Meet our Founders

Meet the duo behind Creative Smarts: Dr. Rivka Smith and Edwin Buckley. They have been friends since they were 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.

Dr. Rivka Smith: A Passion for Social Research

Dr. Rivka Smith co-founded Creative Smarts with a clear mission: to bridge the gap between intricate academic research and the broader public. 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 is an open research champion, and several of her projects have gone on to become Research Excellence Framework (REF) case studies for their impact.

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!

Edwin Buckley: The Creative Storyteller

Co-founder Edwin Buckley complements Rivka’s analytical prowess with a flair for creative storytelling and communications. 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.

A Commitment to Collaboration and Impact

Rivka and Edwin thrive on collaboration, both within their team and with their clients. They believe that the best solutions arise from an open dialogue where ideas can be freely exchanged.

As they continue to develop Creative Smarts, they remain dedicated to staying ahead of research communication trends and innovations, ensures that their strategies are not only effective, but also resonate with today's audiences.

Please get in touch, and stay tuned for more insights, updates, and stories from Creative Smarts as we work to make impactful research communications a reality!