The ICG

Discover an integrated qual platform that streamlines projects for everyone
2025-05-21 13:00 - 13:30 (Europe/London)
Most qualitative research platforms have a learning curve, require you to operate in a sandbox, and are often expensive. You like Zoom, your respondents like Zoom. But what about situations when clients need to observe? Do you have to jump through hoops to prevent contamination between client and participants or pay a small fortune to provide virtual backroom to clients?
What we will cover during this lunch and learn session is a ‘how-to’ – how to use your existing tech stack with platforms that enhance capabilities, not just replace them.
Our thinking is simple. Zoom is a world leader in enterprise class online meeting SaaS. Why not have a qual research specific layer added on top of Zoom to turn it into an online qual research hub?
Flowres is not just about a ‘Virtual Backroom’. Flowres has analysis layer that is well appreciated by researchers worldwide.
Why should you attend:
Discover how independent insight consultants can leverage tools like flowres.io to utilize the video capabilities of your Zoom or Teams subscription and streamline your online qual research without paying ‘bloated’ platform costs.
About flowres.io:
Flowres is the all-in-one qual research platform built by researchers, for researchers.
It seamlessly integrates with Zoom, Teams & Meet — no new logins needed for participants or clients. Includes a dedicated observer backroom, automated transcriptions, AI-assisted analysis, and real-time moment capture. flowres helps independents work smarter, deliver faster, and scale insight with confidence.
About the presenters:
Jiten Madia (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jitenmadia/) (Founder & CEO)

Qualitative researcher at heart, Jiten has been a practitioner of qualitative research for 6 years early in his career. Jiten has spent time on both client and agency side working with consumer insights in different capacities.
Maniish Karve (https://www.linkedin.com/in/maniishkarve)

Maniish has extensive experience in running market research operations at scale for some of the largest agencies in the world. He has also been a data analytics practitioner on the latter part of his career.
Privacy you can trust
Flowres is GDPR-compliant, ISO 27001 certified, and aligned with MRS and ESOMAR standards. Your data stays within a secure, walled garden—never used for model training. We’ve signed data processor agreements with leading LLMs to ensure maximum confidentiality.
Exclusive for ICG members
Get preferred access, hands-on support, and a 20% discount on monthly subscription.
Start your free pilot: Register here – https://flowres.io/signup
Connect with us: hello@flowres.io
Further reading/viewing
Case Studies:

Speedy response to fast turn-around report using flowres, by Elizabeth Kasumi

https://youtu.be/-j1tNt8DuiM?si=KnJtVANW-BSb-O81
2. Driving cost efficiency in Online Qual fieldwork
https://flowres.io/blog/driving-72-percent-cost-efficiency-in-online-qualitative-fieldwork
Testimonial:
NRGMR: why Shannon adopted flowres, and the impact of flowres on NRGMR’s online qualitative workflow – https://youtu.be/ESVGkTb_Dno?si=ZJZDa3Gh45bvPw_u
Register for this session today

Commercial semiotics - IN ACTION!!!
2025-05-22 11:00 - 12:00
This webinar is generously sponsored by InsightX Research Solutions , specialists in designing custom fieldwork and data collection strategies to meet the unique needs of each client. Whether it’s B2B or B2C, Quant or Qual, CATI/Online/Mixed-Mode, Locally or Internationally, their omni-channel approach fosters authentic participation and ensure the collection of high-quality, representative data.

We welcome ICG member Ashley Mauritzen to present this webinar.
Commercial semiotics – IN ACTION!!!
A hands-on guide to integrating commercial semiotics and cultural analysis into your research practise.
Semiotics and cultural analysis have so much to offer – but if you’re struggling to get your head round them, how do clients stand a chance? This webinar gives you the practical grounding you need to integrate this powerful methodology – with its unique capability to surface hidden meanings and make sense of the cultural noise.
How? We will be going low on theory and big on application. Getting beyond how it works to how it’s used. With a total absence of jargon, some interactive decoding and plenty of case studies along the way.
Come along if you’re curious to know:
⁃ When could semiotics add most to your project?
⁃ How can you sell semiotics to clients?
⁃ How can semiotics work alongside qualitative and quantitative research?
… and plenty more.
Ashley Mauritzen

Ashley Mauritzen has been helping brands decode consumer culture and future-proof their place within it since 2010, working across brand positioning, product innovation and creative development for some of the world’s biggest brands.
With a background in journalism, her practice is distinct for its emphasis on demystifying semiotics, producing clear, provocative and actionable strategic insight with plenty of personality.
A seasoned independent consultant, Ashley partners with big agencies and boutique outfits – from proposal right through to client presentation.
(12) Ashley Mauritzen | LinkedIn
Register for this webinar here

AI made easy: helping small teams make a big impact
2025-05-22 13:00 - 13:30
Grab your lunch and join us for a fast-paced, insight-packed session designed just for independent market research consultants, from Bilendi – end-to-end experts in both qual and quant.

