Bringing innovative data science and survey methods to social and political research, we help our clients understand a rapidly changing world.
Who we are
Dr Shaun Ratcliff, Principal
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 collaborates with clients to develop strategies to engage with them.
He has a PhD in Political Science from Monash University, is a full member of the Research Society, and was previously Director of Data Science at YouGov and a Lecturer at the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.
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.
Shaun regularly writes and speaks on Australian and international politics. This has included commentary in the Washington Post, in The Australian, and at the National Press Club.
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).
He was also chief investigator of the 2019, 2022 and 2025 Australian Cooperative Election Survey, some of the largest academic election surveys run in Australia.
For more details visit Shaun's personal website.
Renée Dunstan-Ratcliff, Partner (and Harry, Research fellow)
Renée brings 15 years of experience across the Australian public sector, spanning both state and federal government.
Her work has focused on policy development, program management, and the commissioning and oversight of research projects; primarily in health and human services.
At Accent Research, Renée oversees business development, project governance, and the firm's engagement with public sector clients. She is also responsible for Accent's administrative and operational functions.
She holds a Masters in Politics and Public Policy from Deakin University, where her dissertation examined how Australia's aged care system can be sustained and improved, and she studied Law and Politics at the University of Notre Dame Australia.
Luke Ashton, Senior Research Consultant
Luke is an applied data scientist with a strong interest in social justice and inequality research.
His work at Accent Research focuses on optimising sample quality, and using survey and organisational data to help improve clients’ decision-making. He has worked at YouGov, where he collaborated on research for a range of academic, not-for-profit and corporate clients. He has also assisted on academic research projects aimed at reducing inequality, introducing more equitable funding strategies for government grant programs, and reducing biases in hiring and advancement decisions within companies.
He is currently completing a PhD at Macquarie University, where his work seeks to model how school resourcing policies over the past two decades have contributed to a growing divide in outcomes between Australian students.
Claire Buechel, Research Consultant
Claire is a researcher with a background in mixed-methods research, including survey design, qualitative analysis, and statistical modelling in R. She is passionate about producing high-quality research outputs that can inform policy, strengthen practice, and improve population health outcomes.
Her background spans both academic research and applied practice, including work with high-level athletes and defence populations.
At Accent Research, Claire contributes to the design, analysis, and quality assurance of complex research projects, helping translate data into meaningful insights.
She recently completed her PhD in sports nutrition, which focused on recovery following chronic energy restriction in athletes.