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Supporting Museum, Heritage & Cultural organisations with

Supporting Museum, Heritage & Cultural organisations with

impactful research

impactful research

At Research That Matters, we make research easy, useful and genuinely rewarding for cultural organisations.

At Research That Matters, we make research easy, useful and genuinely rewarding for cultural organisations.

1

Need to understand your audiences and visitors, but have difficulty prioritising the time?

2

Identify effective, impactful evaluation tools to support your delivery that move the dial.

3

Build alignment, make connections and inspire better ways to reach your strategic goals.

4

Focus on what matters, and run studies that make a difference.

We help you focus on what matters, with practical insights that spark action and get your team aligned on what to do next.

We help you focus on what matters, with practical insights that spark action and get your team aligned on what to do next.

We have over fourteen years of experience working with museums, heritage and cultural organisations including…

We have over fourteen years of experience working with museums, heritage and cultural organisations including…

Inspiring teams

we've worked with

Whether you’re planning something new or reflecting on what’s already out there, we’ll help you get the insight you need.

Whether you’re planning something new or reflecting on what’s already out there, we’ll help you get the insight you need.

  • Formative and Summative Evaluation

    Shape and assess exhibitions, programmes and strategies with evidence that supports learning, engagement and impact.

  • Audience Insight and
    Consultation

    Understand who your audiences are, what they need, and how they experience your offer – helping you design with confidence and purpose.

  • Community-Centred Research

    Collaborate with communities to co-create inclusive and relevant cultural experiences, grounded in dialogue and trust.

  • Formative and Summative Evaluation

    Shape and assess exhibitions, programmes and strategies with evidence that supports learning, engagement and impact.

  • Audience Insight and
    Consultation

    Understand who your audiences are, what they need, and how they experience your offer – helping you design with confidence and purpose.

  • Community-Centred Research

    Collaborate with communities to co-create inclusive and relevant cultural experiences, grounded in dialogue and trust.

  • Formative and Summative Evaluation

    Shape and assess exhibitions, programmes and strategies with evidence that supports learning, engagement and impact.

  • Audience Insight and
    Consultation

    Understand who your audiences are, what they need, and how they experience your offer – helping you design with confidence and purpose.

  • Community-Centred Research

    Collaborate with communities to co-create inclusive and relevant cultural experiences, grounded in dialogue and trust.

Formative and Summative Evaluation

Shape and assess exhibitions, programmes and strategies with evidence that supports learning, engagement and impact.

Audience Insight and
Consultation

Understand who your audiences are, what they need, and how they experience your offer – helping you design with confidence and purpose.

Community-Centred Research

Collaborate with communities to co-create inclusive and relevant cultural experiences, grounded in dialogue and trust.

Our ethos & approach

Our ethos
& approach

  • Collaborative practice

    We believe great research happens through genuine collaboration. By working openly and closely with our partners, we make sure everyone feels heard and invested in the process - helping studies lead to real understanding and meaningful change.

  • Inclusive evaluation & approach

    We use creative, flexible methods to make taking part in research accessible for everyone. Our approach adapts to different audiences and needs, ensuring all voices are included and valued in the findings.

  • Bringing together audience and research expertise

    We combine deep knowledge of museum and heritage audiences with over a decade of research experience. This combination helps us design studies that are fair, thoughtful, and truly reflect how people think, feel, and behave.

  • Partnering with experts

    We collaborate with a wide network of specialists, critical friends and people with lived experience. Bringing the right voices into each project helps us deliver stronger insights and richer, more grounded research.

  • Insight into action

    We don’t just hand over a report - we help you use it. By creating space to reflect and plan next steps, we make sure findings turn into clear, confident action.

  • Collaborative practice

    We believe great research happens through genuine collaboration. By working openly and closely with our partners, we make sure everyone feels heard and invested in the process - helping studies lead to real understanding and meaningful change.

  • Inclusive evaluation & approach

    We use creative, flexible methods to make taking part in research accessible for everyone. Our approach adapts to different audiences and needs, ensuring all voices are included and valued in the findings.

  • Bringing together audience and research expertise

    We combine deep knowledge of museum and heritage audiences with over a decade of research experience. This combination helps us design studies that are fair, thoughtful, and truly reflect how people think, feel, and behave.

  • Partnering with experts

    We collaborate with a wide network of specialists, critical friends and people with lived experience. Bringing the right voices into each project helps us deliver stronger insights and richer, more grounded research.

  • Insight into action

    We don’t just hand over a report - we help you use it. By creating space to reflect and plan next steps, we make sure findings turn into clear, confident action.

  • Collaborative practice

    We believe great research happens through genuine collaboration. By working openly and closely with our partners, we make sure everyone feels heard and invested in the process - helping studies lead to real understanding and meaningful change.

  • Inclusive evaluation & approach

    We use creative, flexible methods to make taking part in research accessible for everyone. Our approach adapts to different audiences and needs, ensuring all voices are included and valued in the findings.

  • Bringing together audience and research expertise

    We combine deep knowledge of museum and heritage audiences with over a decade of research experience. This combination helps us design studies that are fair, thoughtful, and truly reflect how people think, feel, and behave.

  • Partnering with experts

    We collaborate with a wide network of specialists, critical friends and people with lived experience. Bringing the right voices into each project helps us deliver stronger insights and richer, more grounded research.

  • Insight into action

    We don’t just hand over a report - we help you use it. By creating space to reflect and plan next steps, we make sure findings turn into clear, confident action.

Collaborative practice

We believe great research happens through genuine collaboration. By working openly and closely with our partners, we make sure everyone feels heard and invested in the process - helping studies lead to real understanding and meaningful change.

Inclusive evaluation & approach

We use creative, flexible methods to make taking part in research accessible for everyone. Our approach adapts to different audiences and needs, ensuring all voices are included and valued in the findings.

