The Team
Mark Froud, Chief Executive
Mark is the Chief Executive of Step Ahead Research. His expertise is in data interrogation and analysis, particularly linked to self-employment, the motivation of people to start and successfully drive a growth business, business support needs and the impact/evaluation of policies in these areas. Mark is also the Chief Executive of Sussex Enterprise (since June 2002). He started at Sussex Enterprise in September 1996 as Director of Economic Research and developed the company’s reputation for delivering high quality, action focused research that underpins our operational capability. In 2001 he became Director of Policy responsible for planning, media relations and campaigning activity, management of economic development projects, delivery of business networking opportunities to businesses and economic and customer research.
Mark is also a Director of the West Sussex Economic Partnership, the West Sussex Economic Skills and Enterprise Board and a member of the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership. He is also a governor of Central Sussex College Corporation, and is Chair of the Sussex Employment and Skills Board.
Dr. Jonathan Pratt, Director
Jonathan is Director of Research at Step Ahead and manages our South East office. Jonathan is a founding member of the company with an extensive track record of research to support policy and programme development. His interests include economic development, learning and skills, and business support. Jonathan is also the Project Director for the South East Business Monitor, an ongoing programme of research, including a quarterly survey of 1,200 businesses, to inform the region’s Business Link Providers’ strategy and marketing. Prior to joining Step Ahead, Jonathan held research posts at Kent Training and Enterprise Council, the University of Bristol and the London School of Economics. He has a PhD in Economic Geography.
Bruce Nairne, Director
Bruce is our Director for Communities and Local Government. Bruce has many years’ experience of working with and for public sector organisations across a range of different public policy areas. This experience has brought him into close contact with a wide range of public, voluntary and business sector partners and provided him with a sound understanding of the links between a broad range of policy fields, including health, social care, economic development, learning and skills, and employment, in which he has led a wide range of consultancy projects. Prior to joining Step Ahead, Bruce worked in the economic development team at Brighton & Hove City Council, where he also headed up the corporate research and consultation team.
Steve Matthews, Director
Steve has worked on a variety of projects related to skills, regeneration and economic development for local, regional and national clients. This has included research into demand-led learning, apprenticeships, the Level 3 market and the Foundation Learning Tier, as well as the development of employability, skills and learning strategies. Prior to joining Step Ahead, Steve was Senior Consultant at the Individual Learning Company, Business Development Manager at Ufi learndirect and Senior Project Executive at Kent Training and Enterprise Council. Steve holds a master’s degree in European Human Resource Management and is a fluent Spanish speaker.
Natalie Friday, Consultant
Natalie has worked on projects for a range of clients including: Business Link Providers, County Councils, Learning and Skills Councils and education providers. Her interests include entrepreneurship and learning and skills. Natalie is particularly skilled in qualitative research, and has a wealth of experience in facilitating focus groups and conducting face-to-face and telephone interviews. She also has strong data analysis and interpretation skills, and since joining Step Ahead has developed her report-writing skills. Natalie has previously worked in the public sector in both a research role and an information role.
Heather Norrington, Consultant
Heather is an experienced consultant and, over the past six years, has undertaken projects in areas including Higher and Further Education, entrepreneurship, business support, and economic regeneration. As well as strong project management skills, Heather has extensive technical expertise in fieldwork management, questionnaire design and the mining and analysis of new and existing data. Heather is also trained and experienced in the use of qualitative research methods. She has considerable ability in presenting evidence from a variety of sources to produce concise and informative reporting of research findings and their implications.
Katie Underwood, Researcher
Katie has worked in social and economic research for a number of years, initially as an office administrator and then as a researcher. She is experienced in data preparation and analysis, desk research and depth interviewing, and has excellent organisational skills and attention to detail. Katie has worked on projects for a variety of clients including Business Link, local Learning and Skills Councils, local authorities and Regional Development Agencies. She is currently studying towards a Social Sciences degree with the Open University.