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Bringing innovative data science and survey methods to social and political research, we help our clients understand a rapidly changing world. 

Who we are

Combining expertise in social and political research with the tools of data science, we have a track record of providing a unique offering to clients from a range of sectors, including political campaigns, academics, not for profit organisations, and corporate clients conducting policy, reputation and risk research.

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Dr Shaun Ratcliff

Principal, Accent Research

Shaun is a political scientist, survey researcher and applied data scientist. He works on complex social and political research projects, studying how the public thinks and behaves, what influences their beliefs and actions, and ways to engage with them. 
 

He was previously Director of Data Science at YouGov, and before that, a Lecturer at the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney where he remains an Honorary Associate and continues to teach data science. 

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He has extensive experience working with political and public health messaging campaigns, not-for-profit organisations, corporate clients, and running public opinion polling. This includes consulting on the winning 2022 federal Labor campaign. 

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Shaun regularly writes and comments on Australian and international politics. This has included commentary in the Washington Post and in The Australian

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With YouGov, his work included a prediction of electorate-level results for all 151 seats at the 2022 Australian election (produced for The Australian; with a discussion on the methodology here), Australia's largest poll on attitudes towards climate change (for the ACF) and a detailed analysis of support for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament (for the Uluru Dialogue). 

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He was also chief investigator of the 2019 and 2022 Australian Cooperative Election Surveys, two of the largest academic election surveys run in Australia (details on this project can be found here).

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Shaun has a PhD in Political Science from Monash University.

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For more details visit Shaun's personal website.

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