A local entrepreneur from Manchester who advocates for public sector accountability is celebrating a win after being commissioned for a detailed project with a regional transport authority.
Dr Felicity Heathcote-Marcz, 34, of Greater Manchester, is recognised locally for her academic contributions at Alliance Manchester Business School, where she ran the Manchester Ethnography Network for over three years. She is collaborating with Steer Consultancy to support West Yorkshire’s new Local Transport Plan.
Founder of Bare Analysis and a specialist in human-centred research, Dr Heathcote-Marcz has been tasked with helping the Combined Authority develop user-focused transport strategies. Her role emphasises understanding real resident needs through immersive research, moving beyond standard data analytics.
Dr Felicity said: “Bare Analysis is delighted to be supporting WYCA and Steer with this work, and we are well on the way with focus groups and ethnographic interviews to understand the priorities of West Yorkshire residents and their responses to the policies that underpin these principles. We are working really hard to help residents, across all communities, including those who are traditionally hard to reach to have their say on the future of transport services in their area.”
Dr Felicity founded Bare Analysis in 2023 on an essentialist approach – delivering simple, essential truths which help inform decisions that lead to win-win solutions, both for the user of the services, and from the organisation too. The name ‘Bare Analysis’ was inspired by this essentialist philosophy, along with a trip to the stunning wild Beara Peninsula in Ireland, where the bare beauty of the views sparked reflection on what is essential and important in life.
She has worked with clients across a broad variety of contexts to create positive change. Her work has informed strategy and design change for local and central government, transport providers, NHS and healthcare companies, banking and ecommerce clients and asset management companies / developers.
