Since starting the business, I’ve worked with clients from the public and private sector, in local government, health, education, charities and the civil service.
My passion is the public sector. I worked for more than 18 years in local government and will always be a staunch defender of the good that public services do. My favourite projects are ones where I can make a difference, because good communications can do that. Whether that’s getting out information to communities in crisis using social media, celebrating local volunteers at an awards evening or getting people to recycle more using innovative behaviour change campaigns. Working where I can practice my values is very important to me, and I will always put in an extra shift on projects that mean something to me.
Over the past six years, I’ve supported the public health team in Hackney, and worked with Islington Council on the research and development of their new Intranet. I’ve run a hack event for a local hospice, working with people from across the north east to come up with new and innovative ways to raise the charity's profile. I’ve worked with Lancaster University, Crewe Council and Preston Council, running focus groups and workshops for a number of research projects, helped run an unconference for Ofwat, and ran crisis communication courses at the Home Office for civil servants from across the UK (in partnership with Helpful Technology).
Here are some more in-depth examples of projects I’ve delivered.
foster carers recruitment project for the south of england
I worked for a group of 19 local authorities across the South of England to support the recruitment of foster carers. The project focused on understanding the views of current foster carers through detailed research, and putting together messaging that would resonate successfully with potential carers.
This two-month project included phone interviews and developing and running a series of focus groups with carers from different councils, alongside the development of core messages to be used in marketing and recruitment.
“From the outset Kate was extremely responsive and flexible, working pragmatically across 19 Local Authorities. Everything was on time, despite storms! and the quality of work was really good. We will definitely be using the insights and recommendations from Kate’s work to help shape how we recruit foster carers in the South East of England.” Rebecca Eligon, Project Manager.
communications strategy and retained services
I worked with The Inspiring Leaders Network (ILN) on developing their communications from the ground up. ILN train senior leaders in the NHS across the UK, and are very highly regarded for their innovative approach to supporting executive level staff in healthcare.
I produced their communications strategy, marketing and communications plan, and delivered retained communications services for six months. This included providing PR and marketing advice, managing their website and social media management. Measurable impact included:
500% increase in tweet impressions,
12,000 views of LinkedIn posts,
More than 350x the number of Twitter profile views.
This translated to significantly greater awareness and understanding of the business, and had a positive impact on income.
"Kate has been fantastic to work with. She is forward thinking, innovative and draws on her broad experience to help you to think about what you want and need. The challenge was gratefully received and helped us to stay on track .. and focused! She has been a great asset to the team and got on well with everyone bringing out the best in us all. She has most definitely helped us to increase performance, reduce inefficiencies and helped us to grow in terms of reputation and income. I would highly recommend Kate to anyone." Kirstie Stott, Director, The Inspiring Leaders Network.
redbridge council hack day
I worked with the team at Redbridge Council in East London to develop and deliver a hack day aimed at increasing the number of people using the internet in the borough.
The hack day brought together the local community, designers, developers and council staff, and developed new ideas for addressing the digital divide and a prototype website in just one day.
This project was primarily an engagement exercise with residents, driven by a need to change behaviour and improve lives.
COMMUNICATIONS and behaviour change TRAINING
I developed and delivered bespoke communications training for a large group of staff at a local authority. The aim of this training was to help them produce clear and effective communications, write successful communications plans and consider how to achieve behaviour change through their communications. Following this training I worked closely with the teams to produce their internal communications strategy.
"I found Kate’s communications course really beneficial - she gave us a great mix of tips and used language all of us could easily understand. I really liked that she tailored the course specifically to the organisation I work in and drew on real examples, which was a really effective way of illustrating her message. I would highly recommend her training to any sector or organisation looking to improve their comms! " - Natalie, course attendee
depaul north volunteer recruitment
Depaul North is the northern arm of Depaul UK, delivering projects in Greater Manchester, Sheffield, Teesside, Cumbria and the North East, to help those at risk of homelessness.
I worked with the Depaul North team helping them develop a plan to increase the number of volunteers for their Nightstop North East project, analysing the effectiveness of past digital activity, advising on social media management, delivering social media training and promoting their More4 documentary, 'Would You Take In A Stranger'.
‘"Kate has been totally responsive to our needs. She has offered a variety of expert opinion and advice throughout her time supporting Depaul UK. Thanks for all the help!" - Kester Young, Depaul
southwark council intranet
I worked with Southwark Council on delivering improvements to their existing staff intranet.
The project included user testing and research, working with developers on a new design, implementing Google search and a new bespoke staff search, a content audit and copy rewriting, and improving the site navigation and usability.
Key to this was engagement at all levels of the business, working with staff from across the council and alongside existing IT and HR projects.
"We needed to make improvements to our intranet in a short space of time and it now looks great. Kate listened to staff and worked with the team and suppliers to deliver the changes in a timely, fun and engaging way and has left us with an intranet that we can manage going forward. In a nutshell Kate is professional, easy to work with, has great energy, navigates large organisations easily and knows her stuff!" - Emma Marinos, Director of Modernise, Southwark Council