Cathy Kerfoot

Associate Director, Major Programmes

Arts and Humanities Research Council

Speaker Biography

Dr Cathy Kerfoot is an Associate Director at the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). She leads AHRC’s work in the Creative Industries, Design and Commercialisation.

Cathy’s portfolio includes the landmark £100m Creative Industries Clusters investment, which drives UK-wide growth in the creative industries through university-led R&D.

She is responsible for Future Observatory: Design the Green Transition, a ground-breaking £34m Design research programme and partnership with the Design Museum, which is delivering design-led solutions to sustainability challenges across the UK.

Cathy also leads the Immersive Arts programme supporting UK-based artists to develop their art by using immersive technologies, via a unique collaboration with Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Arts Council of Wales.

Cathy is a member of AHRC’s senior leadership team, and of various UKRI investment management boards including for the new £40m UKRI Proof of Concept Fund.

Prior to joining AHRC, Cathy worked for several years in national Higher Education policymaking. She has a PhD in literature from the University of Leeds

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