3. ii
Zimbisa is a trust that was established in January 2014 with the goal of helping Zimbabwe achieve sustained
economicgrowthandreducedpoverty.Itworkstowardsthisgoalbyfacilitatingimprovedpublic-privatedialogue
(PPD).Effectivedialogueiskeytoestablishingbroadownershipofthenationaleconomictransformationagenda.
Italsohelpsensurepoliciesaredesignedtosupportbusiness,raiseinvestorconfidenceandultimatelytofacilitate
increased economic growth in Zimbabwe.
BusinessMembershipOrganisations(BMOs)haveavitalroletoplayinthesedebates.Buttomaximisetheirimpact
they must base their advocacy on technically sound and inclusive research, as opposed to emotive argument.
That is what this document – Zimbabwe’s first ‘BMO Research Manual’ – is intended to help with.
As well as helping BMOs contribute to debate, improved research can also help them gain new members and
improve the service provided to existing members. Businesses who join BMOs expect research and information
that informs them about their operating environments. They want research that can inform their decisions on
business strategy, investments and product development among other things.
Unfortunately,manyBMOs’financialconstraintsmakeitchallengingtoinvestsufficientlyinresearch. ManyBMOs
have limited staff, with few or none focused on research. This challenge is particularly pronounced among ‘lower
tier’ BMOs, but even larger ones – who do have some dedicated resource – are severely constrained. As a result,
the private sector’s contribution to debate is too often poorly informed. It is not based on robust research. And
too often it is based on poor member consultation.
To help turn this situation around this research manual presents tools and techniques that can bring a lasting
change to how BMOs deliver services to their members. This manual is grounded in an understanding of the real
challenges faced by BMO’s in Zimbabwe. It draws on the conversation at a workshop in November 2015 and has
been co-created with BMOs themselves. Wherever possible it includes case studies from Zimbabwe, presenting
the pockets of excellent practice which already exists.
ThemanualcannotexhaustallstrategiesandtacticsnecessaryforBMOstotransformtheirresearchcapacity. But
it does provide some practical ideas about where they can start improving their research capacity. We sincerely
hope you will find this manual very useful.
Dakarayi Matanga
Zimbisa BMO Component Manager
PREFACE
4. iii
Our sincere gratitude goes to the following individuals and organisations that
contributed in the co-creation of this manual, by providing technical support, case
studies, ideas and other valuable content:
• AllparticipantsattheZimbisaBMOWorkshopon‘HowtoProvideyourMembers
with Research as a Service’ held at the Bronte Hotel in Harare on 30 November
2015
• Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI)
• Livestock and Meat Advisory Council (LMAC)
• Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC)
• Zimbabwe Applied Arts and Crafts Association (ZAACA)
• Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers (ZADF)
• Philly Desai
This document was developed with the support and advice of Kivu International.
ACKOWLEDGEMENTS
5. iv
CONTENTS
1. Why should a BMO conduct research?
2. What is effective BMO research?
3. Choosing your research priorities.
4.Using research for advocacy
5. Information for your members: an “easy win”.
6. Surveys
7. Other Research Techniques To Consider
8. Packaging and dissemination
9. Funding and resourcing research
Annex: some useful templates
page 2
page 3
page 5
page 9
page 11
page 14
page 20
page 26
page 31
page 32
7. 2
CarryingoutresearchcanhelpBMOsimprovetheservicetheyprovidefortheirmembers.Evidence
suggeststhatbothexistingBMOmembersandpotentialnewBMOmembersvalueresearch.Inone
survey two thirds of businesses stated that they considered “conducting research and providing
policy analysis” an important service from a BMO.¹
Responding To Your Members
¹ 2014 Probe Study, “BMOs in Zimbabwe - Market Study of Membership” To download the report see the Resources page on www.zimbisa.org
WHY SHOULD A BMO
CONDUCT RESEARCH?
1
Providing information for
your members
Supporting a BMO’s plans for
developing new ‘products’
Supporting a BMO’s advocacy
Giving a voice to your
members’ views
Supporting a BMO’s
future planning
For example, researching information on
developments in their market or on the legal
and regulatory environment, which could help
influence companies business strategies or
investments;
For your members – helping you understand how
to better respond to member’s needs.
