About Us
What makes Cavill Associates Tick?
We love evaluating things. Have projects achieved what they set out to do? Are they on track? Should they continue, or should money be spent elsewhere?
We love complexity. The world isn’t linear; neither are most public health interventions.
We love using mixed methods. We can tell you if your project achieved a percentage change in its main outcome. But we can also tell you what people thought about it.
We love translating evidence into practice. What is the use of a perfect systematic review if it sits on the shelf?
We love health communications. We’ve worked on massive communications campaigns but we’re realistic about what they can achieve.
We love influencing public policy. We want high quality academic research to be used to inform policy and practice.
We love criticising things. Constructively, of course.
We love making a difference.
Meet the team
We work with a range of associates, building bespoke teams for each commissioned project.
Some of our favourite associates are shown below.
Prof Nick Cavill
Nick is the founder of Cavill Associates Ltd. He established the company in 2000, building on a career in health promotion at a national level. He is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Bath. He specialises in the development of policy and programmes on public health issues. While his major focus has been obesity, sustainable transport and the links to physical activity, Nick has also advised on topics as diverse as mental health; drinking water availability; young people’s social development, knife crime and sport and social development.
Nick has been involved in many complex evaluations of public health programmes in the UK. He has led or contributed to evaluations of a wide range of topics including physical activity and sport; urban cycling; workplace health promotion; and early years provision.
Nick gets involved in most of our projects, either as project director, or hands-on researcher/consultant.
Mike Parker
Mike is a Director of Progress Health Partnerships, one of our partner organisations. He has 20 years experience working in public health, through employment with the local authority, primary care, the third sector and the private sector. Throughout this period Mike has been responsible for developing, delivering and evaluating public health interventions and partnerships, specialising in physical activity.
Mike has led many of our evaluations, and has a strong focus on logic models and the development of evaluation and monitoring frameworks.
Prof Charlie Foster
Charlie is one of the UK’s leading academics in the field of physical activity research. He has extensive experience of lecturing, teaching and training principles and methods of evaluation, health behaviour change and health promotion.
He is a Professor in Physical Activity and Public Health and Head of the Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences (EHNS), at the University of Bristol (UOB). His programme of research (£12.5M) spans basic epidemiology, correlates, interventions and policy. He has conducted over 50 evidence reviews and was the Director of the Centre for Evidence and Physical Activity at Oxford University. He was awarded an OBE for services to physical activity promotion and research. Charlie gets involved in the more academic end of Cavill Associates’ projects.
Prof Harry Rutter
Harry is professor of global public health at the University of Bath, senior academic adviser to Public Health England, and holds adjunct positions in Norway and Ireland. He was founder director of the English National Obesity Observatory, led the development of the English National Child Measurement Programme, and chaired the NICE group on walking and cycling. He works closely with WHO headquarters, sits on two WHO Europe steering groups, and chairs a number of other committees. His research is focused on effective mechanisms for improving the research, policy and practice responses to complex system problems in public health, with a particular focus on non-communicable diseases.
Harry has led our programme of work on complex system mapping, and contributes to numerous other projects when his time permits…