Bringing together audience and research expertise

We combine deep knowledge of museum and heritage audiences with over a decade of research experience. This combination helps us design studies that are fair, thoughtful, and truly reflect how people think, feel, and behave.

Partnering with experts

We collaborate with a wide network of specialists, critical friends and people with lived experience. Bringing the right voices into each project helps us deliver stronger insights and richer, more grounded research.

Insight into action

We don’t just hand over a report - we help you use it. By creating space to reflect and plan next steps, we make sure findings turn into clear, confident action.

Testimonials

Testimonials

Research that Matters were incredible to work with. From the get-go, their comprehensive pitch demonstrated a deep and well-researched understanding of our project and our needs. At all times, communication was clear, open and concise, and they integrated extremely well into our team and ways of working.

We were extremely impressed with the breadth and depth of their research methods and comprehensive presentation, and as a result have a fantastic understanding of the impact of our programming.

Conor O'Keeffe

Public Programmes, Natural History Museum

Research That Matters were easy (and nice) people to work with. They were thoughtful, thorough, and responsive to our needs. Steve and Emma’s flexibility provided timely input to decisions being made in other on-going projects.

They employed a varied mixed-method approach to achieve a detailed and evidenced understanding of the visitor experience, incorporating data from other teams in the Museum into their final report.

They provided clear and insightful feedback, including some uncomfortable truths we needed to hear.

Dan Wormald

Senior Learning Advocate and Researcher, Natural History Museum

Working with Research That Matters has been effortless and rewarding. Steve and Emma took time to understand what we needed to explore, and their iterative approach ensured that the research covered everything we needed to support our work. They provided us with powerful data and insights to inform and underpin digital product development at London Business School

Jade Mountain

Digital Learning Director, London Business School

Research That Matters have been lovely to work with; from their friendly and warm manner in sessions to their thorough and thoughtful evaluation. Their research is helping shape and improve how we deliver our activities and making them as good as they can be for our audiences.

Emma and Steve are a great team and their work is really helping our programmes to have the best impact they can!

I’d definitely recommend them to anyone in the cultural sector looking for experienced, insightful research professionals who are also wonderful people to work on projects together with.

Nikolaus

Creative Producer (Learning), Natural History Museum

They skilfully orchestrate research initiatives and ensures that teams seamlessly integrate valuable insights into their work… an invaluable asset to any team striving for user-centered excellence.

Jeanette Clement

Head of Design at UK Parliament

We had a great experience working with Emma and Steve. They quickly got to grips with our project brief and helped us plan a research approach that would work for our needs and enable us to gather the most useful data. Research linked to community‑led projects often requires flexibility, and they were very understanding, adaptable and proactive, even when plans shifted. The final report they produced for us was very high quality and has given us useful new evidence about the wider impact of our Youth Grant programme.

Chloe Booth

Grow Wild Engagement Manager, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

Research that Matters were fantastic to work with from start to finish, from their tailored proposal, to maintaining research rigour and being very responsive and lovely to interact with throughout.

The findings and excellent playback were clear, comprehensive, and gave us a great steer on how to move forward. We very much hope to work with Steve and Emma again!

Anna Jackson

Senior UX Researcher, Cambridge University Press & Assessment

Emma and Steve were a joy to work with - professional, organised and responsive.  The evaluation report and next steps workshop was clear and insightful - we felt supported and energised to make changes.  Thank you!

Ruth Boley

Senior Learning Manager, Royal Museums Greenwich

Our

boutique consultancy

boutique consultancy

is run by…

Emma

Taylor

Emma has a decade of experience leading audience engagement programmes in the cultural sector. Including the British Museum, Museum of London, Historic Royal Palaces and London Transport Museum.

She is passionate about helping cultural organisations understand and reach new underrepresented audiences through collaboration and partnerships.

Steve

Bromley

Steve is an experienced research leader, with over a decade of experience leading studies in the private and public sector.

Steve formed and led the first research team at UK’s Parliament, and for the UK’s largest commercial publisher. Steve has a long history of working on research in the cultural sector, and has written two bestselling user research books, and is enthusiastic about helping teams ensure their research studies are both impactful and inspiring.

Emma

Taylor

Emma has a decade of experience leading audience engagement programmes in the cultural sector. Including the British Museum, Museum of London, Historic Royal Palaces and London Transport Museum.

She is passionate about helping cultural organisations understand and reach new underrepresented audiences through collaboration and partnerships.

Steve

Bromley

Steve is an experienced research leader, with over a decade of experience leading studies in the private and public sector.

Steve formed and led the first research team at UK’s Parliament, and for the UK’s largest commercial publisher. Steve has a long history of working on research in the cultural sector, and has written two bestselling user research books, and is enthusiastic about helping teams ensure their research studies are both impactful and inspiring.

Steve & Emma are backed by a diverse group of friends who have been working together for years to run impactful qualitative and quantitative research.

Steve & Emma are backed by a diverse group of friends who have been working together for years to run impactful qualitative and quantitative research.

We’d love to work with you!

Please get in touch to request a quote for a project, inquire about a collaboration, or simply say hello.

Book a no-pressure initial consultation

Book consultation

or email emma@researchthatmatters.com

Based in Brighton

© Research That Matters 2025

We’d love to work
with you!

Please get in touch to request a quote for a project, inquire about a collaboration, or simply say hello.

Book a no-pressure initial consultation

Book consultation

or email emma@researchthatmatters.com

Based in Brighton

© Research That Matters 2025

We’d love to work
with you!

Please get in touch to request a quote for a project, inquire about a collaboration, or simply say hello.

Book a no-pressure initial consultation

Book consultation

or email emma@researchthatmatters.com

Based in Brighton

© Research That Matters 2025