Unlock the next level of what you already do best. We will introduce you to BARI, our AI qual assistant, and show you how together, you can:

Launch projects faster
Work smarter with automated scripting, moderation, analysis & PowerPoint reports
Tap into large sample sizes for results you can confidently generalise #quantifiedqual
Extend your capabilities – not your overhead
Give you back space for creative, strategic thinking

We’ll also share case studies showing how independent consultants like you are delivering boardroom-ready insights without scaling their teams.

About Bilendi and the Discuss Platform:

One-stop-shop: Quant and qual expertise, with online access panels, online quant, an online qual platform, recruitment, incentives, and analysis — all under one roof
AI-powered efficiency: From scripting to moderation to final deliverables, get more done, faster
Online Qual platform: designed for your one-to-one and collaborative online communities, with end-to-end AI for speed, depth – and even breadth!
Your Partner All Around the World: Local teams, multilingual capabilities, and seamless market coordination
Designed for you: We regularly support independent consultants and small teams with right tools, expertise, and flexibility.

Speakers:
Melissa Short

Melissa is a skilled qualitative researcher who leads full-service projects for Bilendi’s clients in France. She is currently dedicated to enhancing the Bilendi Discuss platform, ensuring it meets the evolving needs of qualitative researchers in today’s market.
Anthony Brodbin

Anthony is focused on the sales side of Bilendi, specialising in the Qualitative offering. He has extensive experience in aligning technology with research needs, having worked for platforms like Recollective, Zappi, and Forsta. He is dedicated to helping clients unlock the full potential of Bilendi Discuss and its advanced AI features.

Register for this session here

Exploring the Potential of VR/AR in Consumer Insights
2025-06-03 12:00 - 12:45
This Knowledge Share has been generously sponsored by Yasna.ai, the AI-powered platform that helps independent researchers, consultants, and research agencies scale in-depth interviews. Claim your free 14 days Yasna PRO free trial today – conduct ±50 interviews (worth €100), sign up at yasna.ai

Please join ICG member (and committee member) Barbara Du Perron, Bric, who’ll talk to us about VR and AR
What members will gain from attending:

Understanding VR/AR & why it is relevant for Consumer Insight: What these technologies are, current trends, and why they matter for market research.
Opportunities for Research: Practical applications like early-stage innovation, pack testing, shopper research, virtual home testing, and usability research.
Collaboration Potential: Exploring ways we can work together. I am especially interested in quallies that are open to conducting interviews in VR/AR (either remote or in-person with augmented/mixed reality), recruiters specialized in street intercepts or hard to research sample (e.g. headset owners) , people that are great with video and that would be interested in creating immersive deliverables using VR/AR footage and industry/domain experts in relevant domains like automotive, pack/ shopper or usability research.

About Barbara

Barbara is an independent consultant with a focus on research technology and innovation (helping clients choose new tech/tools, running pilots, inspiration workshops, etc). She’s currently transitioning to building research solutions that leverage the potential of VR/AR in market research. Barbara sits on the ICG committee and is responsible for Advertising and Sponsorship.
No need to pre-register for this session.
Login is https://zoom.us/j/96355976193
Note that this Knowledge Share is at a different time to our usual Knowledge Shares.

Prompt Design for Independent Researchers – Foundations
2025-06-13 11:00 - 11:45
This Knowledge Share has been generously sponsored by Yasna.ai,the AI-powered platform that helps independent researchers, consultants, and research agencies scale in-depth interviews. Claim your free 14 days Yasna PRO free trial today – conduct ±50 interviews (worth €100), sign up at yasna.ai

Join ICG member Ramona Daniel, 23Insights, for this Knowledge Share
This 45-minute session will help you get more out of the AI tools you’re already using, without needing to become a tech expert. You’ll learn:

What different types of AI tools (like ChatGPT or Claude) can and can’t do, and how to pick the right one for the job
Simple, repeatable ways to write prompts that give you better, more relevant answers
How to fine-tune AI responses when they’re not quite right
Easy ways to keep track of the prompts you’ve written, so you can reuse and improve them over time

This is a hands-on, interactive session for independent researchers who want to work faster, think more creatively, and make AI a more useful everyday tool.
Ramona Daniel

I’m a cultural insights and research strategy consultant with over 25 years of experience at leading global agencies including Ipsos, Kantar, and across the WPP network. I now work independently, partnering with organisations that need senior-level expertise on a flexible, freelance basis. Clients value my ability to step into complex projects quickly. My work bridges strategic thinking and hands-on delivery, from designing multi-market research programmes to translating data into compelling cultural narratives. I specialise in helping businesses decode cultural shifts, optimise research processes for greater efficiencies, and upskill teams – particularly at the intersection of traditional research methodologies and AI-driven analytics tools.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramonadaniel/
https://www.23insights.co.uk/

NOTE UNUSUAL DAY AND TIME FOR THIS KNOWLEDGE SHARE.

