Who we are | RealWorth

RealWorth is a consultancy that works in the UK, North America and mainland Europe. We represent a unique blend of skills combining academic and commercial expertise to help our clients to create better and more sustainable outcomes for their organisations and wider society.

What We Believe

The more you value social change, the more you can influence it.

We are experts in the ways that the built environment can positively impact people and communities. But that impact is often ignored or misunderstood.

Good intentions are not enough. If you don’t know the true value of the social change you’re generating, then you’re not really taking full responsibility. A general culture of box ticking, and toolkit calculators means a lot of organisations promise change without ever looking to see if it happened or who was affected.

We have a long heritage of shedding light on the unknown. By offering the perfect blend of academic rigour and insider industry experience, we can provide a complete picture of the social value potential of your project or programme and recommend the kind of changes that make a massive difference to everyone affected by it. Our insights help to create buildings and places that don’t just influence lives but improve them.

Our ultimate aim is to help to create a future where everyone’s quality of life is improved because social and environmental impacts are valued in every policy, investment and development decision.

Our Team

RealWorth is a team of diverse professionals with a range of complementary skills and experience which includes researchers, social scientists and built environment professionals. Our core team is based in our Liverpool office. We have a strong and reliable network of partners and associates with whom we collaborate on a regular basis.

Phil Higham, Co-Founder & Director

Over the last three decades Phil has developed businesses and led projects on three continents – often championing sustainability, social and environmental causes, strategies and initiatives. He brings significant experience in balancing stringent commercial requirements with the broader social and environmental consequences of development.

Phil is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and has worked in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Pakistan and Qatar. He has also been a trustee for a prominent UK charity.

View Phil’s LinkedIn page

Erik Bichard, Co-Founder

Erik’s career has been devoted to the field of sustainable change. He first served as an Environmental Planner and then held positions with two sustainability consultancies. He was then Executive Director of the UK National Centre for Business & Sustainability and later became Chief Executive of Sustainable Northwest.

Erik subsequently became Professor of Regeneration and Sustainable Development at the University of Salford. Erik is also a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and Non-Executive Director for the award-winning social enterprise FRC Group.

View Erik’s LinkedIn page

Working for RealWorth

Click here to view our Employee Handbook

The Engagement Group

The Engagement Group brings together four organisations with a range of complementary skills and experience in the built environment and community engagement. We have teamed up to rethink the way community and stakeholder engagement works in the built environment and to develop an offer that can help councils, developers and citizens collaborate and communicate better, from the earliest vision-setting to master-planning, designing, occupation/use and beyond.