A guide to commissioning market research
A guide to commissioning market research
By
Ruth Stevenson
A straightforward guide with information and tips to help you make the most of working with external research suppliers, from making the decision to outsource through to closing the project. This guide, by market research consultants Ruthless Research, is designed to help charities and other not-for-profit organisations to commission and manage external research and evaluation projects.
Deciding who should do your research
Having identified the need for research, a not-for-profit organisation will need to decide who would be best placed to undertake the research project. Should you do the research in-house, employ a freelance researcher, or use a research agency?
In times of austerity it can be difficult to justify outsourcing work to an external party, however outsourcing is likely to be the most efficient and effective solution if you have a skills gap in your organisation (i.e. no experienced researcher in-house) and if the research will be a one-off selfcontained project. Additionally, an experienced external researcher has no stake in your organisation meaning that they can provide ethically sound and independent research which notfor-profits, funders and the wider public can be assured is robust and unbiased.
