Here, ICG member Sarah Jenkins, Magenta, sets out some key considerations for researchers and clients when commissioning and conducting their research.
Market research is innately a people-centred industry. Our job is to gather, analyse and report on the opinions and behaviours of the public and to provide strategic advice to businesses, governments, and non-profits to improve their services. This means that as insight professionals we have a responsibility to ensure that the breadth of the population is represented in our work, even if it involves changing our approach and asking uncomfortable questions.
In recent years, industry groups and networks like WIRe (Women in Research), CORe (Colour of Research) and MRSPride have formed to promote diversity and inclusion within the research sector. These groups run workshops, webinars and initiatives to inform, educate and debate ways to be more inclusive within research.
After listening closely to the expertise of others in the industry, we thought it would be helpful to distil some of the key points we have learned to provide practical tips on how to improve diversity and inclusion in the work of research agencies and clients. This list is by no means exhaustive but will hopefully help to spark ideas about how our research can be more inclusive on a day-to-day basis.