Our Team
Cathy Hearn
As a Principal Consultant for evaluation and learning methods, Cathy’s approach to collaborating with partners on complex social challenges is creative and equity-driven.
About Cathy
Cathy approaches her work with creativity, analytical thinking, and a focus on building trusting relationships. She understands that complex and urgent societal challenges require thoughtful and responsive action. Her background combines service delivery and design experience with mixed methods evaluation and research training. To date, her work has had a particular emphasis on education and young people, with a focus on social mobility, student-centred learning, and environmental justice education.
Cathy specialises in developmental and formative evaluation designs that promote iterative learning and productive collaboration. She is experienced in participatory facilitation methods, aiming to make sure all voices are heard. She believes that project outputs should be responsive and accessible, and is skilled in designing visually appealing and interactive deliverables. Fostering growth is a central tenet of Cathy’s approach; she enjoys learning new tools and concepts, and loves sharing what she has learned with colleagues, partners, and broader audiences.
Cathy’s work at Renaisi
Cathy leads a portfolio of research, evaluation and learning partnerships and enjoys having the opportunity to learn from collaborators, community members, and colleagues. She leads the Consultancy Team alongside other Principal Consultants, and coordinates efforts around recruitment and team capacity.
Cathy’s specialisms
- Formative and developmental evaluation
- Mixed methods approaches
- Training and capacity building
- Mentorship and coaching
- Equity-informed approaches
- Education and youth work
- Data visualisation
- Responsive reporting
Portfolio
Cathy leads teams and oversees a range of mixed-methods evaluations, research and learning partnerships, including:
- Leading Renaisi’s contribution as part of a consortium of impact evaluators and learning partners for the #iwill fund, exploring the ways in which the fund is promoting youth social action.
- Working with Power to Change, to help them understand how the Powering Up programme helps businesses plan for the future.
- Working with Sport England to understanding how their Together Fund and System Renewal Fund are helping partners support community organizations to build resilience and capacity.
- Collaborating with Sanctuary, helping the Sustainable Communities Investment programme to define community resilience and connection, and to develop an evaluation framework.
- Understanding more about what works to prevent youth violence, through our evaluation work for London VRU-funded Stronger Futures and Girls and Young Women programmes.
