“What’s the point of a ‘research and insight manager?”

Someone asked me recently about the wisdom and value of having this dedicated role. Their charity was considering creating the position and were debating the pros and cons. It was a great question... and one that perhaps not enough charities ask. Not just because of the consideration around a new role, but also the underlying questions relating to value of research itself.

The answer, as is often the case, is simple in principle and challenging to implement. The role, and research itself, is as good as you make it, and depends on how much you invest in it to make it work.

It doesn’t matter so much whether there’s a dedicated person/team or not. What counts is the time and energy the charity is prepared to devote to getting and making the most out of the research they’ve bought or conducted. The vast majority of organisations are of course committed to doing exactly that.

But mixed in with the best practice, there are examples of poorly considered briefs, charities getting good research but not being willing to share uncensored findings with trustees, people devaluing the research because they didn’t like or agree with the findings. And worst of all, organisations that just don’t do anything with the research.

The best research, the most relevant and useful information, is useless if the organisation isn't committed to analysing and applying the work. It’s a case of 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration, with the 1% being the actual research and the 99% being the planning and preparation before and after the findings.

So if you are considering research for your team or organisation, here are some questions worth asking and thinking about before you start.

What are you trying to find out?

• Do you have a clear purpose – is the research necessary and worthwhile?
• What’s available already (in-house or publicly)? Do you know the research that has already been conducted by your organisation?

There may be some fantastic research sitting in different departments that hasn’t been shared, or that sits stowed away on your shared drive or intranet. Ask around.  

What do you want to do with it?

• What will you do with information once you have it?
• How will you share and communicate it?

There’s always the risk that you get some great research that could help many teams across the organisation with their work, but it sits within your department and never gets shared. How will you ensure this doesn’t happen? How will you ensure that all the people who need to know and might benefit from it will actually be aware of it?

How will it help you?

• Once the research is completed, do you have the time to dedicate to understanding and analysing the implications and applications of the findings?
• What is it intended to influence?
• Does the research link to your strategy?

Research could be used to develop campaigns, services, marketing and fundraising. But if it’s not linked to a strategic priority, there’s the danger that it will move down people’s list of priorities and then chances are it’ll never move back up. This means your research and the time and money you’ve devoted to it will be wasted. 

It’s a lot to think about. But once you’ve asked and answered these questions, and you have decided that you need to commission some great research, how do you ensure you make the most of your research? Here are five tips.

1. Make sure you have a plan for the research before commissioning. If you get something that’s just interesting, there’s the danger that that’s all it will ever be.
2. Think about dissemination plans early on in the process
3. Involve other teams in developing the brief and at debriefs
4. Coordinate how different teams will use the research
5. Make it easy for people less comfortable with research by summarising and helping with the interpretation

Going back to the original question then, a research and insight manager can help ensure all this takes place. But whether you have that role within your organisation or not, what matters is that these discussions are being held. That someone in the organisation is taking responsibility for getting the research you need and then using it properly.

And that the right people are dedicating their time to ensuring the 99% part of the equation is being managed.

Is the right answer now in-sight? Or have we stowed it on a memory stick? Leave us  comment below.