Matthew Pettit

Strategic Research and Analysis

Uncovering deeper and emerging needs.

Exploring how people manage ecologies of value, thought and feeling.

Building buy-in to the understandings that matter most.

A protest march against pension reform in Paris (2013), led by trade unions.

Real-World Research

Using ethnographic methods to get to people where they are, learn how they make sense of their situation, and uncover what's most important.

From long-term fieldwork with civic associations, citizen movements, and hospital teams to targeted consumer studies in CPG, retail, not-for-profit and other sectors. Research design and execution suited to curiosities at any scale.

Rows of empty chairs in a food distribution centre run by Restos du Coeur in Malakoff (2013).

Real-Life Growth and Renewal

Person-centred growth and renewal strategies grounded in ethnographic insights and cultural and social signals.

Working with stakeholders to ensure multiple perspectives and sense checks, enthusiastic buy-in, and focused, realistic strategies.

Graffiti on a brick wall showing characters in multiple styles overlaying tags and throw-ups.

Ecologies of Mind and Culture

We hear "person-centred" and we think "consumer interviews." But persons are caught up in webs of meaning, need and feeling, and taking them as atoms limits our understanding.

Drawing on cultural and cognitive anthropological work on the multiple, distributed and ecological nature of mind and self, we get past what people say about themselves and see the constraints, extensions, influences and inspirations that make us who we are.

An informational kiosk about patients' rights and autonomy at the 2014 Mad Pride event in Paris.

Culture (Re)Definition

Understanding the pressures, needs and underlying values that bring culture change - in the streets, online or around a board table.

Eliciting targeted change with internal engagement and workshops, working together to find real shared purpose.