Our Director
Harriet Pierpoint
PhD PgDip LLB FHEA
Honorary Professor
University of Birmingham
Expertise and background
Harriet is a leading expert on vulnerability with over 25 years’ experience in higher education, most recently as Professor of Criminology. She works with people with lived experience and with frontline, strategic and senior stakeholders. Her expertise spans participatory research, evidence reviews, qualitative and quantitative methodologies, stakeholder engagement and simulation/experimental approaches.
Current roles and affiliations
Harriet now works full‑time as a consultant providing reseach and advice to a broad range of clients, while retaining an academic connection as an Honorary Professor at the University of Birmingham, and as a member of the Welsh Centre for Crime and Social Justice and ImpleMéndez COST Action. She continues to act as a university external examiner, to publish in academic journals, and to serve as Lead Editor of the forthcoming Routledge Handbook of Vulnerability and Criminal Justice. She is a member of the British Society of Criminology, and an Accredited Facilitator for the Youth Experiential Learning Simulation (YExLS).
Harriet’s work is highly regarded by clients and partners, who have shared numerous testimonials praising her expertise and approach.
Outside of work, Harriet enjoys spending time with family and friends, and being outdoors.
Research, expert advice and impact
Harriet has led major research projects for organisations including the Home Office, Welsh Government, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the National Lottery Community Fund, St Giles Trust and National Offender Management Service Cymru.
She has authored more than 50 outputs, including government reports, handbooks and peer‑reviewed journal articles and presented her research to government, policy, practitioner and academic audiences and the wider public.
As a trusted subject‑matter expert, she has provided specialist advice to government, policing, justice and regulatory bodies. Her advisory roles include the Youth Justice Board’s Quality of Advocacy Working Group and South Wales Police’s Independent Ethics Committee. Her work has contributed to national policy, white papers, rules and standards across bodies such as the Welsh Government, Home Office, National Appropriate Adult Network, British Academy and National Police Chiefs’ Council. Harriet developed the Universal Practice Approach (UPA), which is attracting significant interest.
Leadership and innovation
Harriet has led multidisciplinary research teams, co‑founded and co‑chaired the Vulnerability Research Network, and created an award‑winning student internship programme providing real‑world research experience and supporting postgraduate progression.
25+
Years experience
50+
Publications
13
Advisory/committee roles
40+
Conference papers
17
Reviewer roles
9
Universities - external examining
6
Conferences organised
30+
University modules taught
Our Associates
Successful bids and high‑quality project delivery require the right blend of subject expertise and technical skills. HPC carefully curates its teams to ensure we meet these needs. Below are some of the associates of HPC with whom we are currently collaborating on bids or have successfully delivered projects.
Julie Swan - Subject Expert
Julie Swan has worked in senior positions in regulatory, delivery and quality assurance roles in educational and assessment contexts for over 30 years, most recently at Ofqual, where she was Executive Director of General Qualifications and Deputy Chief Regulator and at the Solicitors Regulation Authority where she was Director of Education and Training.
She has had extensive experience of developing, consulting on and implementing policy at a national level during her career. She was an independent university governor for many years and is currently a governor at a secondary school.
Dr Sarah Watson - Experienced Researcher
Dr Sarah Watson led complex research projects for 10 years at the Solicitors Regulation Authority, including as Head of Research, and previously worked in academic research centres. Drawing on her social science doctorate, she has designed and managed many research and evaluation projects and has translated evidence into credible, actionable policy options that have directly influenced national regulatory policy. Her research has spanned a wide range of topics including education reform, consumer vulnerabilities, behaviours and protection, market risks, technological innovations and evaluating policy changes.
She is also a non-executive director of a local housing association, where she chairs the service performance and customer experience committee and is a member of the governance improvement committee. She therefore brings deep insight into how organisations balance affordability, fairness, real‑world service delivery, public expectations and regulatory obligations.
Jemma Macfadyen - Experienced Researcher
Jemma Macfadyen started Spinnaker Consulting in 2008 building on ten years’ experience in a range of senior roles in legal publishing at LexisNexis, Gartner and Thomson Reuters. As an independent researcher and consultant, Jemma has delivered many successful strategic and commercial projects for entities within the legal sector including the SRA, the BSB and The Law Society.
During her career, Jemma has delivered commercial results through strategy development and qualitative research and is experienced at managing complex projects. An experienced qualitative researcher, Jemma excels at understanding the story within the data and in making strategic recommendations based on market evidence to inform regulatory policy and commercial decision-making.
Helen Allingham - Experienced Researcher and Writer
Helen is the co-founder and director of Insightfully Done, a specialist research and business writing provider that works with research firms, consultancies, B2B publishers, and content agencies. A highly experienced research professional, Helen started her career as a retail banking and payments analyst for a research firm, moved into fintech analyst relations at a digital marketing agency, and latterly became head of content for wealth management at GlobalData. Since becoming a freelance consultant in 2018, Helen has delivered several large-scale, mixed-methods research projects as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
Dr Helen Taylor - Subject Expert and Experienced Researcher
Dr Helen Taylor is a Senior Lecturer in Housing at Cardiff Metropolitan University. She has undertaken a number of research projects related to housing and homelessness policy in Wales. Helen led the research team who created the Welsh Government's Empty Properties Handbook for Wales as well completing research for Housing Justice Cymru, CIH Cymru, and the Senedd Research Service.
Vicki Summerhayes - Experienced Researcher and Writer
Vicki is the co-founder and director of Insightfully Done, a specialist research and business writing provider that works with research firms, consultancies, B2B publishers, and content agencies. She has over 20 years of research experience, focusing on the financial services, technology and professional services sectors. Having started her career as an insurance analyst for a research firm, Vicki then moved to Accenture, where she led its UK and global insurance research programme. Since becoming a freelance consultant, Vicki has continued to focus on her passion for drawing insights from a range of research techniques, including in-depth qualitative interviews and data analysis.
Associate Professor Jenny Maher - Subject Expert and Experienced Researcher
Dr Jenny Maher is an Associate Professor at the University of South Wales whose research spans environmental crime, animal welfare, interpersonal (e.g. gang and youth) and interspecies violence and victimisation. Over a 20 year career, she has established an international reputation for pioneering research into animal abuse, illegal pet trades, and wildlife crimes, helping shape the field of Green Criminology and advance understanding of how human systems contribute to animal harm. Working across disciplines - including the social sciences, law, environmental science, and the humanities - her work has broadened the evidence base on the intersectional nature of animal abuse and interpersonal violence and crime, and demonstrated the importance of tackling cruelty and environmental crime as interconnected social issues. Jenny has collaborated extensively with international organisations (UNODC, EU, EC), UK and devolved governments, NGOs, and enforcement bodies. Her scholarly work appears in leading journals and Handbooks and she maintains an active programme of policy-oriented writing, including reports for multiple governments and international organisations.