The Team

Ruth is Director of RMR and an experienced social researcher and evaluator who has advised both UK and international cultural organisations on best practice in evaluation and monitoring.

Ruth has expertise designing major cultural programme evaluations with a focus on embedding approaches that lead to internal and external change. Her style is highly personal and facilitative – an approach which gives space for all to have their say.

Her experience includes running Impacts 08, the Liverpool European Capital of Culture evaluation; as Critical Friend and Evaluator for a number of Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places Programmes; Evaluation Advisor to Aarhus 2017 European Capital of Culture; and co-author of the new Medway Cultural Strategy.

Rebecca has a passion for using data to inform meaningful change. She is also a keen advocate for the neurodivergent community, and embeds accessibility into her work to accommodate differences in learning and processing styles.

She has recently completed a psychology PhD exploring how we perceive the world, having studied psychology and research methods at both an undergraduate and postgraduate level. Rebecca’s work has a focus on drawing conclusions from complex quantitative data analysis, but she has a background and keen interest in qualitative methods as well, and feels that both approaches together create a rich story. She enjoys bringing these insights to a wide audience and getting people excited about the power of data.

Alongside reporting on her PhD research for publication and conference presentations, Rebecca has over a decade of experience working on a number of exciting cultural projects with clients such as the London Transport Museum, Bradford Producing Hub and Eastbourne ALIVE – 2023 hosts of the Turner Prize.

Ben is a digital specialist and project manager who ensures all our communications are accessible and engaging.

He provides clients with thinking around branding, communications and organisational value, as well as bringing extensive project management experience. He has managed a number of our evaluations including LeftCoast and Back to Ours.

His background is in digital, brand and communications. Between 1997 and 2015, he worked for agencies in Brighton and London, including five years as Head of Digital at a leading professional services branding agency.

Catherine is experienced in the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data with strong writing and project management skills.

She provides administrative support and co-ordination plus data analysis for projects, as well as writing, editing and proof-reading reports. Her evaluation experience includes LeftCoast (Blackpool), Truth to Power Café, Firstsite Contemporary Art Centre (Colchester), and Right Up Our Street (Doncaster) amongst others.

Catherine has a background in teaching and completed an MA in Museum Studies in 2012. Her dissertation was an analysis of the visitor comments book for the ‘London, Sugar and Slavery’ exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands.

Jenny’s work’s looks at engagement, new audiences and inclusive approaches that break down barriers to cultural activity – particularly through the lens of race equity.

She is a Founding Director of Take the Space, an inclusive consultancy and creative production hub for Black and multiple ethnic talent. She also delivers training around inclusivity and anti-racist strategies through Take the Space Training.

She has held senior positions in the cultural sector including CEO and Creative Director for Revoluton Arts and Head of Diversity for Arts Council England. She is also a Board Member of Towner Eastbourne chairing the Diversity Task Group and ROSS Consultant for National Lottery Heritage Fund.

She was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in 2020 for services to culture and creativity.

Jael is an experienced researcher and facilitator specialising in cultural and creative learning, engagement and participation.

She has over 20 years’ experience leading innovative programmes, partnerships and strategies in the cultural, heritage, arts, and education sectors. She is passionate about the way that cultural experiences connect people, support identity building and transform lives. Her work draws teams together to explore, review, co-create and develop new ways of working.

Jael has worked with a range of clients from Arts Council England to What Next? and Universities to Local Authority and volunteer run museums, libraries and arts organisations. Prior to her consultancy career she held leadership roles at MLA Yorkshire, CapeUK and IVE.

Christine is an experienced researcher and Community Engagement Practitioner with a particular focus on creative methods and collaborative activities.

She has worked in communities across the UK and with researchers and practitioners from multiple different disciplines. She is committed to making all aspects of the research practice understandable to everyone taking part and disseminating results in different forms to achieve this.

Her research interests include how communities empower and develop themselves through collaborative activity, and how communities and individuals are inspired to positively engage with their environment.

As an academic researcher, she developed innovative qualitative and action research techniques – and her work at the Eden Project allowed her to explore creative methods for engaging communities. She has worked on projects for the EPSRC, Defra, HEFCE, Essex and Suffolk Water, various local authorities, charitable organisations and NGOs.

Su is a researcher specialising in community arts with both academic and practical experience in the field.

Her PhD focused on developing a nuanced understanding of collaborative arts practices. This included devising an evaluation approach which considers the impacts of community art to effect social change through the lens of critical citizenship. Her practical experience includes writing grant applications with artists and facilitating workshops. She has developed a deeper understanding of the collaborative arts sector as a board member for local community arts organisation, Charnwood Arts.

Throughout her varied working life, she has always been passionate about developing community connections and enabling people from all sections of society to have their voices heard.

Johanne focusses on creating inclusive and culturally competent spaces for meaningful conversations.

She is the Founder of Just Purple Presents and one half of the consultancy Rae & Williams. Currently she is working with Pegasus Opera Company on a project to enhance the music curriculum to include Black composers, operas and musicians.

Her other experience includes as Arts Producer and radio presenter for the BBC, learning and engagement lead at the UK Centre for Carnival Arts and Senior Producer for Revoluton Arts.

Johanne is a Trustee for the Philharmonia Orchestra and is the first Chair of the Philharmonia Bedford Community Board. Recently she brought together the Jubilee Pop-Up Choir in Bedford, to give voice through operatic music to the experiences of those from Windrush diaspora.

Victoria is a researcher experienced in the collection and analysis of qualitative data within an arts context.

She is committed to ensuring voices from all communities feed into evaluation through her facilitative and empowering style of work. She is currently completing a PhD at the Culture, Place and Policy Institute at the University of Hull.

Victoria has over 25 years’ experience of working across the arts and voluntary sectors. For 15 years she managed Artlink, a community arts organisation, and established Hull’s first dedicated Centre for Community Arts.

Charlotte has 15 years of experience as an evaluator, coach and accredited Social Return on Investment (SROI) practitioner.

She specialises in workforce and personal development, and is passionate about supporting individuals, teams and organisations to identify their strengths. She takes a people-centred approach informed by a keen interest in Positive Psychology.

She pioneered the Steps into Work programme for people with learning disabilities for Transport for London, an enduring example of equality best practice. Her recent work includes the evaluations of several Creative People and Places programmes – Transported, Ideas Test, Right Up Our Street, LeftCoast and Back to Ours.

Mac is a data, research and evaluation expert with 16 years of experience of the arts and charity sector.

He is experienced in the collection of technical primary and secondary data, analysis of audiences, and GIS systems. Mac uses a broad range of data sets to inform strategic planning and provide nuance and context to regional organisations.

He is Data Research Manager for Artswork, the South East Bridge organisation, as well as running EjectorSeat, promoting contemporary music on the South Coast.

James has over 20 years’ experience in the cultural sector, specialising in strategic planning, cultural policy, organisational change and public engagement projects, and delivering work at a regional and national level. He firmly believes that access to culture is a basic human right.

His recent work has focused on how structures, plans, strategies, and projects can give people the space and opportunity to express themselves creatively and take full advantage of the life-enhancing cultural opportunities available to them.

He has a wealth of consultancy experience in the subsidised arts, commercial business, and local authority sectors and past roles have included Executive Director of the Southampton Cultural Development Trust, deputy CEO at the Nuffield Theatre (Southampton) and Director of audience development agency Audiences South.