It is important to be clear what the objective is for
theresearchbeforestartingasdifferentobjectives
can require different methodologies.
For example, using research to assess the impact
of a policy change on your members;
Forexample,surveyingyourmembers’viewsonan
issue and then publicising the results. This could
include different parts of your membership. For
example, female headed enterprises;
For example, research on potential new members
foryourBMO: howcouldyouattractnewmembers?
Objective for BMO Research
8. 3
Youwillwanttoensurethatyourresearchisgoodquality. ButwhatdoesthismeanforaBMO? How
you judge the quality of research will differ between projects. There are, however, some criteria
that can be used to judge the quality of research.
Criteria For Effective Research
WHAT IS EFFECTIVE
BMO RESEARCH?
2
Research,putsimply,istheprocessof
gatheringandanalysinginformation.
A research technique, or research
method, is a tool for collecting and
analysing information.
Thereisabroadspectrumofresearch–ranging
fromresearchthatislowcostandcanbeturned
aroundquickly,tothemoresophisticated,often
resource-intensive, and long-term research,
traditionally undertaken by academics. In
this manual, we focus on the former. This is
because BMOs operate in the “real world” and
areexpectedtoconductresearchthatresponds
tonewpolicydevelopmentsandchangesinthe
business environment in real time.
BMOs have to be realistic about the type of
research they can undertake, as they are often
resource-constrained. As such the manual
focusesonsimpleresearchtoolsusedtogather
and analyse “secondary”, or already existing,
information. This tends to be easier than
gathering “primary” data, or the generation of
newinformation.Notethatsimple,welltimed,
andclearlycommunicatedresearchcanbejust
aseffectiveasthemoresophisticatedandlong-
term research. Both have a role to play. BMOs
needtoplaytotheirstrengths:yourworkneeds
to be credible and defendable, but BMOs are
not university departments and nor should
they be!
Box 1: What is research? Keeping it simple.
9. 4
Credible: see below on ‘sources of credibility for BMO research’;
Timely: often BMO research will link to a “real world” event (e.g. a
response to the Budget), so it can’t be late!
Effective research is:
Part of an on-going conversation with members: ultimately BMO
research is for your members’ benefit;
Relevant: it should be on an issue which matters to your members
(and potential members);
Clear and accessible: there are no prizes for looking clever: research
must result in easy to understand outputs.
Tip: These criteria apply to both
research that you carry out
yourselfandalsoresearchwhich
youcommissionfromelsewhere.
One important skill for a BMO is
judging whether someone else’s
research is good or not!
Tip: Don’t over claim for your
research: because of the time-
pressuresandresourceconstraints
BMOs face there will be limits
to the type of research you can
undertake. It is much better to
be upfront and honest about the
limitations of your methodology.
This is much better than someone
else criticising your work!
10. 5
Thechoiceofwhatresearchtocarryoutisthemostimportantdecisionyouwillmake. Ifyoudecideeithertofocus
on the wrong issue or to use the wrong research method this will mean that the research will not help your BMO.
The decision about what to research is particularly important for BMOs in Zimbabwe who have tight budgets and
limited capacity. It is vital to prioritise effectively.
The Most Important Decision About Your Research
CHOOSING YOUR
RESEARCH PRIORITIES
3
Ensuringcredibilityisimportantforyourresearch.CredibilityforBMOresearch,however,does
not mean the same as for academic research.
As discussed above there are different types of research from the simple, quick turnaround research
that draws mainly on secondary sources, to the more academic, which will often involve primary
research. Both forms of research need to be rigorous and robust. But the standards applied will be
different:forinstance,bydefinitionresearchthathastobeturnedaroundquicklywillnotgothrough
formal academic peer review, which can be very time consuming. In this case BMOs will need to
innovate to come up with quicker forms of quality control – by asking a relevant policy expert to
review a piece of work, for example.
Surveys are another example: academic research will tend to use large sample sizes and
sophisticated ways of identifying respondents (sampling techniques) to conduct surveys. By
contrast a BMO might use a quick online survey to generate a snapshot view of its members on
a particular issue. Both types of survey are credible forms of research, even if they adhere to
different standards of rigor. The key, as mentioned above, is to acknowledge the limitations of
the approach adopted.
