About

Shortwork

Shortwork is a social research agency helping public, third sector, and private clients generate the evidence they need to achieve their social and environmental goals.

We deliver rigorous, mixed-method research and evaluation, generating reliable insights and actionable knowledge. Our work produces results that are meaningful to organisations, communities, and funders alike.

We are leading experts in Participatory Action Research (PAR). Our participatory approach empowers community members and people who our clients services to take a central role in research - from data collection and analysis to reporting findings. Through training and support, we upskill participants in qualitative and creative methods, citizen science, and survey design, while enabling those with lived experience to guide projects via advisory groups—building skills, capacity, and opportunities within communities.

Led by Dr Rowena Hay and Sabina Dewfield, Shortwork draws on a network of Research Associates with expertise across the arts, culture and heritage; sustainability and conservation; health and public health. Our team brings methodological depth spanning survey design, statistical analysis, behavioural and user research, participatory mapping and GIS, co-design, deliberative and qualitative methods, ethnography, and creative and visual research approaches. Our team is united by a commitment to research that goes beyond compliance, delivering actionable insights and meaningful change for individuals, organisations, and communities.

Our values

  • Hart icon.

    People-centred

    We work closely with clients and participants at all stages in the research process. By building trust, sharing skills, and leaving behind reusable tools, we create lasting value for organisations and communities.*

  • Rigorous

    We deliver research that is ethical, evidence-based, and tailored to each project. We ask the right questions, select the most appropriate methods, and build on existing evidence to ensure findings are robust and reliable.

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    Actionable

    We focus on what matters. By working with communities and stakeholders from the start, we ensure our findings lead to practical, realistic recommendations that drive real change.

The team

  • A smiling woman with shoulder-length brown hair and a fringe, wearing a black shirt, a blue embroidered jumpsuit, and a gold necklace, standing in front of a colorful mural with red, orange, and purple hues.

    Rowena Hay

    Research Director

  • A woman with shoulder-length brown hair wearing a black turtleneck standing in front of a colorful graffiti mural on a brick wall.

    Sabina Dewfield

    Director

  • Black and white photo of a man with curly hair, a beard and mustache, smiling, wearing a patterned button-up shirt against a plain background.

    Roger Newton

    Research Associate

  • Close-up black and white photo of a smiling woman with wavy shoulder-length hair, indoors with shelves and objects in the background.

    Rosemary Lamport

    Research Associate

  • Black and white photograph of a young man with a slight smile, wearing earrings, in front of leafy background.

    Duncan Hay

    Research Associate

  • A woman with long dark hair smiling in front of a wall with a framed landscape photograph.

    Clare McCarroll

    Research Associate

Our collaborators