Login is https://zoom.us/j/96355976193
No need to pre-register

ICG Member Census - Exploring The Results
2025-06-25 14:00 - 15:00
The ICG conducted a Member Census in February.
Thanks to the hard work and expertise of the team of members who ran and processed this*, we’d now like to invite members to come along and hear some of the results.
We’d also like to take this opportunity to explore ICG ideas for improvement.
Special thanks to the team who made the census happen:
Core Team:

Ramona Daniel: Project Lead
Nadia Antropova: Project Lead
Arthur Fletcher: Data Host
Tony Isaacs: Data Processor

Additional Help:

Rose Wray-Brown
Lucy Nicholls
Ange Taylor

Register your place at this now

Click, connect, engage! Using cyberpsychology to motivate participants online
2025-07-03 11:00 - 12:00
This webinar is generously sponsored by InsightX, specialists in designing custom fieldwork and data collection strategies to meet the unique needs of each client. Whether it’s B2B or B2C, Quant or Qual, CATI/Online/Mixed-Mode, Locally or Internationally, their omni-channel approach fosters authentic participation and ensure the collection of high-quality, representative data.

Do you want to know why participants in an online community won’t engage with each other? Why online focus groups feel so much harder to get going than face-to-face ones? Or why your participant happily videoed himself in the shower for a pre-task? Cyberpsychology has the answers – and more! In this webinar, Dr Jo Meredith – who previously worked as an academic in the field of cyberpsychology – will talk through the high level theories that explain online behaviour, and give insight, tips and tricks into how to make sure you can get the most out of your participants online.
Dr Jo Meredith

Dr Jo Meredith is Associate Director at Magenta Research. With a PhD in Social Psychology and a specialism in cyber and media psychology, Jo has focused predominantly on understanding online behaviour and communication. She has published peer-reviewed academic papers in the specialist journals, and worked in the highly regarded Cyberpsychology Research Unit at the University of Wolverhampton. Since joining Magenta, Jo has made good use of her background in cyberpsychology, working on projects on high media literacy and AI.
About Magenta

Magenta is a multi-award winning full-service global consumer insight agency. Magenta is a team of passionate senior researchers with diverse expertise, from anthropology to AI, cyber psychology, semiotics and discourse analysis, using innovative approaches to push boundaries and access how people truly think and feel. We foster an environment of curiosity, challenging norms and brave thinking. Our mission is to bring real voices to the forefront, unbound by methods, choosing approaches that get closer to the consumer. Our visual storytelling will share a story you’ve never heard before.
(3) Joanne Meredith | LinkedIn
Jo@magentaresearch.co.uk
Register for this session here

Qual researchers’ big opportunity with smaller brands
2025-07-08 16:00 - 16:45
This Knowledge Share has been generously sponsored by Yasna.ai, the AI-powered platform that helps independent researchers, consultants, and research agencies scale in-depth interviews. Claim your free 14 days Yasna PRO free trial today – conduct ±50 interviews (worth €100), sign up at yasna.ai

This Knowledge Share will be presented by ICG member Hugh Carling

New technology like Generative AI is enabling smaller brands to regularly access qualitative insights for the first time. We’ll explore how and why this development will grow the industry over the coming years and as it does, provide big opportunities for independent qualitative researchers.
Specifically, we’ll cover:

The scope of this growing market
Smaller brands and qual research – then and now
The technologies driving change
The risks in that change
The opportunity for independent researchers
How you can capitalise on it

This will be supported by both primary and desk research, and illustrated with recent examples.
Hugh Carling, is a founder of Liveminds, a pioneer of mobile qual and the creator of Behavioural Recruitment, the MRS award-winning service that uses social networks to engage fresh participants in 190 countries.
Liveminds have integrated generative AI throughout their mobile qual and recruitment platform to deliver curated insight videos from global participants in just 48 hours. Their mission is to enable every business to have access to the insights they need to grow.

Join this session here (no need to pre register)

Why AI can be your saviour, not your successor
2025-07-09 13:00 - 13:30
Our industry sometimes feels overwhelmed with the amount of AI tools bursting onto the market promising to do what we have spent our lifetime perfecting for a fraction of the speed and price. We can be suspicious, cynical and a little bit terrified, or accepting, positive and excited. Or often both at the same time. This session seeks to look at how we worked within both those mindets and shows how we think AI Powered Qual will never replace us, but how it can completely enhance what we do, making us more competitive, able to take on bigger projects and liberate our time to focus on the strategic thinking our clients really pay us for.
Welcome to QualifyAI

Spun out of Firefish, we’re not ResTech mercenaries seeking to obsolete you (and us!) but taking a qual heritage built over 25 years and redeploying it in an AI world. We’ll show how using our platform is opening up new revenue opportunities for Qualitative research, reopening people’s eyes to the power of qualitative research, leading to incremental revenues and an appreciation for Qual by clients who simply don’t have the time or budgets to include Qual in its everyday decision making.
We’ll give you a tour of the platform and its use cases, and leave you with a sense of how you can take advantage of it to power your qualitative future, just as it is helping to transform Firefish, allowing our people to focus on our clients, to do bigger, more complex projects and opening up budget for more deeply human activities.
And we’d like to have a bit of a debate about AI, qual and the future too while we are at it.
The Speakers
Jem Fawcus

Jem has spent the last twenty five years building a world class qualitative research agency that has excelled in understanding humans to deliver insight that has helped clients create compelling communications to drive brand growth.
Richard Owen

Richard’s career has been rooted in innovation from the early days on the transition to online research, to building and selling mobile applications, to consultancy on transformation and now to the application of AI in research.
www.qualifyai.co
Register for this session here

ICG Annual Summer Party, London
2025-07-10 18:00 - 22:00
This event has been generously sponsored by Rigour Research, your data collection and analysis specialists.

