BA (Hons), MSc, PhD
Career History
Dr Laura McGinty is a senior consultant at Kada Research, with fifteen years experience in evaluation and research. Laura joined Kada in 2025, from the Institute for Economic and Social Inclusion at University of Sunderland, where she was the thematic lead on skills and Pathways to Employment, as well as leading evaluations of a UK Shared Prosperity Fund programme, and an arts and culture programme targeting children and young people. Laura was also involved in research on hyperlocal community organisations, particularly focused on bringing skills in spatial data and GIS to contribute to the research on the role of these groups on social capital and cohesion.
Prior to this, Laura was a Lead Consultant at research consultancy Rocket Science, developing experience of evaluation and research on a range of projects across social, economic and environmental themes. Clients included the Scottish Government, NHS England and various Local Authorities.
Laura spent six years at Newcastle University, doing a PhD in the School of Engineering with a thesis titled Business Model Innovation for Green Urban Infrastructure. This project brought together evaluative and valuation principles and techniques to understand the stakeholders and beneficiaries of a city-wide green infrastructure system, with a view to developing business model archetypes that could be used to realise and maximise the potential of green infrastructure for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Following her PhD submission, Laura stayed at the university as a Research Impact Facilitator to support the REF2021 submission, including leading on the development of Impact Case Studies for the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering.
Before doing her PhD, Laura spent five years working in the third sector, as an Evaluation Officer at sustainable transport charity, Sustrans and then as a Statistical Analyst at the RNLI. At Sustrans, Laura specialised in active travel and behaviour change projects, developing mixed methods evaluations and understanding the health, wellbeing and social impacts of walking and cycling. At the RNLI she primarily worked to transform the use of operational data to enable better evidence based planning and use of data across the organisation, in addition she supported the establishment of an evaluation framework across a range of water safety projects and supported the development of statistics for the launch of the now-annual Respect the Water safety campaign.
Laura has a BA in Human Geography and an MSc in Sustainable Communities and Environments from Sheffield Hallam University.
Key Strengths, Skills & Experience
Motivated by a passion for understanding and demonstrating impact, Laura specialises in monitoring and evaluation (M&E), impact evaluation, and translating research into evidence-based policy and practice. With an academic background in human geography, sustainability, and socio-economic inclusion, she has a particular interest in the intersections between people, place, and environment. She is experienced in designing and managing mixed-methods research, triangulating and synthesising information from multiple sources, and creating a holistic understanding of outcomes and impacts.
Laura has topic expertise in inclusive economies, social inclusion, environmental and sustainability themes, as well as evaluation theory and techniques. She brings technical skills in both quantitative and qualitative research, spatial analysis and GIS, research design, and project management, and is adept at designing and managing evaluations that inform practice. Combining knowledge of sustainability, health and wellbeing, and socio-economic inclusion with practical expertise in research and evaluation, Laura is skilled at communicating insights to diverse audiences and applying a cross-disciplinary perspective to her work.
Outside of Work
Laura likes to be outdoors, whether hiking, biking or on a boat. She is a fully qualified Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Day Skipper, and a half-qualified RYA Yachtmaster: Coastal Skipper. Enthusiastic about OS maps, camping, identifying birds, and country pubs, she is aiming to complete the South West Coast Path in stages over the next few years.
When not outside, Laura likes reading (and watching!) ‘cosy crime’ and tackling Killer Sudoku puzzles, with her cats for company.
Interesting Fact
Laura played Ebeneezer Scrooge in a school production of A Christmas Carol, and has a half marathon PB of 3 hours and 11 minutes. These two things are not connected.