The Researchery
Providing the evidence base for a more informed, effective and impactful charity sector
Research and evaluation for charities and funders
The Researchery is an independent UK consultancy led by Dr Cat Walker. We help charities, grant-makers and philanthropists understand the difference their work makes and use evidence to decide what to do next.
We specialise in how the UK voluntary sector is funded, from where funding goes to what different approaches to giving achieve. We design and carry out impact evaluations, develop theories of change, and use surveys, interviews, focus groups and existing data to answer the questions that matter to you.
Just call the Doctor at The Researchery.
CLIENTS
Selected projects:
The LGBT+ Fund Report 2026
The second edition of this vital report on the Finances, Funding and Future of the LGBT+ voluntary and community sector in the UK establishes a time trend for data on this small but mighty sector. The research underlined the fact that the funding landscape is shifting rapidly across the voluntary and community sector, and specialist sectors such as the lGBT+ sector are feeling the impact most sharply. Just 5p in every £100 given to charity goes to LGBT+ VCS organisations, and overall funding is falling. Commissioned by The LGBT+ Fund powered by Consortium.
Click HERE to find out more
The UK LGBTQI International Giving Report (2025)
The second edition of the UK LGBTQI International Giving Report published by GiveOut and The Elton John AIDS Foundation was launched in February 2026. The report explores giving by UK Government, foundations, corporates and individual philanthropists to LGBTQI issues primarily in the Global South and East. The research shows that the amount given to overseas LGBTQI charities is equivalent to just 1.9p in every £100 given to charities in the UK.
Click HERE to see the first report
LET EVERYONE BLOSSOM:
Closing the gap for LGBTQ+ NEETs (2026)
This groundbreaking study of LGBTQ+ young people who are not currently in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) was commissioned by Blossom LGBT and was undertaken by them with help from the University of Surrey and The Researchery. The research shows that many LGBTQ+ young people face additional barriers to Education, Employment and Training becasue of their identity. Nine in ten of the LGBTQ+ young people we surveyed who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) worry about how their identity will be treated when they apply for a job.
Click HERE to find out more
UK Donor Advised Fund (DAF) Report 2025
The tenth annual UK DAF report from the National Philanthropic Trust shows that grants from donor-advised funds to other charities were £787.7 million in 2024, an increase of 22 per cent over the prior year. Contributions into DAFs were £864.5 million; while charitable assets held in DAFs total £3.1 billion — an increase of 10.3 per cent over the prior year. The survey covers 8 charities registered at the Charity Commission of England and Wales that sponsor donor-advised funds, and shows results from 2020-2024.
Click HERE to find out more
Evaluation of Action for Race Equality’s Routes2Success programme (2026)
Partnering with Dr Ambreen Shah, The Researchery helped to deliver an external evaluation of ARE’s powerful Routes2Success programme mentoring young people from Black and Brown backgrounds, helping them build confidence, explore their aspirations and issues which affect them and recognise their potential. The evaluation found that 70% of students who took part in Race Equality Action Projects finished the programme feeling “very confident” in at least seven areas., and highlighted the effectiveness of Routes2Success’s three-layered approach, which gives young people different ways to build trust and connect with their mentors.
Click HERE to find out more
Evaluation of the Enterprise Development Programme (2025)
Partnering with Shortwork and MyCake, The Researchery carried out a largescale evaluation of the main phase of the Enterprise Development Programme (2019–2024) developed by Access - the Foundation for Social Investment and the Social Investment Business, which supported over 325 charities and social enterprises across six sectors to develop sustainable enterprise models, diversify income, and build long-term resilience.
Click HERE to find out more
Impact evaluation of the Women & Girls Match Fund (2023)
In the face of unequal gender disadvantage due to the Covid pandemic, Tampon Tax funding aimed to improve the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged Women and Girls. The Researchery carried out an independent impact evaluation of the Women and Girls Match Fund, commissioned by Big Give for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The report explores a Theory of Change, outputs, outcomes and impact of the WGMF with input from WG charities and external partners, providing valuable ,earning for both Big Give and DCMS.
Click HERE to find out more
Foundation Giving Trends 2022
Top 300 Foundation Grant-Makers (2023)
Three years on from the murder of George Floyd, Foundation Giving Trends 2022 includes a deep dive on foundations’ responses to the Covid-19 pandemic with a particular spotlight on how foundations tackled the disproportionate impact on communities experiencing inequity, and especially racial inequity. The latest edition also covers the usual trends in grant-making, income and assets of the Top 300 UK-registered charitable foundations.
Click HERE to find out more
Evaluation of a cash grants trial for Trussell Trust and Leeds City Council (2022)
With the cost of living crisis biting hard, The Researchery worked with Vantage Point Research to assess whether giving people in crisis a cash grant would support them more effectively than food parcels from a food bank. The pilot was run by Leeds City Council and the Trussell Trust. The evaluation, which featured longitudinal interviews with food bank users, focus groups with food bank staff, a web survey and data analysis, found that the cash grant scheme was highly effective and recommended its roll out on a permanent basis.
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Testimonials
“The Big Give co-commissioned The Researchery to undertake the UK’s first piece of research on match funding. Despite it being a fairly complex piece of work mixing qualitative and quantitative data and working with several other stakeholders, Cat managed the whole project excellently, from scoping all the way to final design, and we were delighted with the output. She delivered on time and to budget. We have since used The Researchery for other research projects and we would whole-heatedly recommend to anyone looking to undertake social research.”