Jane Dawson BSc, PhD, MMRS

Jane is the research director of Community Consultants. Since founding Community Consultants in 1985, she has worked on a broad range of social and economic research projects primarily for local authorities and their partners. She has extensive experience of questionnaire design, sampling strategies, survey administration, data analysis and facilitating focus groups. She has a broad range of experience of combining qualitative and quantitative research with disadvantaged communities in both urban and rural areas. She has also conducted evaluation studies on a wide variety of issues, She is a member of the Market Research Society and the Social Research Association.

Andrew Sills, BA, MSc, Dip Tp, MMRS

Andrew started his career in Leicester City Council as a researcher for the Leicester Economic Study and then in the Inner Area Team. He then worked as a research associate at Leicester University's Centre for Mass Communications on a five year programme to review the Inner Area Programme. He was a founder member of Community Consultants in 1985. He was a policy officer and then Head of Research at the London Borough of Newham. He joined Community Consultants full time in 1998.

Andrew has extensive experience in using quantitative and qualitative methodologies to examine public reaction to council services. He has also conducted many qualitative research studies with socially excluded communities, especially non-English speaking residents. Andrew has moderated over 1400 focus groups examining the interface between the public and council services and his paper to the Market Research Society - Qualitative Research with Ethnic Minorities - is now the industry standard. He has organised staff surveys and moderated focus groups with Council staff looking at issues such as organisational culture and customer care. Andrew is a member of the Market Research Society.

We work closely with two other companies:

  • CAG Consultants provide support, policy advice and training in stakeholder and community involvement, regeneration and sustainable development
  • Valued Research has specialised research experience in post-compulsory learning and training, employer engagement, labour demand and supply.