Overview

Seymour Research delivers independent research and evaluation across education, public, private and third sectors, including universities, professional bodies, healthcare providers, small businesses and industry. Our specialist arm, Student Voice Plus, focuses on student experience in higher education and training.

Services

Seymour Research provides robust, independent research and evaluation for organisations across the public, private and third sectors. Our clients include universities, professional bodies, charities, SMEs and industry organisations in sectors such as construction and manufacturing.

Led by Dr Kathy Seymour, a highly experienced research director with nearly three decades of practice, we design and deliver qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method studies across the full project cycle, from scoping and theory of change development to data collection, analysis and strategic reporting.

We can undertake complete end-to-end projects or support specific, self-contained stages, for example research design, questionnaire development, fieldwork delivery, data analysis, evaluation framework development or strategic reporting. This flexibility allows us to integrate seamlessly with in-house teams, agencies or fellow consultants.

We deliver process and impact evaluations for new and established programmes, with particular expertise in theory-based and contribution-focused approaches.

Through our specialist division, Student Voice Plus, we support higher education and training providers with student experience research, student voice strategy and evidence-to-action diagnostics.

We regularly collaborate with other consultants and agencies, providing specialist research expertise within multidisciplinary teams, including partnerships developed through the ICG network.

About

I have worked as a researcher and evaluator for nearly 30 years. Before establishing Seymour Research in 2012 I previously worked in research roles for the University of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire County Council and the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). I have a PhD from the University of Nottingham's School of Education, a Master's in Social Research Methods and my first degree was in Social Policy (Royal Holloway, University of London).

While much of my work is in the education sector, I also work for healthcare providers, third sector, and private organisations. Previous clients are wide-ranging and include many universities, schools and multi-academy trusts, charities (such as Citizens Advice and Thrive), the Education Endowment Foundation and clinical commissioning groups. I frequently collaborate with other researchers and evaluators, and find this is a very enjoyable and rewarding way to work.

Outside of work, I am a very keen runner, having done several marathons and numerous half marathons. I'm lucky enough to live in South Devon so also enjoy lots of sea swimming (even throughout the winter), and in the warmer months try to combine a run with a dip in the sea at the end!