Services
We work with you as extra members of your team. We are available when you need us and you can draw on both our technical expertise in climate change and our ability to develop and support project funding, set up and evaluation. For many senior managers we operate as confidential sounding boards, often helping with project turnaround (or a push to help get the action going!) and drawing on our
expertise to help problem solve.
Russell & Dawson focus on key sustainability issues, with climate change and carbon reduction being at the forefront of their work. But we don’t just look at carbon! Climate change offers the potential for green jobs and a change in economic opportunities, an important area for government and local authorities to explore; and yet we are all too aware that it can exacerbate equity issues and create health and social challenges. We also experienced in supporting social value programmes and integrating net zero into wider economic planning.
Data Research
Knowing where to start can be difficult. As the researcher, (the Russell part of Russell & Dawson) I am comfortable working across all types of carbon data, whether that is for an organisation or a county, or assessing key policies or specific topic content. I have experience of a wide range of research methods having undertaken internal data analysis, desk research, online and telephone surveys, semi-structured interviews, and led focus groups. I also continue to work on academic led projects, and stay at the forefront of climate thinking.
Understanding the challenge and then drawing out key focus areas is often the first step in the development of strategic change or test projects.
Strategy
Whilst many organisations have climate change aspirations, creating an effective strategy, with achievable targets, over a sensible timescale, is difficult. Often there is a capacity gap in the team – perhaps time or knowledge limits action. There is also the need to understand that climate actions are not just the remit of the environmental team. Today we know that to be effective your strategy must integrate every aspect of an organisation.
We both understand the scope this requires, from how you work with your staff, to the goods and services you procure, how you operate, right through to considering your future innovations. We can support this strategic development and change.
Project Development and Evaluation
We draw on years of experience to help you bring your ideas together and then, once the aims are clear, we can facilitate team or partner workshops to develop practical actions. This includes timelines, fund finding, application writing and budget development.
Many clients have also found it very helpful to have us as part of the project set up team. Having supported many projects, we have frequently been able to help provide guidance on suitable workflow processes and the best approach to formal project monitoring.
Good evaluation can shape policy direction, project structure and participants engagement programmes. Critically, evaluation is not a tick box exercise but should provide information to support strategic aims. We are experienced in ERDF Summative Assessment and more broadly ESIF reviews, CRF programme evaluation and wider project evaluation. We set out our methodology and timeline at the start of the process and engage with clients in regular update meetings.
Training
We look at training in two ways.
For some organisations it’s a formal training session; perhaps looking at a specific topic such as carbon targets, or procurement specs., funding opportunities or social value. We set training goals and use the organisation's own data or ideas to ensure that the outcomes are not just new learning but practical next steps. For us it's about people not just gaining knowledge but also seeing a route to move forward.
Far less formally, but equally important, as we work on research, strategy or project development alongside your staff we make sure they are learning too. We share our expertise, link them up to the information and ideas that will help them in the future and involve them in the process.