Representation in research - Steering group

Graham Idehen is Senior Director, International for dscout. He has over 20 years of operational experience within the industry across CAPI, CATI and Online methodologies and is also a co-founder of Colour of Research (CORe), which aims to increase diversity & representation in the Market Research space. Graham was one of the first in the industry to be recognised as one of the MRS' "Research Heroes".

Rania Benameur is a Research Executive at Opinium, an award-winning global research agency, based in their London Offices. With two and half years' experience in the research industry, Rania brings a fresh perspective and emerging expertise to her role. She specialises in quant methodologies across the thought leadership and brand and communications practice areas.

Trixie is the global lead for Diversity and Inclusion at Ipsos. In her current role she is focusing on how research can be more inclusive through the questions asked and the samples provided, she’s also working across countries to understand the cultural nuances, language and legal implications in each market. She is involved in discussions with many of Ipsos’s key global clients consulting with them on the representation they achieve in their research and how they can best address the needs of underserved communities. She has over 20 years of experience in market research having worked in regional and global roles, including spending several years working in Latin America driving the adoption of online research in the region.
Trixie graduated from the London School of Economics with a Masters degree in Operational Research, and is a regular speaker at global conferences, having presented at Market Research Society, CASRO and ESOMAR events and written for the International Journal of Market Research, most recently having published “A Question of Gender: Gender Classification in International Research”.

Jane is responsible for the leadership of MRS. Jane was previously at HM Revenue & Customs where she developed and led the individual customer function and the behavioural evidence and insight unit.

Before moving to HMRC in 2006, she held senior roles in both public and private sector organisations including Shell, Unilever, the Department of Constitutional Affairs and the BBC, where she was responsible for the iconic 'Perfect Day' campaign which, as well as winning advertisement of the year, raised £2.5m for Children in Need.

With a rich background in terms of research methodologies and sectors, Sania believes strongly that well designed research can help clients meet even the most challenging strategic objectives.

As well as delivering research to major corporate clients, for more than a decade, Sania has specialist expertise in running projects for government and intergovernmental bodies. She is passionate about using research for the enhancement of public good. One of her main areas of specialism relates to minority, and lesser heard groups, and optimising methodologies to ensure that research more accurately represents their experiences/views.

Sania has lived and studied in both the UK and the US, obtaining her policy and research methods-focused Masters Degree from University College London. She is a regular guest radio broadcaster for the BBC, sharing evidence-based knowledge on a range of topics.

Debrah is responsible for all MRS operations and leads the Society’s standards, policy and public affairs activities. Debrah graduated from Southampton University in the early 90’s with an honours degree in Geography.
She first worked in accountancy and then moved to the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) in 1994. After working in auditing and compliance for ABC, she joined the management of MRS in 1999 to establish a new Standards and Policy department.
Debrah is the co-author (with Peter Jackson) of the book, Quality in Market Research: from Theory to Practice and is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Ben Hogg is Managing Director, International for dscout. Ben’s career has spanned more than 20 years working across the online market research and passive measurement industries as a leader and entrepreneur. Prior to Lucid, Ben was the MD of International Markets for Lucid, and before that, MD, EMEA, for Research Now's Portfolio Companies, following its acquisition by e-Rewards, where he was responsible for launching its European business in 2006. Ben is a Fellow of the Market Research Society (MRS).

Bex is an MRS accredited researcher experienced in the design and use of qualitative and quantitative methods. She has a proven track record of delivering research projects of all sizes, and played a key role in the team that developed the crucial “commercial benefits” research for the RinR group.

Ruth is a world-leading expert on research localisation. As founder of award-winning insight localisation agency Empower Translate, and with over three decades at the intersection of the insight and translation industries, Ruth has pioneered initiatives for the betterment of international research. Notably, she has also driven EDI and anti-discrimination activities and in 2023, was selected for the E2E Female 100 list of the UK’s most prominent female disruptors.

Ruths significant contribution to the MRS includes being a member of the ACP Council, a co-lead on the ACP Quality and Standards Committee, a member of the Representation in Research Steering Committee and the MRS Pledge EDI strategic Rebranding Group. She has also made significant contributions to other groups including as a Council Member and Chair of the Association of Translation Companies, FSB Immigration Policy Champion and Woman in Research Executive Network. Her contribution to the development of research, insight and data understanding is via webinars, new guidance and articles.

Jo Price is the Research Methods Consultant at Kantar Insights UK. Jo has 25+ years’ experience as a Research Operations expert and has a specialist focus on understanding how best practice sample & survey design influences high quality data.

Cathia Randrianarivo is an Inclusive Research Consultant at The Unmistakables, an award-winning strategic ED&I consultancy, delivering Inside Out Inclusion® that builds cultural confidence and inclusion capability for client partners' leaders and teams.

Cathia oversees in-depth, mixed-method research projects for clients who want to understand and engage underrepresented and underserved communities within their organisation and/or service user base, including BBH, AMV BBDO, Cannes Lions, Macmillan and Mind. As the lead quantitative insights specialist, she thrives on innovating and ensuring inclusion-first thinking is embedded in existing approaches. Prior to The Unmistakables, Cathia spent 10 years as a senior client consultant at global customer-first data science company dunnhumby.

Proud to be a Malagasy-British Third Culture Kid, bridging her expertise and lived experience from Madagascar and the UK, Cathia champions platforming marginalised voices and accelerating inclusion at an individual, organisational and structural level.

Matthew is the Managing Director of Vitreous World, a research consultancy he founded in 2016. With over 20 years of experience in public relations, marketing, and market research, he is renowned for championing best practices and client service excellence. In 2020, he co-founded Voices4All, an initiative addressing unconscious bias in the research industry.

Recognized as a Research Hero by the Market Research Society in 2021, Matthew also serves on the MRS Representation in Research Steering Committee and recommended changes to the MRS Code to strengthen inclusive reporting requirements. His commitment to inclusivity and transparency has significantly advanced the representation of minority groups in UK research sampling.

Zeeshan Siddique is UK Panels Director at GfK, managing one of the largest Media Measurement Panels in the UK. The TV & Radio Panel delivers over 10,000 surveys every single day of the year. Zeeshan has over 20 years of experience in Operational Management across all methodologies including CATI, CAPI, CAWI and Panels and he has extensive experience in Project Management and Pricing. Zeeshan is a big champion of equality and diversity within the MR Industry and is currently part of GfK’s ‘Fast Forward’ network for diversity and inclusion and is also part of the Mentoring programme run by Colour of Research (CORe).

Anastasia is a Senior Design Researcher at Barclays UK and leads the User Experience insights strategy for dedicated product lines and digital services.

She has a rich academic background in mixed-methods research and Applied Science, having obtained her BSc Psychology (First Grade) from the University of Bath and her MSc Human-Computer Interaction (Distinction) from the University College London. She has a track record of publishing research on new media (e.g. Virtual Reality) and accessibility in scientific journals and has worked as a research practitioner across different corporate sectors prior to Barclays (e.g. Ernst & Young, BBC Research & Development).

Anastasia is a big advocate for diversity, equity & inclusion and has launched the internal ‘EY Mental Health & Wellbeing Team’ as well as ‘Barclays Vulnerability Taskforce’. As part of the latter, she developed a company-wide data-driven operating model to ensure the needs of potentially vulnerable customers are identified early within the project lifecycle and formally considered end-to-end across every deliverable. This work included the release of award-nominated design and research tools, templates as well as colleague training at scale to drive true user-centricity across the bank.