About us

DHA are policy, research and communication specialists. We help communities, charities, networks and public sector agencies across the UK, and beyond, to understand and influence the world around them.

We work at all levels – from grassroots community projects to government agency initiatives – to deliver communications, advocacy and research expertise which helps shape real change, make sense of complexity and bring people closer to the decisions that affect their lives.

We specialise in arts and culture, global development and social change and sustainability, working across design, storytelling and strategy development through to policy advocacy, discourse analysis, evaluation and learning.

Our expertise

"Your flair and your close attention to detail made it a pleasure to work with you."

Cambridge Education

Storytelling lies at the heart of what we do and the way in which we help people shape the world around them. We use our writing and design skills to develop powerful narratives which combine clarity and coherence with compelling content to inspire understanding and action across different platforms.

Meet the Team

    • Daniel Harris
      Managing Director
      Daniel founded DHA and leads on our technical direction. He is a policy and strategic communications expert, advising and coaching global development programmes, agencies and NGOs on achieving reach and impact through creative communication and policy advocacy. Daniel draws on a career managing award-winning campaigns for trade unions, working as a special adviser to the UK’s first secretary for the Department for International Development and helping transform Liverpool into one of the UK’s main arts and culture hubs.
    • Jon Flinn
      Director of Communications
      Jon helps organisations get their stories heard and leads DHA’s communications and advocacy in the third and public sector. He has developed place-based narratives for culture bids across England and, as a former journalist, helps shape the narrative of our policy and research work with clients working in the arts and for social change and delivers media coverage. He is a writer, workshop facilitator, media specialist and trainer. He is also an all-weather cyclist and a fair-weather kayaker.
    • Tamsin Cox
      Head of Policy and Research
      Tamsin builds organisations’ understanding and evidence base to help them improve their practice and share learning with others. She leads DHA’s research, analysis and evaluation work, particularly in UK and the Europe-wide arts and culture sectors. Her expertise includes: larger-scale public events, urban regeneration and place development initiatives; cultural workforce experiences, development and inequalities; grant-making practices; self-evaluation methodologies and collaborative evaluation techniques; and organisational reflection and strategic development. Tamsin is a Fellow of the RSA, an Associate at the Institute of Cultural Capital (University of Liverpool/Liverpool John Moores University) and an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at the University of Liverpool.
    • David Casey
      Design
      Dave transforms ideas into clear and compelling visuals. He leads on all DHA’s design work and brings more than 15 years’ experience to developing creative visual concepts that re-brand organisations and their focus, convey data and bring clarity to research reports, digital data visualisations and websites. Dave is a keen drawer and photographer who is inspired by his surroundings, whether it be up a mountain or on the tube.
    • Brenda Balmer
      Office Manager
      Brenda ensures DHA keeps ticking over. She manages our finance and administration, helping us to maintain efficient day-to-day processes and systems so we can deliver projects on time, within budget and to a high standard. Brenda is studying to become a fully qualified accountant and a member of the Association of Accounting Technicians. She loves to run and can often be found training for various charity races
    • Anna Reeve
      Communications coordinator
      Anna is our creative lynch-pin, working across all channels to connect the different parts of key projects and turn them into something wonderful. She is both a strategy planner and a content creator and leads on multi-channel campaigns that draw together video, animation, social media and print content. She works across DHA’s client portfolio with specific focus on our development work.
    • Maria Pia Arriola
      Communications assistant
      Pia supports the team with administrative and communications work for our global development portfolio. She assists in project management, development of materials and implementing strategies across multiple partner projects. She makes sure we are on track to deliver on every project and that we take care of every detail. She has experience in the communications field, as a journalist and PR officer, and recently finished her Master’s degree in Media, Campaigning and Social Change. Pia is passionate about social causes, especially migrants and refugees.

    Associates

    Hazel Province has a long track record of success as a performer, manager, strategist, leader and mentor in the culture sector, including an in-depth knowledge and experience of opera companies both nationally and internationally. Hazel was Director of Planning at The Royal Opera House, and prior to that Orchestra Director. Since 2019 Hazel has been working independently, with a portfolio of work which has included 2 years as interim director of planning at Welsh National Opera, and she is currently Industry Lead (Opera) for the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Opera360 Masters degree. She is a Governor of The Royal Northern College of Music, Chair of The Music Education Hub in Dorset and remains well networked within the Opera Industry internationally.