RESEARCH PROJECTS
Faith
CHURCH OF ENGLAND
Life Events, Toddler groups and more
THE BRIEFS.
Most of the population encounters the Church of England every year - through the Life Events of Christenings, Weddings and Funerals and through the many ways the church serves local communities, such as with Toddler Groups.
The briefs for each research project have been different, but they all essentially ask the same question ... do these encounters make any difference to perceptions of and relationships with the Church of England? The aims were to identify how the Church of England can best make positive memories with each encounter and build stronger relationships.
THE CHALLENGES.
Some of the projects had very hard to find respondents - like the project where we had to find 200 non-churchgoers who had attended particular Church of England churches in order to qualify to get married there, or the 1000 non-churchgoers who had chosen to have their children christened. (We chose not to find them through the churches themselves as that may have introduced some bias).
Another challenge with research relating to faith is the subject itself. In the UK faith is a topic that people most are reluctant to talk about as it is considered a very private matter. For example, we know that around half the population pray, but we also know that many people are reluctant to admit this even to those closest to them.
THE APPROACHES.
Working with the C of E team as a strategic research partner, this complex series of projects studied awareness, attitudes, experiences of and relationships with the Church of England.
The techniques chosen were tailored to meet the needs of each project. They included: online surveys, face to face and telephone depth interviews, group discussions, online qualitative communities, observation and more
THE OUTCOMES.
In a nutshell: Where those the Church encountered were shown abundant love, a positive memory was made and a relationship strengthened.
The Church of England used the findings to increase awareness of what it does, help to change attitudes and perceptions within and outside the church, and to encourage churches to make the most of every encounter.
EXPLORE.
Discover more about some of these projects by following these links.
Toddler group research - booklet
Banking
BARCLAYCARD INTERNATIONAL
Credit cards
THE BRIEF.
To manage all Barclaycard International research, on a consultancy basis
THE CHALLENGES.
For new market entry projects, the challenges were in deciding how best to conduct immersion projects that would allow a deep understanding of local cultures in relation to finance, banking and UK banks in particular.
For existing markets one of the challenges was in constructing projects that would allow for comparision across territories, but allowing for the fact that people in different cultures responded differently in surveys (did you know that German's use a 7-point scale question in a different way to Italians or Spanish?)
Another challenge was finding the right local research agencies to work with
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THE APPROACHES.
I became a valued member of the Barclaycard International and the Barclaycard Research teams - even joining in all their extra curricular activities!
It was important to develop close relationships in order to properly identify and understand the business needs.
Once the needs were understood I would design and manage each research project - working closely with UK based or local research agencies, depending on the needs of each project.
The techniques varied and included: multi-country tracking studies, simultaneously translated groups discussions, observation, depth interviews and other research.
The role involved communication of the research and making sure it was valued and used, both in the UK and with local teams. At the Head Office we organised communication events in the reception area so that all staff could become more aware of the International businesses (e.g. Portuguese day with local food, drinks and customer profile communications).
THE OUTCOMES.
Decisions were made on new market entry - firstly, whether to enter and secondly, how best to enter.
Customer satisfaction levels were tracked in all existing markets.
Decisions were made on many aspects of the business including: web design, card design, new product development and promotional activities.
Charities
Marine Stewardship Council
Education
THE BRIEF.
The vision of the Marine Stewardship Council is to see the world’s oceans teeming with life, and for seafood supplies to be safeguarded for this and future generations.
The research brief was to provide guidance on the development of resources for use in primary schools
THE CHALLENGES.
Creating a project that would have both depth and breadth - allowing a range of primary school teachers to see and talk creatively about existing and new resources, as well as providing robust statistics to guide future direction.
THE APPROACH.
An online survey of primary school teachers was conducted. From this sample, teachers were selected to take part in online group discussions - with some stimulus posted out in advance.
THE OUTCOMES.
Marine Stewardship Council were able to produce resources that they knew would be: valued and used by primary school teachers, as well as being engaging for children and educational for both children and teachers.