Tickets are now available for the ICG’s annual Summer Party on Thursday 10 July, 6pm, at the Lockhouse, Paddington, London.

Tickets are £40+VAT+ticketing fees, to include great food and drinks.
Buy your tickets here

ICG Member Wellbeing Get-Together
2025-07-16 14:30 - 15:00
A bi-monthly 30-min online ‘Wellbeing Get-Together’ for ICG members.

These are opportunities for members to;

share/offload whatever they’d like to share with others, whatever size or type of issue, concern, or niggle being faced
ask others for their thoughts/advice about this if desired
get to know each other further through this.

Think of these sessions as water-cooler moments; your chance to offload, chat, engage with others. It can be isolating working alone/in small businesses and these sessions are designed to mitigate against that.
Feel free to chat about what’s going on in your lives holistically/widely, not just about work-related stuff.
Another way to bring our community of members together.
No need to pre-register for these bi- monthly sessions: Login is https://zoom.us/j/93720922779

ICG and MRS - with a pub meet up before and afterwards
2025-07-21 17:00 - 18:30
For ICG members only.

Join us in Central London (or online) to hear from Jane Frost (CEO of The MRS) at the MRS HQ who’ll tell us all about what the MRS is up to and the benefits available to members. This is a great opportunity to hear directly from Jane and also to ask questions.
If you’re joining us in London, we will be meeting before and afterwards in a nearby pub for an opportunity to chat with other ICG members.
Central London meet up
Timings:
4pm: The Slaughtered Lamb 34-35 Great Sutton Street, EC1V 0DX
5pm: The Market Research Society 15 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0JR
6.30pm: The Slaughtered Lamb 34-35 Great Sutton Street, EC1V 0DX
To attend the MRS talk in person please register here
Join the MRS remotely at 5.30pm on Teams
Whilst there is a limit of 50 attendees in person, this will be a hybrid event and all are welcome to join online via Teams:
Microsoft Teams – Join here
Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 348 391 358 289
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Turn Raw Survey Data into Visual Story Dashboards—Narrated by Researchers
2025-07-23 13:00 - 13:30
A Lunch&Learn session with ICG member Ange Taylor, AddMaple
Most insights land in tables clients can’t explore – the endless scroll. PowerPoint slides are polished, but can’t be explored. Follow-up requests keep coming: “Can we see this by region? Gender? Just new customers?” Meanwhile, researchers rarely get credit for the insights that drive awards and impact 😔.
Imagine this instead:
Researchers leap from raw survey data to a story dashboard – charts, qual themes, key drivers, stats, and tables, empowered with automated key driver analysis as they explore and craft the data story. You save remarkable charts while you explore and ask our AI agent what is unexpected or interesting and have it help you add charts and text to the story dashboard you can edit. You dear researcher record short videos, for specific pages, to add richness. Once story dashboards are delivered, they enable clients to learn from your framing but can also ask their own questions, and make their own cuts. A dashboard that’s explorable, beautiful, and puts your voice at the centre – even after handover.
What you’ll learn:
Ange will demo this using raw ICG Census data—showing how to build dashboards that let researchers guide the narrative, add meaning with images or short video, and highlight what matters most. With thanks to Ramona, Nadia, Arthur, and the Census team.
AI – isn’t this a threat and a hallucination risk?
AddMaple uses AI to accelerate what can be sped up – coding open ends and surfacing the remarkable patterns that AddMaple’s proprietary stats engine found through programmatic sequential testing. A tag team between a powerful stats engine and AI – this keeps our AI features in check.

Register your place here

A Whirlwind Tour of Claude Sonnet 4 and Notebook LM
2025-07-24 11:00 - 12:00
An interactive webinar presented by ICG member John Habershon.

This is an exercise in sharing my experience, starting with a look together at the GUIs of Claude Sonnet 4 and Google NotebookLM, both simple and accessible, but powerful tools for qualitative and quantitative research.
I began my AI journey early in 2024, collaborating on projects with two ICG colleagues using ChatGPT. I was also in the privileged position of having my own qualitative data, recently made into a report, so I was able to rerun the analysis and compare the process of creating output using Claude. I also collaborated on a huge quantitative project, discovering the power of Claude in analysing spreadsheets.
I later added NotebookLM to fill any gaps, notably importing audio and video files.

