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About

Letter from
The Founder

As a third culture kid shaped by multiple traditions, I’ve grown up navigating a world full of misconceptions about “the other” half of me. I’ve been met with stereotypes and judgment from both sides, even when the compatibility between them is clear.  My family, and the 230 million third culture kids like us, are proof that compatibility is possible.​ This project is rooted in that experience. It’s shaped by both an outside perspective, having observed how societies respond to difference, and an inside one, as someone who’s deeply part of her community. I care about how my neighbour feels, how safe women feel walking home, the care people in need receive, and whether those different from me feel seen and safe in the same spaces I exist in. It’s a pilot project, grounded in the context I live in, with the hope that it can grow across cultures and societies wrestling with the idea of a “divided society.” Because more often than not, the only things separating us are circumstance and fear. - Leila Modirzadeh, Founder of Elsewhere&Them

How it works: The framework

PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH: WHAT IS IT AND WHY IS IT USEFUL?

Public opinion is just that: the views of everyday people. It’s gathered through surveys: online, face-to-face, or by phone and gives us a window into how people feel, think, and move through daily life.
 

It helps us understand how the public responds to the things that shape our world, from what we eat or watch, to how we feel about government, rising costs, or the future. It turns lived experience into something measurable.

For this project, I used a nationally representative survey to ask how people across the UK experience and think about community today.
 

Instinct is powerful, but it’s shaped by bias. Public opinion research offers a reality check. It shows what people are actually thinking and feeling - and helps us build strategies rooted in what’s real.

The Founder

Leila Modirzadeh 

​Leila Modirzadeh is a Senior Research Analyst driven by a deep curiosity to understand and improve the world around her. With a background in International Law and Social Policy, she works at the intersection of national security, international development, and social policy, using public attitudes to gauge realities on the ground and inform how systems govern societies, and how societies, in turn, shape the choices we make and the ways we interact.

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She specialises in designing research and monitoring & evaluation programmes that centre people’s lived realities, ensuring findings actively bridge the gap between communities and the organisations committed to serving them. Her expertise spans community building, Middle East geopolitics, misinformation, and societal polarisation, always with a clear focus on creating more inclusive, responsive systems.
 

Fluent in four languages and culturally fluent in the Middle East, Leila leads values-driven research that uses data as a catalyst for cultural connection, challenging us to rethink what belonging means in an increasingly 'divided' world.

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