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Expertise
Awareness & image
Measuring the levels of awareness and perceptions of an organisation among key target audiences such as supporters or the general public, and comparing with that of other players ('competitor' analysis).
In 2014, for a consortium of hospices we measured awareness levels in their geographic catchment area, amongst both the general public and referring GPs and hospital clinicians. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a mixed mode approach: survey of the general public; focus groups with general public with mixed knowledge and experience of hospice provision; and telephone depth interviews with health care professionals. We discovered many people knew their local hospices, the image of palliative care, education gaps and how to strengthen the referral process. This informed an awareness raising campaign on radio and social media. Go back.
Communications & branding
Refining communication strategies for fundraising appeals, advertising messages or social marketing. Developing and testing reaction to new brand identities.
In 2015, a charity was planning an environmental campaign encouraging people to make lifestyle changes to save energy and reduce their carbon footprint. We conducted telephone depth interviews with seasoned campaigning environmental activists to explore which of three possible campaign messages would resonate most with the target audience and deliver the strongest call to action. We also explored which triggers and mechanisms might be most effective in encouraging people to make lifestyle changes that last. The research provided recommendations on which aspects to feed into the forthcoming campaign.
Fundraising & supporter relations
Understanding what motivates people to support a cause, barriers and triggers to greater engagement and reasons for lapsed support. New product development. Testing fundraising appeal propositions.
Measuring levels of supporter satisfaction and understanding what donors and volunteers want from the relationship. Segmenting supporters into different typologies.
Research (2012) for CAFOD’s Major Gifts Team, around major donors’ motivations for giving and their relationship with CAFOD. A combination of depth interviews, postal questionnaire & statistical techniques identified key drivers of satisfaction. The insights helped the team to better understand what motivates donors to continue their financial support.
Another recent study (2014) used on-line focus groups to test reactions to different individual giving propositions among existing and potential supporters of a charity, who were all young adults in Generation Y. We identified which propositions had most likelihood of succeeding in recruiting new, younger donors. Go back...
Campaigning & public relations
Supplying rigorous research evidence that highlights and builds a case for a cause, to lobby government for changes in policy, or to provide momentum to a campaign. Generating media coverage through arresting headline statistics or compelling case studies.
Published report for Tearfund giving robust measures of the prevalence of Christianity and church attendance in the UK: 'Churchgoing in the UK' (2007).
This generated considerable media interest and raised Tearfund’s profile as a provider of authoritative research and statistics on the UK church and is still a widely used reference document. It also gave Tearfund a platform to highlight its role in helping local churches bring spiritual and material transformation to their own communities.
Beneficiaries, services & impact evaluation
Understanding the needs of target beneficiaries (clients, users, patients, students etc.) and how best to meet these. Identifying the scale of demand and gaps in service provision.
Monitoring the perceived quality and impact of service delivery. Evaluating the social impact of different services or programmes.
Working as part of a larger team of management consultants, Compass Partnership, Jacinta Ashworth was involved in extensive research in 2005 for the Royal British Legion to measure the size, profile and welfare needs of the veteran community. She co-authored six published reports which have been widely used by other charities in this sector. We repeated this research in 2014 to monitor trends and the published report is available on the Legion website.
Further research in 2010 evaluated beneficiaries’ perceptions of the quality and impact of the Legion’s different welfare services. Go back...
Strategy & planning
Understanding the perspectives of different stakeholders – beneficiaries (clients, users, patients, students etc.), supporters (donors, volunteers, advocates, members), staff, partner organisations, funders, government, statutory bodies and intermediaries - to identify future strategic priorities.
Informing decisions such as on which market niche to focus, how to differentiate the charity from other players, or how to ensure revenue sustainability.
A regional visitor attraction which distributes all its profits to good causes was considering the move to full charitable status and, to feed into the strategic decision-making process, it wished to assess how much additional revenue it could potentially generate from operating the Gift Aid scheme on ticket sales. An on-site visitor survey in Summer 2015 asked tax-paying visitors to the attraction about their willingness to donate 10% on their entry ticket price. Projections were calculated of how much additional revenue from Gift Aid might be generated per year, taking account of variations in visitor numbers and demographic profile mix.
