Basis Social is the brainchild of two former Kantar senior leaders who felt it was the right time to revolutionise social research, galvanising it to make the world a better place. Darren Bhattachary and Dan Clay say they grasped the opportunity “to add meaning to our lives after the pandemic, to use our expertise to inspire change and – crucially – to give something back to society”.

The team is passionate about driving people-led change through fresh thinking, creative design and living the agency’s values. These principles have been put into practice across its portfolio of work, including the following projects.

Work for BEIS on solar panel adoption not only galvanised the client into action, but also investigated ways to liberalise data with other ventures supporting the cause. The team has been personally inspired to install solar at home and at work, as well as promoting it to both clients and partners.

For DWP, Basis Social is empowering and enabling those with lived experience of disabilities to inform research design and tools and drive peer-led approaches to elevate the Health Transformation Programme.

Work for the Food Standards Agency (FSA), meanwhile, involves exploring hygiene behaviours harnessing cutting-edge AI technology with human ingenuity, elicitation techniques and behavioural frameworks to see how people act in their own kitchen.

Alice Rayner, senior research officer at the FSA, commented: “Basis Social are an innovative new company who we have been working closely with on our research. Their exciting methods, plus their partnerships with other innovative organisations, have enabled us to gain insights into people’s behaviours in a novel way for the organisation.

“They have been flexible in their approach and keen to ensure this research, which involves using motion sensitive cameras to record people in their home kitchens, is done in a thoughtful and ethical way.”

The full list of MRS Awards 2021 winners can be found here.