“After many years conducting research in the social sector, I’ve learnt that good research starts with listening. At Bean we get the time to sit with organisations to understand what they want and need, and work alongside them through programme design, delivery and evaluation. I particularly love building theories of change and impact frameworks, fitting the pieces of the puzzle together and setting a “North Star” for everything that follows.”
Naomi enjoys unpacking complex questions, listening carefully, and figuring out how the pieces connect.
Over the past 16 years, she has worked with charities, funders, designers and healthcare organisations to turn research into practical action. She began her career at Ipsos MORI and the National Centre for Social Research before moving to BBC Media Action to run international research on Climate Asia, a multi-country programme exploring the lived impacts of climate change across Asia.
At Shift Design, she partnered with designers to shape and evaluate products addressing social issues including youth obesity and maternal mental health, while also building her knowledge of design thinking. This led to her spending five years in the US leading research and programme development at Zen Caregiving Project (ZCP), where she worked closely with clinicians, academics and families to ensure programmes were grounded in evidence and responsive to the people they were designed to support. She also developed and managed an academic delayed-intervention study, demonstrating the impact of ZCP’s flagship caregiver-support programme.
At Bean, Naomi puts her commitment to social impact and accessible research into practice. She has worked on a range of multi-year, multi-partner evaluations, from pilot mental health initiatives to funder portfolios. Her role spans all stages of projects, developing evaluation approaches, designing impact tools, analysing data, and crucially translating findings into practical recommendations.
Outside Bean, Naomi is a governor at a London-based nursery and a member of Malaika UK, the UK branch of a charity supporting orphaned children in Tanzania.
Naomi with Charlotte and Arani, at the Premiere League offices, having just presented at a workshop. Bean are proud to be evaluation partners of the Premiere League. 
Get in touch with Naomi