There is a final important point to be said about BMO research credibility. Credibility can be derived
from different sources. The most important of these is that you represent the voice of your sector.*
Box 2: BMO research and “credibility”
*Wedeliberatelyusetheword“sector”ratherthan“member”herebecauseforaBMOtohavecredibilitytheyneedtorepresent
a sufficient proportion of businesses in their sector. For example, if a BMO has only 15% of the businesses in its sector as
members this casts doubt on its legitimacy as the voice of the sector and this reduces credibility.
11. 6
CASE STUDY 1
DECIDING ON RESEARCH PRIORITIES -
THE ZNCC MACRO-ECONOMICS SUB-COMMITTEE
A number of BMO’s in Zimbabwe have specific processes to help make
informed decisions about what research to carry out. One example is the
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, which has a sub-committee
– the Macro-Economic Sub-Committee – which has, as part of its terms
of reference, the role of identifying priorities for research. Alongside
responsibility for “economic research and development through a think
tank”, this committee also focuses on important interrelated issues
including both “promoting ZNCC position on Macro-economic policy
framework projects”; “production of business news and economic
information for the business sector” and “dialogue with key stakeholders
(i.e. government, labour, civic community and business parliament) on
macro-economic issues.”
Having the same sub-committee focused on providing information for
members and leading on dialogue with stakeholders is an interesting
model. It makes it more likely that the research prioritised will not be
‘research for research’s sake’ but linked to the core objectives of the BMO,
such as better informing its members.
A number of BMO’s
in Zimbabwe have
specific processes to
help make informed
decisions about
what research to
carry out.
BMOs have to be realistic about the type of research they can undertake, as they are often
resource-constrained.
SohowshouldBMO’smakethesedecisions? Thismanualisintendedtohelp. ButaBMOshouldalsohaveagood
internal decision making process, which forces you to think hard about what your priorities are.
12. 12
When you are deciding what to research, it is useful to draw up a list of potential pieces of research. If you can
only carry out one piece of research, being able to choose from 3-5 options helps increase the chances of making
a good decision. Some questions which might be helpful when considering options include:
Give Yourself Options
Does this research respond to your members’ priorities? Is it topical?
How do you think it would score against the criteria for “good BMO
research” (see section 2)?
Isitgoingtobepossibletodevelopanaffordableandpracticalresearch
methodology? (Sections 5, 6 and 7 help in making this judgement.)?
Is there a risk of trying to be too ambitious? A common mistake is to
try to do too much;
Areyouconsideringtheinterestsofallyourmemberswhenprioritising
potentialresearch?Lesshighprofilesmallenterprisesandmarginalgroups
such as women may sometimes inadvertently be given lower priority.
Tip: think about “road-testing” your research idea(s) with
some “critical friends”. This would involve asking external
experts whether they think that your proposed research
is a good idea. This could include policy experts or other
researchers. It could also include some of your members.
If they do not think the proposed research is a priority you
probably shouldn’t be doing it.
7
13. 8
CASE STUDY 2
ZIMBABWEAN EXAMPLE OF BMO CONSULTING WITH
MEMBERS TO HELP DECIDE ON RESEARCH PRIORITIES
The Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers (ZADF) is a member-owned
organization which was formed in 2013. Its main objective is to promote
and develop the production of milk and dairy products in Zimbabwe,
and to advance and protect all sectors and categories of producers.
ZADF uses research for a number of reasons which include developing
technical member services and preparing evidence for participation in
Public Private Dialogue (PPD).
In April-May 2015 ZADF carried out an outreach exercise around the
country to understand the issues affecting their members. The outreach
targeted a total of 17 Milk Collection Centres (MCCs) and was able to meet
with 403 farmers (255 men and 148 women) who participated and gave
their views. MCCs are cooperatives used for aggregating milk produced
by smallholder farmers at district level. ZADF has about 1,120 members
and of these 120 are medium to large-scale farmers, while the rest are in
the small scale category. Although small scale farmers do not account for
the bulk of the milk produced in the country, they constitute a significant
number of people who derive a livelihood from dairy farming.