This will be a session with the aim of familiarising participants with each AI tool. (Incidentally NotebookLM is free, so the combined cost is £18 pcm).
The 45 minute session will consist of a 30 minute tour of the apps, with 15 minutes for questions (challenge John on anything in the research process that can’t be achieved with this combination).
John Habershon (PhD)
Throughout my research career I’ve been dedicated to doing research a little differently, as demonstrated by my analysis of non-verbal communication (one app and two ebooks) and more recently my embrace of AI. I have a PhD from Imperial College, London based on a thesis combining qualitative and quantitative data.
Register for this webinar here
www.momentumresearch.ai
Mobile 44 (0)7725 582093
Zoom: johnhabershon@icloud.com

Next-Gen Qual Research: How VisionsLive Delivers Deeper Insights with Less Effort
2025-07-30 13:00 - 13:30
Join us for a dynamic Lunch & Learn session where we’ll introduce VisionsLive, a leading online platform purpose-built for qualitative research.
From online focus groups to in-depth interviews and bulletin boards, VisionsLive offers a seamless, intuitive experience for moderators and participants alike. Discover how our advanced video technology, AI-powered reporting features, and 24/7 support help you run smoother sessions and uncover richer insights. With optional full-service support, including recruitment and moderation, VisionsLive empowers researchers to deliver high-quality outcomes efficiently and with confidence.
Whether you’re an independent consultant or part of a larger agency team, this session will show you how to streamline your workflow and enhance your qualitative research.
Nikki Baines

Nikki Baines is a Business Development Manager at VisionsLive and has spent the past four and a half years supporting researchers in delivering exceptional qualitative studies online. In that time, she has helped clients successfully run hundreds of projects, ranging from small exploratory groups to large-scale international studies, across a wide variety of sectors. Known for her hands-on, proactive approach, Nikki goes above and beyond to ensure every project runs smoothly, no matter the size or complexity. With her in-depth knowledge of the VisionsLive platform and a genuine passion for helping clients succeed, Nikki is a trusted partner to agencies and brands around the world.
nikki.baines@visionslive.com

Register for this session here

Demystifying coaching: How coaching can help you (and your clients!)
2025-08-05 16:00 - 16:45
This Knowledge Share is presented by ICG member Carol Raithatha

Coaching has become widespread in the business world but there can be a lot of confusion about what it actually is and how it can help professionals. This Knowledge Share will start from the beginning and explain what coaching is (and is not), workplace coaching theory and process, and give some examples and case studies of its application. Finally we will look at why coaching might be especially useful for independent insight consultants and their clients.
Carol Raithatha

I’m an Executive Coach working with clients from all sectors, but because of my background, have a particular emphasis on research and insight. I’ve been a member of the ICG for over 20 years and have been working in product testing, qualitative research, and desk research. About five years ago I gained a qualification and started offering coaching too. Recently my focus has moved entirely to coaching. It is extremely rewarding and motivating to work with and see colleagues from the insight field develop and flourish.
Click here to join this session (no need to pre register)

Beyond Words: How Language and Culture Shape Credible Global Market Research
2025-08-07 14:00 - 15:00
This webinar has been generously sponsored by TTC wetranslate Ltd

Unlock the secrets to truly credible global market research in thisupcoming webinar, “Beyond Words: How Language and Culture Shape Credible Global Market Research.”
In today’s interconnected world, understanding your audience goes far beyond simple translation. Join us to discover how cultural nuance and linguistic expertise are essential for accurate data, meaningful insights, and research that resonates worldwide.
This session will empower you with practical strategies to navigate cross-cultural challenges, avoid common pitfalls, and deliver research that stands up to global scrutiny.
Our speaker – Levent Yildizgoren

Levent is one of the two co-founders of TTC wetranslate and has helped it grow from a single to multi-language vendor. Levent is an experienced English to Turkish translator himself and a PRINCE2® Qualified Project Manager.
Levent has over 30 years of industry experience; he is a mentor, speaker, charity fundraiser and visiting lecturer at Essex University. He was the winner of ‘Outstanding Contribution to Translation Industry in 2015’ award.
Levent also is a published author of ‘Good Business in any Language’ and host of ‘Thrive in Global Markets’ podcast. In his spare time, he enjoys skiing, bike riding and swimming, and is also a PADI rescue diver.
E: levent@ttcwetranslate.com
Register for this webinar here

Effortless Rewards: Smarter Gifting for Happier Participants
2025-08-20 13:00 - 13:30
Welcoming Totally Gifts for this half-hour session

What You’ll Learn
In this half-hour session, you’ll discover how our platform simplifies participant rewards while delivering a seamless, engaging experience for recipients. Whether it’s prepaid cards, a wide selection of market leading gift vouchers, or even BACS payments—we handle it all through a single, easy-to-use code and delivery portal.
At Totally Gifts, we go beyond being just a provider; we strive to be a trusted partner in your projects. Our solution helps you streamline reward management while ensuring a frictionless experience for participants.
About Totally Gifts
Totally Gifts is built on deep industry expertise and years of hands-on experience. Purpose-built for the B2B market, our platform is designed to support organisations of all sizes in delivering a wide range of rewards, effortlessly.
From selection to delivery, our curated, full-service approach takes the complexity out of rewards, so you can focus on what you do best, while we handle the rest.
Meet the Speaker: Peter Bennett
Sales Director, Totally Gifts

Peter brings over 10 years of experience in the rewards, recognition, and loyalty space. Having worked both client-side and agency-side, he’s led high-impact projects for global blue-chip clients.
Since joining Totally Gifts over two years ago, Peter has spearheaded the Client Solutions strategy, successfully delivering multimillion-pound, multi-continent reward programs. His expertise, coupled with our agile in-house tech and client-first approach, enables us to deliver exactly what our clients need, when they need it.
Register for this session (open to non-members)

