Local & Regional Government

Undertaking research and consultation with stakeholders enables local authorities, parish and town councils, and combined authorities to make insightful evidence-based decisions in relation to the services they provide and the communities they serve.

We provide a range of research and consultation programmes to local and regional government including:

• Large scale resident surveys to evaluate perceptions of local areas and of local authorities and the services they provide
• Visitor (and non-visitor) research of attractions such as museums, galleries, and national parks
• Research into topics such as COVID-19 recovery, climate change, homelessness, substance misuse, travel, and other areas of policy
• Research with hard to reach and marginalised groups
• Public consultations and engagement programmes on a variety of topics from service delivery such as libraries, markets and green spaces to property licensing and public space protection orders (PSPO)
• Local business surveys
• Budget consultations to understand stakeholders’ priorities and perceptions
• Staff/employee surveys to measure engagement
• Neighbourhood plan consultations to understand residents’ priorities and needs

Health & Social Care

We support NHS, commissioners and public health departments by designing and delivering bespoke research and consultation programmes with patients, healthcare professionals, and stakeholders to improve outcomes and service delivery.

Understanding what local people think about health services or local health issues and topics is important when considering plans for future service delivery, social marketing campaigns or strategy development. Accurate and effective research and consultation programmes drive better and more cost-effective decision making.

Through our work with health and social care clients, we provide valuable information such as:

• Insights into attitudes, experiences and health needs of the local population, including hard to reach and marginalised groups
• Awareness and insight into diseases, conditions, screening programmes, vaccination programmes and health services
• Views on changes or improvements to services and impact assessments
• Scoping and evaluation for social marketing campaigns
• Understanding the views and experiences of staff working in health and social care

Membership Organisations

Through our research and consultation activities, we help membership organisations and associations understand and engage with their membership and stakeholders to meet their strategic objectives.

The insight gained from research and consultation allows membership organisations to make evidence-driven decisions to help drive growth, improve member satisfaction and retention, and shape future policy and services. This insight could include:

• What members and other stakeholders think of the organisation
• Members’ priorities and satisfaction levels
• Use of and attitudes towards support, benefits and services offered
• The importance of representation of protected characteristics within a profession
• Attitudes towards membership fees and value for money
• Feedback on changes or improvements to services
• Feedback on specific issues or areas of policy
• Public perceptions and experiences of the profession or organisation
• Staff/employee experience and satisfaction levels
• Non-member and lapsed member research

Regulation

We work with the organisations that regulate services across the UK to provide insightful research and consultation, ensuring high standards for the public and customers. Much of our work in this area has been with healthcare regulators, who are responsible for setting and maintaining professional standards for healthcare professionals working in different disciplines, thereby protecting patients and the general public.

Our work for regulators has included public perceptions research, research with those working in various regulated professions, and public and stakeholder consultations, and has contributed to the development of new professional standards and policies.

The insight gained from research and consultation allows regulators to make evidence-based decisions to help shape future policy and direction. This insight could include:

• What stakeholders think of the organisation
• The importance of representation within the profession
• Feedback on specific issues or areas of policy and regulation
• Public perceptions of the profession or organisation
• Staff/workforce experience and satisfaction levels

Housing

We support housing associations, local authorities and other bodies to improve their service delivery through research and consultation to meet the needs of tenants and residents. We help them better understand their residents’ and tenants’ attitudes, experiences, and needs to drive satisfaction levels, ensure they are supported effectively, and to inform marketing and communication programmes and new service development.

Our research services enable organisations to:

• Measure and improve resident and tenant satisfaction
• Profile residents and tenants
• Carry out STAR and Tenant Satisfaction Measure (TSM) surveys
• Test new services to maximise impact
• Conduct research into employability and skills
• Improve existing services
• Engage with vulnerable or hard to reach groups
• Scope and evaluate marketing and communication campaigns

Education

We work with education providers, policy makers, awarding bodies, regulators, graduate employers, and professional organisations to improve education and training. Our research and consultation services engage school pupils, young and adult students, teachers, registrants and members, and policy makers.

Our services allow organisations to:

• Evaluate the impact of education programmes and courses on learners or trainees
• Measure the health and wellbeing of students
• Understand perceptions and satisfaction of education provision
• Understand differential attainment between students of differing backgrounds
• Understand public and stakeholder perceptions
• Measure staff/employee experience and satisfaction levels
• Test the market for new qualifications
• Evaluate websites

Charity & Not-for-profit

We help those who help others by answering their research questions so they can provide more effective services and support where it’s most required. We conduct research projects for a wide range of charities and not-for-profit organisations including healthcare and mental health charities, alcohol and substance dependency charities, children and young people charities, homelessness and housing charities, organisations in the arts and culture sector, and environmental and wildlife charities.

Our work covers a range of audiences for charity and not-for-profit organisations, including:

• The public
• Service users
• Volunteers and supporters
• Trustees
• Staff/employees
• Funders and donors

Emergency Services

We support police, fire, and ambulance services with their research and consultation needs.

Through our work with the emergency services, we provide valuable information such as:

• Insights into attitudes, experiences and perceptions of stakeholders, including hard to reach and marginalised groups
• Views on services including satisfaction levels or changes and improvement to service delivery
• Feedback on specific issues or areas of policy
• Large scale public consultation about service delivery changes
• Measures of staff/employee experience and satisfaction levels