Past Projects

Working primarily in North West England, we have worked across culture/heritage, education, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and community development projects, supporting organisations of all sizes to evaluate impact, design meaningful strategies, and connect with their audiences. Here are some examples of our previous work:

"Growing Knowsley's Future – Celebrating Our Agricultural Past"

Client: Foodrise Funder: National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) | June 2025 – February 2026

This NLHF-funded project explored the agricultural past of Knowsley, North West England, through a series of creative workshops, collection of oral histories and archival research, culminating in a public exhibition inviting residents to reflect on the area's farming history and imagine its future.

Curious Roots was commissioned as sole evaluator for the 9-month project. Work included collaborative theory of change development with the project team, mixed-methods tool design, team and participant interviews, structured observation across community and school sessions, and internal and funder-facing report writing.

Current NLHF evaluation projects (2026)

CRC are currently supporting NLHF–funded projects across the UK. Our role spans formative support, tool development and implementation, through to midpoint and summative reporting, delivering clear, actionable recommendations to inform future practice.

Science Engagement Manager (2017-2020)

As Science Engagement Manager at NMS, Clare led the evaluation of STEM learning programmes funded by both the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Scottish Power Foundation. This included designing and delivering internal evaluation tools, observing programme delivery, supporting staff development, and analysing participant feedback to inform future practice.

Her role involved collaborating with external evaluation consultants while also developing in-house metrics and tools to provide a well-rounded, objective review of funded programmes. This dual approach enabled her to generate detailed insights for internal learning while supporting transparent and meaningful reporting to funders.

Prior to working at NMS, Clare worked at Science Museum, London for 4 years, in the Learning team working daily to deliver STEM engagement to audiences from across the world, and later on the development of two 'tinkering workshops' for the new 'Information Age' Gallery.

Freelance Consultant (2020–2022), then Research Manager (part-time)

At Ondata Research Ltd, Clare worked across a range of evaluation projects focused on public engagement, science education, and community-led learning. Her role spanned the full evaluation cycle from strategic planning and logic model design, through to delivery, analysis, and reporting. She designed bespoke evaluation strategies aligned to client goals, created interview and focus group protocols, and carried out observations and qualitative data collection both in-person and online. Her analysis focused on reflexive thematic approaches, with outputs ranging from mid-point reflections to legacy-focused reports and, in one case, the development of a co-curation model.

Clients included STEM Learning (“Mission X”), Association of Science and Discovery Centres (“Explore Your Universe”), Institute of Physics (“Communities in Conversation”), Cardiff University (“Physics Mentoring Project”), and other universities and science centres across the UK.

Not sure where to start? Book a free 20-minute call and we'll figure out together what would help most.