of Social Justice, which traces how sustained community organising helped reshape Irish public life and policy. A founder of BeLonG To, Michael played a leading role in the Marriage Equality referendum and later led education equality reform through EQUATE, helping remove the Baptism Barrier in Irish schools. He has worked in human rights philanthropy, including as Head of the Equality Fund and Executive Director of The Rowan Foundation, and has advised government departments and international organisations including the Council of Europe, UNESCO and the OSCE. Through NB Social Justice Studio, he leads research and strategy projects focused on social justice and social change. He holds a Doctorate in Social Science from Maynooth University.

CONTACT MICHAEL

Jaime Nanci

jaime@nbsocialjustice.studio

Jaime Nanci holds a Master’s degree in Creative Musicianship from the University of Ulster and is a strategic researcher, writer, and cultural consultant working at the intersection of culture, philanthropy, and social justice. With over 25 years’ experience, their work brings participatory, narrative-led insight to research, evaluation, and strategy, supporting organisations to navigate complex social and policy challenges. A natural connector and constructive disruptor, Jaime works across disciplines, sectors, and communities-linking lived experience, creative practice, and institutional decision-making while challenging assumptions and inherited ways of working that limit impact. As a co-founder of The Rowan Trust, Jaime helped shape its values and research culture and developed Ireland’s first Cultural Activism Fund, embedding artistic practice and community-led creativity within strategic philanthropy and social-change infrastructure.

CONTACT JAIME

Social Justice Strategy & Consulting for Movements, Funders, and NGOs

Our partnership

NB Social Justice Studio grew from two intersecting paths – one rooted in strategic social justice, the other in creative inquiry. Together, we design work that is evidence-based, imaginative, and alive, connecting people, policy, culture, and community.

“Michael and Jaime produce strategic research that is clear, practical and immediately useful. They have a real ability to analyse complex environments and produce research and strategy that offer clarity and realistic recommendations. I return to them with challenging work because I know they will ‘get it’ and deliver what we need.”

Deirdre Duffy

Friends of The Earth

“Dr Michael Barron and Jaime Nanci have produced one of the most thoughtful and strategically useful analyses of the pressures facing democracy and civil society in Ireland today. Their report Democracy Under Pressure, produced for Community Foundation Ireland, has practically helped shape and deepen our thinking about the role philanthropy can play in supporting communities, strengthening civil society and responding to rising pressures on democracy.”

Denise Charlton

Community Foundation Ireland

"Queer Asian Pride Ireland and Queer Spectrum Film Festival wouldn’t have been possible without Michael and Jaime. Their futuristic thinking, strategic support, and soft‑power transferable skill‑share mentorship have had a profoundly positive impact on my activism and the way I think about ‘New Irish Queerness.”

Pradeep m,ahadeshwar

Queer Asian pride Ireland

Create worked alongside Jaime to support cultural activism through projects, ideas, and connections between artists, communities and movements. Through this collaboration, we saw that some of the most radical moves arts funders can make begin with honest conversation. Jaime’s political imagination, clarity and care helped us rethink how we listen, share power, and create space for artists and communities to work with radical hope and creative ambition."

Damien McGlynn

Create National Agency for Collaborative Arts

"Michael brings a rare combination of strategic thinking, community knowledge, analysis and practical experience. He understands how change happens because he has spent decades helping to build it. Alongside his integrity and deep commitment to social justice, he brings imagination, determination and an ability to see possibilities that others often miss."

Anna Quigley

Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign

" It’s always a pleasure to work with Michael and Jaime, their engagements are so very mindful and attentive, bringing their experience and incisive analysis to provide clear insights and fitting solutions. You feel so very seen."

Shane O'Curry

Irish Network Against Racism

Social Justice Strategy & Consulting for Movements, Funders, and NGOs

Why Now?

Across the social-justice landscape, powerful work is happening.

People in communities, grassroots groups, cultural spaces, civil society organisations, governments, funding bodies, and public services are doing important work every day, often with limited time, limited resources, and growing pressure.

Many of the people we work with recognise that:

Social change involves long-term and complex challenges
People bring huge expertise & commitment, but are overstreched
Good work benefits from time to think, learn, and plan together
Strong connections between people, policy, culture, and power brings change

CONSULTANCY for funders, ngos, and community movements

What we do

We work across research, strategy, and advisory support to help communities, organisations, funders, and governments sharpen their contribution to social justice and systemic change.

