MRS Social Equity Group

Dan Clay is Managing Partner of Basis Social, a social research agency with grand ambitions to help build a fairer, healthier and more sustainable world. Formerly Head of Qualitative Research at Kantar Public, he brings over 20 years’ experience undertaking qualitative and mixed-method research at organisations such as Barnardo’s and the Tavistock Institute. He has undertaken a wide range of research with under-represented groups to inform policy and services for ONS, UKSA, NHSE, Cabinet Office, DWP, MoJ and others. He was a finalist for the MRS EDI Changemaker of the Year 2024.

Ella is Co-Chair of the MRS Social Equity Group and Vice Chair on the board of the AQR, playing an active role in the EDI sub-committee.

Ella started her research career at Ipsos where she stayed for ten years working in qualitative research for a range of public and private sector clients, specialising in film ethnography. In 2015 she became an independent consultant, and in 2023 founded Do You Research with a focus on utilising inclusive research practices. Ella has been vocal about the lack of diversity in research for many years. In 2020 she launched a podcast, ‘Unequal Truths’, examining these issues further, featuring market research professionals from low-income backgrounds who have successfully navigated the industry. On the back of this she was nominated Women in Research (WiRE) ‘Market Research Diversity Champion’ in 2020.

Mark Hadfield has over 15 years experience as a Brand Planner working in London, around the UK and across Asia. He spent 6 years at Iris, as Regional Head of Planning for APAC, building and managing teams around Asia and working on Samsung, Guinness, Philips and Shell amongst other clients. In 2023 he set up Meet the 85% - an ethnographic research consultancy whose work sits at the intersection of journalism, ethnography and documentary film making. We deliver a ‘Reality First, Brand Second’ approach to insight.

Dr Rachel Lawes is a Fellow of the Market Research Society. She is a thought leader in the British market research community and has delivered many years of training for the MRS, alongside 20 years of supplying consumer and marketing insight to the world’s largest companies.
Rachel is the author of Using Semiotics in Retail (2022, Kogan Page), the first book to be published in this century which is wholly dedicated to the use and power of semiotics in retail marketing. She is also the author of Using Semiotics in Marketing (2020, Kogan Page), the first ever guide to semiotics for marketers to take the reader through the entire project cycle, from writing a brief to presenting and publishing semiotic research.

Zoë McQuillin brings over 25 years' experience as a qualitative researcher and holds a MA Social Anthropology with a particular focus on inequality. An independent research consultant, she collaborates on projects in the private, public and third sectors, recently including Morrisons, Coca-Cola, Bodyform (as part of The Outsiders team, winners of the MRS International Research Award 2021), GambleAware, BookTrust (as part of the Untapped Innovation team, winners of the MRS/ICG Award 2023), OHID, NHS and DWP. She is a judge for the MRS EDI Changemaker of the Year Awards.

Annabelle is Co-Chair of the MRS Social Equity Group, is on the MRS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Council and leads on Diversity for the ICG, the Insight Consultants Group.

Annabelle has always been interested in hearing and amplifying the voices of those who are seldom heard and often overlooked. She has spent much of her career conducting research with offenders in the community and in custody, young offenders, drug users, travellers, sex workers, troubled families, deprived families, etc. She is now honoured to be playing a part in driving inclusivity and diversity both in research practices and industry representation.

She started her career at the Child Poverty Action Group. She then spent 16 years at Ipsos MORI developing qualitative research at MORI, and heading up the Crime and Justice business area and Young People and Families. After two years at Royal Mail Annabelle set up AP Research, and specialises in research with the seldom heard, and communications research for brands which want to talk to and better understand consumers on the fringes.

Adrian Ward has 18 years’ experience in the insight industry, having led both agency and client-side research functions. He is passionate about building impactful and diverse, multi-disciplinary research and design teams. Most recently leading the Business Insight and Design function for Barclays UK.

He is an active member of the Inspire group at Barclays focusing on representation of those from under-resourced backgrounds. He is passionate about creating pathways in the industry for those from under-resourced backgrounds, and encouraging reappraisal of how we assess and think about class in the design of products and services.