After Britain in Europe was wound down in June 2005 because of the referendum "No" votes in France and the Netherlands, she worked for the non-departmental public body or quango NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) inititally in a public affairs role and later to establish and manage the Manchester Innovation Fund project.
In a speech on the subject, the then Conservative party leader David Cameron incorrectly identified the National Employer Service as a Quango in its own right.