About

The Full Story

Creative Smarts is a truly unique communications agency that innovatively merges the worlds of academic research with creative storytelling. Founded by Dr. Rivka Smith, an accomplished academic and researcher, and Edwin Buckley, a senior communications expert and former TV producer, we are a rare collaboration of deep expertise and innovative thinking. Rivka and Edwin have been friends since the age of 11, and while they pursued distinct professional paths, they came together to combine their skills, offering clients a powerful synergy that is seldom found in the industry.

At the heart of our mission is the importance of research communications. We recognise that significant findings often become obscured by complexity, making it challenging for audiences to grasp their relevance. Creative Smarts specialises in translating hard, serious, and complicated information into engaging and digestible content. We bring communications, engagement, and creative strategies to every project, producing a wide array of content, including creative assets, reports, infographics, videos, podcasts, webinars, presentations, and live events. Our diverse multimedia formats bring vital research to life, aiming not only to enhance understanding, but also to foster meaningful discussions around important issues.

By bridging these two worlds, Creative Smarts empowers organisations to effectively communicate their insights and impact. Our commitment to originality ensures that we create tailored content, project development and stakeholder engagement strategies, and communications solutions that resonates with specific audiences while maintaining the integrity of the research or topic. Whether collaborating with research institutions, academic bodies, non-profits, or corporate clients, we take pride in making complex information accessible and relatable. Through our comprehensive services, we drive engagement and ultimately spark positive change within the areas and industries we serve.

Meet the Founders

Co-Founder & Joint Managing Director

Edwin Buckley

Edwin is a highly regarded communications, engagement, media and production expert, who has held a range of senior roles at organisations including the BBC, Prostate Cancer UK, Natural England and Causeway.

Throughout his extensive career, he has established himself as a resourceful and high-performing leader, strategist, project manager, brand builder, publicist, marketer, content creator, producer, and innovation and development specialist.

Edwin's superpower is connecting organisations with their audience through original, tactical and distinctive strategies. He brings this imaginative and integrated approach to what he does at Creative Smarts, and utlises his vast and versatile skillset covering strategic communications, campaign management, digital marketing, creative content production, media relations, influencer engagement, brand management, stakeholder engagement, partnership management, and product development.

Edwin combines strategic, creative and editorial sensibilities, to devise and produce content, campaigns and communication activities, that are not just innovative, but tactical, insight-focussed and audience-driven. It's this approach which makes us different to your traditional agency. We don't just deliver a product, rather we partner with you to create solutions which have long-term, multi-functional and measurable impacts.

Co-Founder & Joint Managing Director

Dr. Rivka Smith

Rivka is an award-winning academic with nearly 15 years of experience in mixed-methods research and teaching. Her empirical and theoretical work spans law, criminology, sociology, and socio-legal studies, with a central research focus on public sector organisations, particularly the police and NHS.

She has led the development, delivery, and dissemination of a range of high-profile research and evaluation projects that have attracted external funding from bodies including the Cabinet Office, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Throughout her career, Rivka has actively engaged key stakeholders and built strong research partnerships with policymakers, sector leaders, and non-profit organisations. As a published academic, she is committed to driving research innovation and ensuring that important findings reach audiences beyond academia. She champions open research, and several of the projects she's worked on have gone on to become Research Excellence Framework (REF) case studies.

Her meticulous attention to detail and commitment to high standards underpins her work at Creative Smarts, where she brings extensive knowledge of the higher education, public and charity sectors to truly understand and support clients' needs. She looks forward to working with you!