Research Team

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The Research Team was established in November 2004. They are: 

Chris James - Director of Research and Development

Chris James has been Director of Research and Development at Asset skills since its inception in 2004. It is his ambition to strengthen the team led by Michelle Jay and create a more liberal and dynamic approach to research, while ensuring it is both rigorous and robust.

Michelle Jay - Head of Research

Shabana Parkes - Research Manager

Shabana joined Asset Skills soon after it was licensed in September 2004. Since then she has worked on a number of projects, such as the Sector Skills Agreement (SSA), project managing the ESF funded projects which ranged from producing a SSA DVD to managing and carrying out a range of qualitative and quantitative research projects. Prior to joining Asset Skills she worked in the Research Department at the Learning and Skills Council Northamptonshire and as a project manager at The Open University. With nearly 10 years experience in research Shabana's expertise includes project management and data analysis. sparkes@assetskills.org 

James MacNamara - Research Officer

James joined Asset Skills in October 2009. He began developing his research skills at University, where he studied for a degree in History & Politics. He graduated from the University of Leicester in 2005. James has experience in the analysis and interpretation of data and his previous roles include work in the media evaluation industry. He is now working with the Research team on a variety of projects. jmacnamara@assetskills.org