British Social Attitudes (BSA): Policy challenges in fragmented politics

Sir John Curtice is Senior Research Fellow at NatCen, Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University, and Chief Commentator on the What UK Thinks: EU and What Scotland Thinks websites.

He has been a regular contributor to the annual British Social Attitudes report since 1986 and an editor since 1994. He has also been a Co-Director of the Scottish Social Attitudes survey since its foundation in 1999, and his analyses of Scottish public opinion in the run up to the independence referendum were frequently featured throughout the campaigns.

In 2018, he received a knighthood in the New Year's Honours list. Sir John is a regular media commentator on both British and Scottish politics. 

Alex is a Research Director on the Attitudinal Surveys and NatCen Opinion Panel team, where he leads on delivery of the British Social Attitudes survey. He first joined the organisation as a Researcher on the ScotCen team following the completion of his Masters in September 2018. Alex has worked on a variety of projects since then, including the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey, the Scottish Health Survey and the ESRC funded 'WhatUKThinks:EU' and 'WhatScotlandThinks' websites.

As well as the British Social Attitudes survey, Alex also works on the NatCen Opinion Panel and the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), a cross-national survey programme with over 40 members.

Marta Mezzanzanica is a Research Director in the Attitudinal Surveys and the NatCen Panel team where she leads the NatCen Opinion Panel, the UK’s first mixed-mode random probability research panel. In this role, Marta manages and delivers quantitative research on a wide range of topics for various clients, including government departments, charities, and academics.

Marta has a wealth of experience at all stages of mixed-mode and multi-mode studies, including survey development, participant communications, interviewer briefing, fieldwork monitoring, analysis and reporting.

During her tenure at NatCen, Marta has contributed to some of Britain’s largest longitudinal surveys, such as the National Child Development Study (NCDS) for the Centre for Longitudinal Studies and the Technical Educational Learners study (Tech Ed) for the Department of Education.

Before joining NatCen, Marta worked at Codici sc, a social research agency specialising in ‘action-research’ and ‘empowerment processes’ on issues such as education, communities, inclusion, and migration. Additionally, she managed large-scale mixed-mode customer satisfaction surveys at Doxa (now BVA Doxa).

Marta holds an MSc (Hons) in Sociology from Università degli Studi di Milano (Milan). Her dissertation, which focused on the politics of the body, used in-depth interviews to explore the narratives of young Afro-Italians and their role in redefining the meaning of afro hairdos.

Anneliese Dodds has been Labour Member of Parliament for Oxford East since June 2017 and prior to this was an MEP for South East England. She previously worked as an academic in the field of comparative public policy, and chaired a local debt and welfare advice centre. Anneliese has held a number of positions in opposition and in government, including in the Shadow treasury team, as Chair of the Labour Party and most recently as the Minister for Development and Minister for Women and Equalities.

Stephen Bush is an associate editor and columnist at the Financial Times. He writes a daily newsletter, Inside Politics, charting the course of politics and policy in the United Kingdom, and a wide-ranging weekly column.

Matthew Savill is the Director of Military Sciences at RUSI, focusing on developments and trends in modern conflict, and the use of force in the 21st Century. Before joining RUSI, he spent over 20 years as a civil servant working on defence and security, predominantly in the Ministry of Defence. He has deployed on operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and across the Middle East.

Sara is Chief of Staff to the Group CEO at Aviva plc, a leading insurance, wealth and retirement business in the UK, Ireland and Canada. Sara has almost twenty years’ experience in executive advice, corporate affairs and political consultancy. Previous roles include Director of External Affairs at the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, Associate Director and Edelman, and Chief of Staff to the CEO and Strategy Adviser to the Chairman of Network Rail. Sara has also worked for the UK Government as Special Adviser to two consecutive Environment Secretaries.

Sara co-authored A Portrait of Modern Britain with Rishi Sunak at Policy Exchange in 2014 and was researcher to Professor Alison Wolf for her book The XX Factor: How Working Women Are Creating a New Society.