Over 80% of the sentiments raised in the outreach pointed to the need
for ZADF to focus on the “Cost of Doing Dairy” in Zimbabwe. ZADF then
commissioned a study focused on demarcating existing dairy models in
Zimbabwe; and illuminating their cost drivers with a view to assessing
how farmers in the small and intermediate scale models can be assisted
to grow their businesses. By participating in ZADF’s outreach therefore,
members were able to decide on the BMO’s research priorities. The
member outreach was also the first ZADF had carried out since inception,
bringing it closer to its members.
Over80%ofthe
sentimentsraised
intheoutreach
pointedtotheneed
forZADFtofocuson
the“CostofDoing
Dairy”inZimbabwe.
(Above) ZADF members participating in ZADF’s member outreach
14. 9
When Zimbisa held a workshop with BMOs in November 2015, they told us that they were interested in using
research for advocacy.
By advocacy, we mean a BMO seeking to influence government policy or decisions made by other important
stakeholders, such as the private sector. For example, a regulation may be having a negative effect on your
members and your advocacy goal is to negotiate for the reform or removal of this regulation.
Achieving policy change is difficult. It can happen in different ways. Sometimes it can be very direct – a BMO
advocates for a specific policy change and the government decides to do it. But sometimes it can be indirect – a
BMO raises the profile of a problem that its members are facing and provokes public debate on the issue. This
debate then leads to government making a policy change.
Researchwillonlyeverbeonepartofasuccessfuladvocacyplan. BMO’salsohavepotentialinfluenceoverpolicy-
makers because they represent their members. What you say can matter, even if it is not based on research.
Research can help though. For example, it can:
What You Asked For...
What Is Advocacy?
How Research Can Help With Advocacy
USING RESEARCH
FOR ADVOCACY
4
Demonstrate how your members are affected
by policy: this could include researching how
a policy is not being effectively implemented
or also look into why some policies may have
unintended consequences for businesses. In
particular, it could highlight the effect of policy
on groups who sometimes lack a voice and
power, such as poorer women.
Demonstrating the scale of a problem can help “focus policy makers’ minds”: for example, if a policy
reduceseconomicgrowthorgovernmentrevenuesdemonstratingthescaleofthisimpactcanbepowerful.
Using research to develop a new policy
proposal, which a BMO then advocates for:
a BMO might proactively carry out research
and advise government on policies that will
contribute to their sector growth strategies. This
could include comparative research to identify
‘good’policiesorpracticesinothercountriesand
tailoring them to the local context.
15. 10
CASE STUDY 3
ZIMBABWEAN EXAMPLE OF
USE OF RESEARCH FOR ADVOCACY
As highlighted in the ZADF case study above, members engaged through
the outreachprocessprioritisedthe“Costof DoingDairy”inZimbabweas
the major concern, and this became the organisation’s advocacy priority.
Recognising that sound engagement on this issue could only be done
usingevidence,ZADFthencommissionedastudyfocusedondemarcating
existing dairy models in Zimbabwe; and illuminating their cost drivers.
The research process itself depended heavily on the technical expertise
and institutional memory on the dairy sector which already existed in
ZADF’s Executive and membership. The whole exercise gave them a fuller
picture of the challenges, needs and aspirations of smallholder farmers’
issues and more confidence to address them in collaboration with their
key stakeholders.
In this regard, the BMO used the research findings to host their first ever
Dairy Multi Stakeholder Indaba in December 2015. The meeting was
presented with fact based evidence on the cost of doing dairy on different
scales of farms in Zimbabwe to show diverse stakeholders the challenges
the industry faces; and start discussions on what all of them can do to
contribute towards a more viable dairy industry in Zimbabwe.
Soundengagement
onthisissuecould
onlybedoneusing
evidence.
Tip: your research must be part of a wider advocacy plan.
This means thinking about three things in particular.
First, is there an “influencing point” which your research is
intended to target? This might be a government decision
making ‘moment’, such as the National Budget;
Second, who are the decision makers and influencers and
whatresearchmighthelpconvincethemtochangepolicy? In
other words, it is helpful to “get into the mind” of the decision
makers to help decide what research might be effective.
