Sectors
Social Research ¦ Market Research ¦ Behavioural Insight ¦ Evaluation ¦ SROI
Social Research ¦ Market Research ¦ Behavioural Insight ¦ Evaluation ¦ SROI
Darcey joined M·E·L Research in November 2026 as a Senior Research Executive, bringing over five years of experience in research and evaluation, particularly within the arts, culture and heritage sectors. Before joining M·E·L, she worked on a wide range of mixed-methods research projects for cultural organisations, local authorities and funders, helping them better understand their audiences, evaluate programmes and make evidence-informed decisions. Her expertise lies in quantitative research and data analysis, including survey design, audience segmentation and geodemographic analysis.
Darcey has a particular interest in place-based research and exploring how projects and programmes make a difference to people and communities. Her previous work included developing frameworks to evaluate the community impact of cultural programmes and using demographic, deprivation and community asset data to help local authorities better understand their communities. She is also passionate about making research accessible and inclusive, ensuring that a wide range of voices and experiences are reflected in the findings.
With an undergraduate degree in Music and an MA in Music Management, Darcey has a longstanding interest in the role of arts and culture in people’s lives, particularly how cultural experiences can strengthen communities and create a sense of belonging.
Outside of work, Darcey loves all things musical theatre, trying a new recipe in the kitchen and getting hooked on a new book. Since moving to Edinburgh, she’s enjoyed exploring her new home and is always on the lookout for an eclectic bookshop, a quirky pub or a cosy coffee spot!
Services
Our dedicated team is poised to offer unparalleled support across various research requirements, adhering strictly to the highest ethical standards, ensuring every project we undertake is trauma-informed and fully integrates Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) principles, and utilising our own in-house team for the full range of fieldwork and analysis approaches.
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At M·E·L Research we believe that brand strength is built in different ways, but fundamentally being authentic to your brand identity throughout all contact points is essential.
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In order to maximise the impact of campaign investment M.E.L Research can test early creative ideas, through to final copies of creative. We can offer feedback on all types of creative including TV, posters, press, online, social media and radio. This can be done using various methodologies depending on the type of feedback needed, and the type of creative.
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We embed collaboration, co-design, and co-learning into our evaluation and learning practices. By using creative and participatory qualitative approaches, this ensures that these communities fully engage with the research, increasing agency and enabling their voices. Creative approaches can be really useful when you want to make your data collection approach more ‘human’ – making research more exciting and inspiring to be part of!
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We have extensive experience in helping organisations, especially within the housing, local and national government, health, regulatory, environmental and voluntary sectors understand their customers’ needs, measure satisfaction and identify priorities for improvement.
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Doorstep engagement provides a direct and effective way for councils, housing providers, utilities, charities and other public service organisations to reach people in their own communities. A well-designed doorstep engagement programme can do more than distribute information. It can help organisations understand why people are not using a service, address practical barriers, provide tailored support and encourage lasting behaviour change.
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Our involvement in providing a voice to employees through employee experience research is driven by the fact that workplace experiences have critical impacts upon an individual’s financial security, social mobility, physical health and mental wellbeing.
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Empowerment evaluation is a stakeholder involvement approach designed to provide groups with the tools and knowledge they need to monitor and evaluate their own performance and accomplish their goals. It focuses on fostering self-determination and sustainability, and recognises the power that comes with being about to communicate and evaluate evidence of change and outcomes.
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Evaluation is a key part of our business name and we apply rigorous, but practical evaluation techniques to help clients assess the impact and outcome of their project or programme; to determine what works and what doesn’t, why it works and how it can work more effectively.
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Helpline research and evaluation is a specialist service provided by M·E·L Research. Our clients in the field of Helpline evaluation research include: Mind, Samaritans, We Are Digital and Shelter.
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The M·E·L Research Panel members take part in a variety of qualitative research, including one-to-one interviews, focus groups, and online workshops. Each project explores real-world social issues that matter, covering topics such as health, education, local government, and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), plus much more.
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We specialise in large scale national polling to help policymakers and organisation leaders make informed decisions. Our accurate, reliable, and unbiased insights help to explore public attitudes on a range of social issues.
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Qualitative research is all about gathering rich, detailed understanding and insight, that is often difficult to do through surveys and questionnaires. It allows us to research more complex issues and understand why people think and behave in the way they do.
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We have over 35 years’ experience in running quantitative research studies for a range of public services clients; from residents consultations to health and well-being studies to Survey of Tenants And Residents (STAR) projects amongst others.
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We have considerable expertise in engaging with residents in order to provide local authorities with an understanding of local priorities, neighbourhood issues and the quality of local service delivery. We are passionate about giving residents a clear voice in shaping services and improving neighbourhoods.
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Ripple Effect Mapping (REM) focuses on discovering and understanding the impacts or effects of a programme, project or intervention using multiple stakeholders. REM adopts a strengths-based approach and looks at how certain actions or efforts play a role in causing the observed changes. The idea is to identify changes or effects and how an intervention caused them - this approach helps to visually map out the outcomes and impacts of a programme or initiative, particularly the indirect or "ripple" effects that may not be immediately apparent.