A Whistlestop Tour of Canva
2025-09-02 16:00 - 16:45
This Knowledge Share will be presented by ICG member Ramona Daniel and is generously sponsored by AddMaple

Ready to see what all the Canva fuss is about? This session is perfect if you’ve been curious about whether it’s worth making the switch from PowerPoint, or if you want to create better-looking social content without needing a design degree.
Ramona will walk you through creating presentations in Canva and show you how it stacks up against PowerPoint. Spoiler alert! There are some genuine advantages worth knowing about.
We’ll also explore how to knock up social media content quickly, create simple videos, and use whiteboards for coaching and brainstorming sessions. Plus I’ll cover the different ways to export and share your work.
It’s not a deep-dive tutorial, more of a “here’s what Canva can actually do for you” overview that should give you enough to decide if it’s worth exploring further.
By the end, you’ll have a good sense of where to start if you want to give it a go.
Ramona Daniel

I’m a cultural insights and research strategy consultant with over 25 years of experience at leading global agencies including Ipsos, Kantar, and across the WPP network. I now work independently, partnering with organisations that need senior-level expertise on a flexible, freelance basis. Clients value my ability to step into complex projects quickly. My work bridges strategic thinking and hands-on delivery, from designing multi-market research programmes to translating data into compelling cultural narratives. I specialise in helping businesses decode cultural shifts, optimise research processes for greater efficiencies, and upskill teams – particularly at the intersection of traditional research methodologies and AI-driven analytics tools.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramonadaniel/
https://www.23insights.co.uk/

Login here (no need to pre-register).

ICG Member Speed Networking (using Remo)
2025-09-10 13:00 - 14:30
This event has been generously sponsored by Glaut

We are excited to bring you another ICG Member Speed Networking session, hosted by the virtual conferencing/meeting platform, Remo.
This is your opportunity to meet others in small groups/one to one, for short periods of time.
We’d encourage you all to treat this as a fun way to get to know others, rather than being a direct sales pitch.
Register your place here
(Note – there are a number of ways to register. If you click on ‘magic link’ with your email address, it’ll send a link to your inbox from which you can register. Alternatively, you can register using the other platforms they list there).

Secure your small business: easy wins for information security peace of mind
2025-09-11 11:00 - 12:00
This webinar has been sponsored by Indeemo

Supply chain attacks are on the rise. Small and medium sized businesses are often targeted by attackers to either gain access into larger companies systems, or access information. End clients know this and therefore carry out extensive procurement activities on their suppliers (including research agencies). There is also an expectation for agencies to carry similar checks on their suppliers (e.g. freelancers, fieldwork providers) – this is to ensure client commercial and participant personal information is secured wherever it exists down the supply chain.
During this session we will cover some basic security hygiene items which you can apply to your devices and cloud services to help minimize risks when you are custodians of this information. We’ll also show you what to look out for from a risk perspective when selecting, suggesting and using cloud services (including AI tools) to assist you in your projects.
We will also be looking at a few examples of common attacks and what to do to help prevent a security breach.
Attendees can expect to leave the session with added knowledge on how to protect digital information on systems and devices as well as feeling empowered to confidently respond to client security questions and questionnaires.
Our presenter – John Rickets
John Ricketts has been working in the market research agency since 1997 – he now has grey hair. In that time he delivered technical and security support services to research agencies, freelancers, CATI centres, and viewing studios. John left the industry for 3 years to develop his cyber security skills further by assisting Enterprise and Government organizations with security governance , risk and compliance activities.
He came back to the insights industry in 2018 to establish InfoShelter Ltd – a company formed with the aim of helping market research businesses traverse the cyber threat landscape and meet client and regulatory requirements in information security, privacy, and now, AI Governance.

Web: https://www.infoshelter.co.uk
Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/infoshelter-ltd/
John R LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-ricketts/
Register for this webinar here

Book Group: "The Way We Talk Around Here" by Gill Ereaut
2025-09-16 12:00 - 12:45
Join author Gill Ereaut, alongside ICG member Judy Taylor who’ll lead a discussion about this book that shows how your organisation’s culture shows up in your language and why it matters.
Judy says…
If you work with companies who are aiming to improve workplace culture and communication, or if you are responsible for advising clients on how they communicate with their staff, about their brands, to their consumers, The Way We Talk Around Here is well worth a read.
It’s great for qualitative researchers to understand how and why language is the data of culture. By being able to decode language and its influence, it helps highlight how it also sets invisible rules and parameters that affect how we are perceived and how we perceive others. Reading this book can change how we speak, read and listen. The book outlines clear strategies for leaders to adopt more relevant and meaningful cultural norms through the language they use. The book focuses on linguistics, and provides insights into how small linguistic changes can transform a business or brand culture. It’s great to apply some of her wisdom to running focus groups and depth interviews too, and especially apply it when completing ethnographic work.
Extract from the Amazon summary:
The unspoken rules and unquestioned assumptions that make up an organization’s culture are so well hidden that, once we become insiders, we stop noticing them. They’re just ‘the way we do things around here’. Examining an organization’s language is a powerful and practical way to shed light on its culture.
Gill Ereaut describes how to uncover organizational and team cultures through paying close attention to the language used and adopted by insiders.