RESEARCH

Applied research & learning

Research that is ethical, rigorous, and brave. We work with communities to make visible the complex issues often overlooked at the edges of systems.

explore research

Planning

Strategic planning, framework design & evaluation

Ambitious, grounded social justice strategies that reflect people’s real experiences and organisational capacity, and guide organisations and communities with clarity and optimism.

design your roadmap

PRACTICE

Movement building & cultural practice

Every lasting movement has a cultural pulse. We help you connect strategy with story, culture, and community experience.

create cultural change

Credits: End Shame, End Blame, End Criminalisation and Women/Life/Freedom murals by Holly Pereira and Em Blake, with Yaran Collective. Photographs by Ror Conaty.

Building Bridges Between Government, Philanthropy and Communities

National Youth Council of Ireland: Evaluating Equality and Intercultural Youth Work

NB Social Justice Studio partnered with the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) to conduct an external evaluation of its Equality & Intercultural Programme. The work was framed as a collaborative evaluation process, designed to generate clear insights, accessible analysis and practical next steps that reflect the realities of contemporary youth work in Ireland.

Human rights, Team building

Community Foundation Ireland: Philanthropy, Power and Protecting Democracy

In 2024–2025, Community Foundation Ireland asked NB Social Justice Studio to take an honest look at what “democracy protection” really means in Ireland. Through confidential conversations with civil society, funders and field experts, and an analysis of Irish and international practice, we mapped where philanthropic money can genuinely strengthen democratic life – and where it can unintentionally reinforce existing power imbalances. The result was a practical Ten Levers for Democratic Protection framework and clear strategic pathways that now guide more intentional, values‑led funding decisions.

Activism, Immigration

Together for Yes: learning from Ireland’s landmark abortion rights campaign

In 2018, Ireland voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment and legalise abortion after one of the largest feminist and civil‑society campaigns in its history. Together for Yes united more than 100 organisations in a national, values‑driven coalition for reproductive rights, blending grassroots organising, strategic communications and feminist leadership. In the months after the referendum, the campaign’s Co‑Directors commissioned an independent learning review – not as a victory lap, but to honestly document what worked, what was hard, and what future movements could do differently. NB Social Justice Studio’s precursor, Michael Barron Social Change Consultancy, was asked to lead that work.

Activism, Funding, Human rights, Ireland, Irish, LGBTQ+, NGO, Queer, Strategic planning for NGOs

The Rowan Trust: Rapid-Response Funds and Cultural Activism for Grassroots Justice

At The Rowan Trust, we built rapid-response and cultural-activism funds with INAR, Dublin Pride, NYCI and Create, designing small, flexible grants that moved quickly to anti‑racist, youth and queer organisers, while sitting alongside wider core funding to Ireland’s social‑change NGOs.

Publications & insights

Explore the research and ideas that fuel our work. This collection features our key publications, toolkits, and media appearances on topics ranging from human rights and public health to community activism. Grounded in real-world experience and rigorous analysis, these resources offer practical insights and strategic frameworks for anyone committed to building a more just and inclusive society.

Book

How Ireland's LGBTQ+ Youth Movement was Built

This book offers the first comprehensive study of how LGBTQ+ youth civil society shaped Irish public policy. Combining activist insight with academic analysis, it traces Ireland’s journey from decriminalisation to marriage equality, showing how organised movements achieve change over time. Praised by former President of Ireland Mary McAleese as “a powerful chronicle of courage and conviction,” it offers lasting lessons for future social justice work.

Publication

Challenging Drug-Related Stigma in Public Services

This report sets out a training programme to challenge drug-related stigma in public services. Commissioned by Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign, it draws on research with frontline staff and people who use drugs, developing a practical, adaptable training template to support respectful, equitable service delivery and reduce barriers to access.

Toolkit

LGBTI+ Safe and Supportive Schools Toolkit

This first-of-its-kind toolkit supports post-primary schools to build safe, supportive and inclusive school communities for LGBTI+ students. Aligned with the Department of Education Wellbeing Policy and a whole-school approach, it sets out six practical action areas grounded in student wellbeing, leadership, and positive educational outcomes.

Publication

Mapping LGBTI+ Youth Services and Safe Spaces in Donegal

This report maps LGBTI+ youth services and non-alcoholic safe spaces across Donegal, supporting delivery of the LGBTI+ Youth Strategy. Commissioned by Donegal Education and Training Board, it documents exclusive and inclusive provision for young people aged 15–24, using desk research and service surveys to inform targeted youth funding and area profiling.

Publication

Learning from the 2018 Together for Yes Referendum Campaign

This review documents learning from the Together for Yes campaign, which led to the repeal of Ireland’s 8th Amendment. Drawing on surveys, interviews, and collective reflection, it explores how a national civil-society movement was built, adapted, and sustained, offering practical insights for future social change campaigns.

CONTACT nb sOCIAL JUSTICE STUDIO

Schedule a brief exploratory chat today to look at your challenges, and let’s map out your next step.