Making impact easier to understand, measure and prove.
I am Ilaria, founder of Empirica Research & Consulting.
I help organisations and values-driven businesses turn complex questions about impact, evaluation and evidence into practical approaches they can actually use.
I have spent my career working with research, evidence and organisations trying to make a difference.
My background spans research, health, evaluation and coaching, giving me both the analytical skills to understand complex evidence and the practical skills to help people use it. Through my work, I have repeatedly seen the same problem: organisations and businesses are doing valuable work, but often struggle to demonstrate what difference it makes.
Sometimes the problem is knowing what to measure.
Sometimes it is having the time or skills to collect and analyse evidence.
Sometimes it is simply knowing how to turn everything you already know into a clear story.
That is why I created Empirica.
I make difficult things easy.
Impact and evaluation can sound complicated.
Theory of Change. Outcomes. Indicators. Data. Evaluation frameworks. Social value. B Corp.
You do not need to become an evaluation expert to use these tools effectively.
My role is to unpack the complexity, find what matters for you and make it practical.
I believe that good evaluation should be:
Practical — useful for real decisions, not just reports.
Proportionate — appropriate to your resources and what you're trying to achieve.
Accessible — something your team can understand and use.
Useful — generating insight that helps you improve.
I am not here to make you dependent on a consultant.
I can provide hands-on expertise when you need it, but my aim is to leave you with greater confidence and capability. That might mean training your team, developing an evaluation approach together, coaching you through a challenge, or taking on the parts of the work where you need specialist support.
You should finish working with Empirica knowing more than when you started.
Empirica has traditionally worked with charities, social enterprises and third-sector organisations to understand and demonstrate their impact.
I am now bringing that same evidence-led approach to values-driven businesses. Businesses increasingly need to demonstrate not only what they sell, but how they operate and the difference they make, to their people, customers, communities and the environment.
Whether you are exploring B Corp®, strengthening your responsible business approach, responding to procurement or funding requirements, or simply wanting to understand and demonstrate your impact, I can help you build the evidence behind what you stand for.
You do not have to pursue certification to take your impact seriously.
How I work
Doing business responsibly
Doing good should be something you can demonstrate, not simply something you say.
As a small business, I am committed to building responsible practices into the way Empirica operates from fair and respectful working practices and ethical sourcing to environmental responsibility, data protection and prompt payment of suppliers.
I review these commitments as the business develops and look for ways to improve.
Clear, practical and honest
I want working with Empirica to feel straightforward.
I will listen to what you actually need, explain things in plain language and work with you to find an approach that is proportionate to your organisation, your resources and what you're trying to achieve.
I will not recommend a complicated evaluation system just because I can. And I will not tell you something is working if the evidence does not support it.
Your feedback matters
I want to know what works and what does not.
I welcome honest feedback throughout our work, including when something has not gone as planned. If something isn't right, I will listen, work with you to understand what happened and take reasonable steps to put it right.
The same principle applies to my own business: listen, learn, improve.