How researchers and ethnographers – and those helping organisations – can spot language patterns to identify unconscious rules and norms

NB Gill Ereaut is a linguistic consultant specializing in analyzing corporate cultures and their effects. She founded UK consultancy Linguistic Landscapes Ltd in 2002, pioneering the commercial application of language analysis to organizational challenges.
More info
‘The Way We Talk Around Here: How your organization’s culture shows up in your language and why it matters’ is shortlisted for the People, Culture & Management category in this year’s Business Book Awards. Run annually, the awards celebrate the work of authors who have shared their industry or market knowledge, experience, and expertise in published book form. The category People, Culture & Management is for books focused on improving people skills, management and working environments.
Amazon link: https://amzn.eu/d/9xjVnLm (The Kindle version is currently available at a bargainous 99p/99c in the run up to the Awards announcement on Sept 10th!)
LinkedIn Live interview coming up on Aug 8th: https://www.linkedin.com/events/meetour2025bbafinalists-gillere7356325971311923201/theater/

No need to pre-register: click here for login

Thriving in the Strategy Swamp (as an Independent)
2025-09-17 13:00 - 13:30
This Lunch&Learn is presented by Quallie.Ai (we welcome them back again – their first Lunch&Learn recording can be found here

Ed Mehmed (former MD at What If, Butterfly, and Accenture) shares what it takes to thrive in today’s independent consulting world.
Drawing on his journey from boutique to big consultancy to independent consultant, he’ll share real world stories and tips for finding the work that matters to you.
He’ll be joined by Marco Rovagnati, Co-Founder of Quallie.Ai.
They’ll also explore how tools like Quallie.Ai help independents stay fast, sharp, and close to the craft, making the right kind of work easier to land.
Register for this session here

AI-moderated voice interviews: friend, foe or future of Qual?
2025-10-01 13:00 - 13:30
Come and hear more about Glaut, an AI-powered customer research software for large-scale customer research projects. We support quant researchers uncover qualitative insights traditional surveys miss through voice-based, AI-moderated interviews (“AIMI”), which combine the efficiency of a survey with the depth of a 1-to-1 interview. Glaut is able to interview thousands of respondents simultaneously (customers, employees, patients), in +50 languages.
Glaut thrives at the intersection of artificial intelligence, marketing, and human psychology, blending these fields to deliver deeper, more meaningful insights.
Matteo Cera – Glaut Founder

I am a builder and Glaut is the third company I created in the past 15 years. https://www.linkedin.com/in/matteocera/

Register for this session here

Segmentation: Your mission, should you choose to accept
2025-10-07 16:00 - 16:45
This Knowledge Share will be presented by ICG member John Storey
It is generously sponsored by Add Maple

What you will gain from attending
This session will provide you with a high-level understanding of segmentation, equipping you to deliver more value to your clients. You will walk away with the understanding and tools to:

Grasp Core Principles: You’ll learn the fundamental theory and best practices behind successful market segmentation, regardless of the tools you use.
Navigate the Process: We will outline a clear, step-by-step process for conducting segmentation projects, from initial data analysis to creating compelling, actionable outputs.
Access Practical Resources: You’ll gain free access to a purpose-built web app that can help you with your segmentation analysis.

More specifically, John will cover:
The Why

Why is segmentation a challenge for independent consultants and micro-businesses?
Why focus on process and best practices rather than specific software?

The How

An overview of the entire segmentation process, from start to finish.
Discussion of key methodologies and how to choose the right one.
A demonstration of a free web app to help with key aspects of your analysis.

The Result

How to go from raw data segments to actionable personas.
Case studies: Applying segmentation theory in pharma, consumer shopper, charity sector.
Best practices for communicating your findings to clients.

Discussion & Q&A.
John Storey, Market Research Consultant

I am the MD and owner of Medical Research Limited, operating as Marketing Sciences Limited. I have extensive experience in healthcare market research, particularly in the fields of Pharma, Biopharma, and Biotech. I also specialize in Charity Research, Consumer FMCG and Technology/Online Digital Research.
I operate as Marketing Sciences Limited with a group of Marketing & Business Associates and will often partner with other Independent Consultants providing evidence-based market research and marketing support services. I personally specialise in providing qualified Physician and Patient research including depth interviews and focus groups.
My work includes segmentation-related research, including Patient Record Trackers, NPD, and Audience Targeting, Digital Marketing. I am a certified member of the MRS and Health Sciences Dip HE (Open), and a member of the ICG and The Royal Society of Medicine, BHBIA The British Healthcare Business Intelligence Association and Certified Digital Marketing Professional, Digital Marketing Institute.
marketsci.co.uk. Jonny.storey@marketsci.co.uk
Register for this session here

What's life really like inside clientside organisations and bigger agencies?
2025-10-14 11:00 - 12:15
This session is generously sponsored by The Lens

