Client Testimonials for Southern Horizons

An excellent contribution

“Rebekah has worked with us on the Safer Keyham Independent Evaluation and her work has been an excellent contribution. Rebekah’s research skills, specifically survey design and implementation in this instance, have been integral to the success of the research. We have been able to complete a robust community survey to ascertain engagement in the Safer Keyham initiatives and more general community feelings of safety. We appreciate the professional, comprehensive, and careful work completed and welcome future collaboration”.

Professor Zoë James
(University of Plymouth)

Fantastic person to work with

“Rebekah was a fantastic person to work with. Together with her colleague Lorna Bell, she was able to grasp the many complex issues of the European Interreg project “Flavour” very quickly. She was an absolute joy to work with thanks to her perseverance, excellent report-writing skills and overall punctuality.”

Simon Martens
(Project Manager, Flavour)

I highly recommend Rebekah

“I highly recommend Rebekah. On the Plymouth and South Devon Freeport she was key in providing project management as well as writing and coordinating the bid documents including outline and full business cases (OBC & FBC). She worked well with multiple public and private sector stakeholders, marshalling inputs and developing a compelling narrative. Rebekah interpreted complex government guidance and kept everyone on track. She is continuing to provide insight and support during the mobilisation phase. Rebekah is a talented and skilled project manager, with great technical understanding and is calm under pressure. It has been a pleasure delivering such a complex project with her.”

Caroline Cozens
(formerly Head of Strategic Programmes, Plymouth City Council)

A thorough understanding of the complex brief

“I worked closely with Emma Buckman and Rebekah Southern between May and October 2019 as part of the Steering Group for the Heart of the South West Local Industrial Strategy (LIS). Buckman Associates were brought to lead the drafting of the LIS at a critical moment where the many good ideas, clear vision and evidence-base needed to be pulled together into a single document with a clear logic chain, strategic line of sight and shared objectives. The latter was perhaps the most challenging in a region such as the Heart of the SW which, although with one LEP, has 16 local authorities (of which 4 top tier); a population of over 1.8m; a diverse business/sector base and a desire to prioritise both growth and inclusion. And added to this, the objectives and the commitments (actions) needed to be agreed and shared with government in the spirit of co-design.

 I had heard about Buckman Associates by reputation and they didn’t disappoint. Emma and Rebekah demonstrated remarkable emotional intelligence working with partners and a thorough understanding of the complex brief. Their ability to navigate subtleties in political imperatives, aligned to their core skills in economic research and strategy development, ensured that the Heart of the South West LEP were able to present a LIS co-designed with government that is widely considered to be an excellent piece of work and, more importantly, an excellent route-map for the economic development of the region.

 One final point – Emma and Rebekah needed patience, pragmatism and humour in spades to stay sane in managing the multiple and sometimes conflicting viewpoints and ensure an optimal outcome!”

Suzanne Bond
Assistant Director
South West I Area Lead – Heart of the South West I Area lead Dorset I Cities and Local Growth Unit

Highly effective

“I have been working with Rebekah on a key project evaluation and find her structured approach, high quality of communications and ability to be flexible and creative in her approach not only refreshing but highly effective. Happy to recommend Rebekah for work in research and evaluation.”

Julie Hawker
Joint CEO
Cosmic

They are a very professional and experienced outfit

“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Emma and Rebekah at Southern Horizons (UK) and Buckman Associates Ltd.   They are a very professional and experienced outfit, with an extremely flexible and helpful approach to ensuring the best results for all involved.  They offer solutions and options to issues that arise. What I liked most about working with them is that they adapted to changing circumstances and my (probably frustrating) demands but always maintained their integrity and that of the data and the evidence that this showed.  I would most certainly be asking them to quote for future work where relevant”

Lucy Harris
Operations Director
Cornwall Marine Network

Her knowledge and experience is outstanding

“I have worked with Rebekah for over a year and a half on an ERDF funded project and previous to that I had the pleasure of being part of few projects on which she was an external evaluator. Her knowledge and experience is outstanding. Her excellent overview, critical thinking and understanding of all important aspects of the project has been demonstrated on many occasions (communicating monitoring and evaluation guidelines, supporting partners with queries, offering project management solutions and providing advice about EU regulations). She has excellent listening skills and examines everything very objectively, having only the best interests of the project at heart. Rebekah’s highly professional style, underpinned by her kind and considerate personal approach, creates a trustworthy multilateral and international collaboration contributing to building strong relationships not only within the partnership but also externally with stakeholders and other organisations. We are constantly impressed by her knowledge, attention to detail and the quality she and her company represent.”

Eňa Novakova
Project Officer – FLAVOUR
Plymouth Marjon University

Excellent knowledge of EU projects

“Rebekah and Emma demonstrated an excellent knowledge of EU projects and partnerships through the work they did for us on the DS4B evaluation.  I found them to be professional and efficient in evidence collection, meetings and interviews.  They produced thorough and concise reports that were delivered on time and to brief, also reflecting some changes to the project (as a result of a PCR submitted) midway through delivery.  Overall they were a pleasure to work with and dealt with project participants and stakeholders sensitively.”

Chloe Severn
Project and Partnership Manager
Cornwall College