Dr Cate Grundy

About

Cate helps organisations understand what stops people engaging with nature and heritage, and design what will bring them in.

She’s a design researcher and academic specialising in co-design, participatory research and sustainable, regenerative design, with a particular focus on public engagement with natural environments.

On our projects she leads Theory of Change and evaluation design. She builds Theories of Change with partners, co-designs evaluation strategies and data-collection tools, and runs interim reviews so programmes can adjust as they go. She also brings desk research, competitor analysis and outcome-based roadmaps to strategy work. Her work covers nature and conservation, heritage and culture, volunteering, young people and food.

Cate is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Brighton, where she’s part of its social and sustainable design research group. She founded Friendly Fox Design, a social enterprise creating interactive communications for heritage and natural spaces, and has researched and designed messaging for river recovery, sustainable seafood and urban conservation projects. Her PhD used design methods to explore how to get disadvantaged young people playing outdoors and engaging with nature.

She combines a researcher’s rigour with a designer’s instinct for what will actually make people want to take part.

EXPERTISE: Co-design and participatory research · Theory of Change and evaluation design · Nature and heritage engagement · Sustainable and regenerative design · UX and communications research

QUALIFICATIONS: PhD, design-based research with young people and nature

ROLES: Senior Lecturer, University of Brighton · Founder, Friendly Fox Design · Trustee, Gambian Projects Overseas