This session is for ICG members only.
Many of us have been working for ourselves for a very long time.
And the Insight world is changing – fast.
So how do you keep up with really understanding what life is like for our clients in all sorts of organisations?
And why does this matter?
We think it matters because a more accurate understanding of their working lives means having a greater chance of winning work with them and having a smoother working relationship.
We’ve put together a panel of ICG members who’ve recently been in those clients’ shoes. They cover a range of organisation types and will share more about how independent consultants featured in their lives and what they were looking for – and not looking for – from them.
They’ll each give an overview of their experiences and will then be available to answer your questions.
Our Panellists and the organisations they’ve come from
Nicola Charlton
Ramona Daniel – GroupM / Choreograph (now WPP Media)
Becky Lewis – Government departments
Neil Macfarlane – Pepsi Lipton
Ben Robins – Audible

1. TO HELP SHAPE THIS DISCUSSION, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING SHORT SURVEY
2. THEN REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE

The Glow Effect: Growing Your Business
2025-10-29 13:00 - 13:30
This Lunch&Learn will provide you with an introduction to Glow, a comprehensive research solution designed for teams in marketing, brand strategy, product development, or agency services that need to quickly validate ideas and make data-backed decisions. You’ll also hear more about their Growth Program, giving you additional benefits through your ICG Membership.
A bit about Glow
Glow offers a smarter, faster way to gain reliable consumer insights without requiring a full research team or complex tools. It’s a comprehensive research solution designed for teams in marketing, brand strategy, product development, or agency services that need to quickly validate ideas and make data-backed decisions. The platform helps users collect feedback from global panels, analyze data with built-in analytics and real-time dashboards, visualize insights in branded reports, and act on results faster with tools for decision-making, storytelling, and strategy.
Glow’s Growth Program is designed to help businesses grow by utilizing their advanced tech platform, which simplifies and broadens access to research. The platform excels at capturing real-time feedback from individuals in their natural context, leading to enhanced product development and accelerated insight generation. As part of this initiative, Glow is committing $100 million in hosting credits over three years to further support its users.
Glow Home Page
Glow Growth Program
Marc Chester
Marc Chester is an Account Director at Glow, a leading on-demand research platform that helps progressive brands make faster, better decisions through advanced survey technology. With over 20 years of market research and consumer insights expertise, Marc has built his career working with industry-leading organizations including Euromonitor International, Lightspeed GMI, and Toluna. At Glow, he works with clients, helping them capture real-time insights from over 110 million people worldwide, with a focus on delivering high-quality data up to 3x faster than traditional research methods.

Register for this session here

Prompt Design 2.0 - Getting More Useful Results from AI Tools
2025-11-04 16:00 - 16:45
We welcome back ICG member Ramona Daniel to run this follow-up Knowledge Share.

This follow-up Knowledge Share builds on our foundations session (https://theicg.co.uk/recording-prompt-design-for-independent-researchers-foundations/) and focuses on getting more reliable, useful results from AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude. It’s about moving beyond writing prompts to thinking critically about what the AI gives you back.
We’ll look at:

Simple ways to check and verify the accuracy of AI outputs
How to refine prompts when the first answer isn’t quite right
Using short, structured prompts to save time and reduce repetition
Turning ad-hoc tasks into reusable prompt templates for everyday work

This is a practical session for independent researchers and consultants who already use AI tools and want to use them with more confidence and consistency – no technical knowledge required.

Register here

Book Group: 'Motherdom: Breaking Free from Bad Science and Good Mother Myths'
2025-11-05 12:00 - 12:45
Please join us at our next Book Group session, where we will discuss ‘Motherdom: Breaking Free from Bad Science and Good Mother Myths’ whilst also welcoming author, Alex Bollen.

Alex’s book Motherdom: Breaking Free from Bad Science and Good Mother Myths was published in March in the UK and US by Verso. It explores how flimsy science has been used to shame and blame generations of mothers. It’s been described as “compelling” by the New Scientist and “a thorough investigation into the intense pressures mothers face” by the Washington Post.
Alex’s book owes a lot to her experiences as a researcher. Alex was a Research Director at Ipsos MORI and has been a freelance researcher since 2011. Ben Page, who was CEO of Ipsos, has said of Motherdom: “This is essential reading for anyone interested in how research should – and shouldn’t – be used.”
Motherdom is available from all good bookshops, including Waterstones and Foyles. The ebook can be purchased from Verso or Amazon.

Join the session here: no need to pre-register

Beyond synthetic: The irreplaceable value of face-to-face data collection
2025-11-12 13:00 - 13:30
“In a world racing toward artificial data, what’s the real cost of losing human connection?”
Michael Pollock from StreetLife draws on 30+ years of face-to-face quantitative research to explore:

The Face-to-Face Evolution

“How quant face-to-face has transformed in 5 years”

The Niche Advantage

“Do specialists outperform generic approaches?”

Real vs. Synthetic

“What only human interaction provides”

Closing & Q&A

Michael Pollock
Michael is a Director of StreetLife, a leading UK-based fieldwork agency specialising in quantitative face-to-face market research. The company has operations in Bexleyheath, Kent, and Manchester, alongside regional hubs right across the UK. Since its establishment in 2011, StreetLife has provided UK and global companies with a wide range of fieldwork services, including exit interviews, central location tests, in-home interviewing, mystery shopping, and door-to-door and on-street interviews.
StreetLife
Register for this session here
