What We Do

    Research, evaluation, and insight services that centre community voice and produce rigorous, actionable evidence.

    CITE

    Four letters that decide how every one of these is delivered.

    Community without evidence is anecdote. Evidence without community is extraction. CITE is how we stop either happening on a project.

    Community

    The people the research is about are on the delivery team, not in the appendix.

    Inclusion

    Data is disaggregated far enough to show who is actually being missed.

    Trust

    We report what an institution did that cost it trust, including when that institution commissioned the work.

    Evidence

    Mixed methods, triangulated, with an audit trail from fieldwork to finding.

    Community-led research

    Research where the people it concerns are asking the questions. We recruit, train and supervise researchers from the community, and they stay in the work through analysis, not only data collection.

    When it helps

    • You want to understand the experiences of a specific community
    • You need insights grounded in lived experience
    • You're designing services or programmes with affected populations

    What this looks like in practice

    On a live maternal health programme in south east London, community researchers from the communities concerned are running the fieldwork. They are recruited, trained and supervised as part of the delivery team.

    Typical deliverables

    Research reportsCommunity insight summariesPersonas and journey mapsRecommendations for action

    Ways of working

    Embedded partnership, sprint-based projects, or consultancy support

    Framework we use

    Community researcher model

    Evaluation and learning

    Independent evaluation that reports what did not work as plainly as what did. We assess where decisions actually sat, rather than where the terms of reference said they would.

    When it helps

    • You're funded to deliver and need to demonstrate impact
    • You want to understand whether your approach is working
    • You need an independent, credible assessment

    What this looks like in practice

    On a live governance evaluation of a multi-partner health programme, we assess where decisions actually sit at every tier, from the programme board down to delivery partners, and report it against four fixed criteria.

    Typical deliverables

    Evaluation frameworksLogic models and theories of changeBaseline and endline assessmentsImpact reports

    Ways of working

    Full evaluation commissions, developmental evaluation, or evaluation consultancy

    Framework we use

    Power-sharing criteria

    Co-design and facilitation

    We build the instruments that get past the official version of how a programme works, and we run the sessions where partners have to agree what the evidence means, including the ones where they disagree.

    When it helps

    • You're developing a new service or programme
    • You need to bring different perspectives together
    • You want to embed participation in your organisation

    What this looks like in practice

    We build the interview and workshop instruments that get past the official version of how a programme works, and we run the sessions where partners have to agree what the evidence means.

    Typical deliverables

    Workshop facilitationCo-design reportsService blueprintsImplementation roadmaps

    Ways of working

    Workshop series, design sprints, or ongoing facilitation support

    Framework we use

    Power-sharing criteria

    Evidence synthesis and interactive outputs

    Large, scattered bodies of evidence brought into one usable picture, then the maps, briefs and interactive tools that let people explore it for themselves.

    When it helps

    • You have data but need to make sense of it
    • You need to communicate findings to diverse audiences
    • You want to synthesise learning across projects or programmes

    What this looks like in practice

    We use computational methods to handle volume. Community researchers decide what the data means, and they see the coding frame before any analysis proceeds.

    Typical deliverables

    Executive summariesLearning briefsStakeholder presentationsVisual data storiesEvidence cataloguesEvidence mapsInteractive explorersMethods notes

    Ways of working

    Project-based synthesis, regular reporting retainers, or one-off analysis

    Framework we use

    At scale

    Community researcher training

    We train people to run enquiry in their own communities, to a standard that holds up outside them. Organisations keep the skills, the tools and the supervision model after we leave.

    When it helps

    • You want to develop in-house research skills
    • You're recruiting community researchers and need training
    • You want ongoing support for your research team

    What this looks like in practice

    More than five years training people across London to run enquiry in their own communities, with the tools and supervision needed to sustain the work.

    Typical deliverables

    Training programmesCommunity researcher toolkitsSupervision and mentoringQuality assurance frameworks

    Ways of working

    Training courses, ongoing supervision, or organisational development support

    Framework we use

    Community researcher model

    Trust and engagement

    Trust is usually described and almost never measured. We report it as something a programme board can compare over time, act on, and be held to.

    When it helps

    • You need to build relationships before research can begin
    • Past engagement has broken down or eroded trust
    • You want sustained community involvement, not one-off consultation

    What this looks like in practice

    Trust is usually described and almost never measured. We report it as something a programme board can compare over time and act on.

    Typical deliverables

    Engagement strategiesTrust-building frameworksCommunity liaison supportRelationship mapping

    Ways of working

    Ongoing embedded support, community partnership development, or strategic consultancy

    Framework we use

    Trust metrics
    At scale

    What we take on.

    Work that is too large, too scattered or too technical for a conventional research commission.

    Evidence synthesis

    Bringing large, dispersed bodies of evidence into a single coherent picture. Documents produced over years, by different teams, for different purposes, read together and made to answer one set of questions.

    Evidence catalogues and maps

    Structured, maintainable catalogues of what an organisation holds, and maps showing where the evidence is strong, where it is thin, and what has never been looked at.

    Interactive platforms

    Public facing digital platforms that let people explore evidence by theme, programme, population or time, rather than downloading a report and hoping the answer is in it.

    Mixed methods analysis

    Qualitative and quantitative analysis handled together and at volume, with computational methods used where volume demands it and human researchers deciding what the results mean.

    Accessible by default

    Built to WCAG AA as a floor and tested with assistive technology. Accessibility is a design constraint from the start, not an audit at the end.

    Built to be kept

    Code in your repository, documentation and training for the team who will run it, and intellectual property with the commissioner. We build things organisations own rather than things they rent.

    Ready to start a conversation?

    Tell us about your project, and we'll explore how we can support you.

    Get in touch