Importantly, your knowledge of who the key stakeholders
are will often evolve as your project does – you’ll learn more
about who your key “advocacy targets” are;
Third, communicating your arguments clearly. Section 8 has
more details on this. But remember that policy makers are
busy people and will not read a long report.
16. 11
Providing information for your members does not need to be difficult. There are some low cost and easy ways of
providing useful information to your members.
One way of thinking about this is to think of your BMO as a funnel, as in the diagram below. Here, the role of the
BMO is to take existing information and data and funnel it to their members in an easy and accessible form. The
mottoherecouldbe:“borrow,don’treinventthewheel.” AdoptingthisapproachisgoodforBMOswhohavevery
little money and few other resources.
The existing information that BMOs can use,
“repackage” and disseminate to their members can
include information and data on:²
• Developments in specific economic sectors;
• Government policy, legislation and the
regulatory environment;
• The wider business environment, for example
data on macro-economic developments or
financial data.
The table below gives some example of sources of
information. It covers both Zimbabwean sources
and international sources. This is not intended as an
exhaustive list and for each BMO the list of possible
sources of information will differ. A useful exercise for
every BMO would be an assessment of what sources
of information might be useful for its own members.
“Borrow, don’t reinvent the wheel...”
What Information Do Your
Members Want?
Sources of Information
INFORMATION FOR
YOUR MEMBERS: AN “EASY WIN”
5
BMOEXISTING INFORMATION YOUR MEMBERS
² Zimbisa’s research found that relatively few businesses are accessing potentially useful existing forms of information. For example, in
Zimbisa’s 2015 Business Environment Research Product (BERP) Survey only 25% of businesses surveyed were using the CZI Manufacturing
Sector Survey. It was even less for other sources of information. Only 12% were using the ZIMSTAT Business Tender Survey and 10% were
using the CV People Survey. Fewer than 10% were using any of the World Bank Ease of Doing Business report, the Zimbabwe Labour Force
Survey or the FINSCOPE consumer survey.
BMOs may think of themselves as ‘funnels’ taking
existing information and data and channeling it to
their members in an easy and accessible form.
Consumer
Surveys
Government
Gazettes
Macroeconomic
Revieiws
Sector
Specific
Bulletins
Media
Summaries
Monetary &
Fiscal Policy
Statements
17. Type of
Information
Sources
Sector specific
Government policy
and legislation
Wider business
environment
Pick the Ministry that is directly linked to your sector from the Government of
Zimbabwe Portal http://www.zim.gov.zw/ministries
TFC Capital Monthly Financial Sector Bulletin is a useful example of a sector
specific output. (Email tfc@umaxlife.co.zw to subscribe.)
The Government of Zimbabwe Portal provides access to various Ministries,
Departments and Agencies (MDAs) http://www.zim.gov.zw/ministries
Bills and Acts can be found on the Parliament of Zimbabwe website www.
parlzim.gov.zw
Fiscal policy and related matters from the Ministry of Finance and Economic
Development website www.zimtreasury.gov.zw
Monetary Policy and various economic reviews (quarterly, monthly, weekly)
from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Website www.rbz.co.zw
Veritas provides excellent free information on the work of the Parliament of
Zimbabwe and the Laws of Zimbabwe, and makes public domain information
widely available. http://www.veritaszim.net/
ZEPARU’s Economic Barometer publishes comprehensive economic data
quarterly. See www.zeparu.co.zw
For media summaries, try Zanj Financial Network (Zfn) (email zfnaccounts@
yoafrica.com )
FINSCOPE consumer survey. For the 2014 survey see http://www.finmark.
org.za/finscope-zimbabwe-consumer-survey-2014/
International: World Bank Ease of Doing Business reports. See http://www.
doingbusiness.org/reports
International: The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Reports.
For the latest see http://reports.weforum.org/global-competitiveness-
report-2015-2016/
International: Afrobarometer surveys Zimbabwean public opinion, comparing
it with other African countries. See http://www.afrobarometer.org/
12
18. 13
CASE STUDY 4
LIVESTOCK AND MEAT ADVISORY COUNCIL
REPACKAGING EXISTING INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS
Zimbabwe’s Livestock and Meat Advisory Council (LMAC) provides high
quality information its members. LMAC’s members are interested in
information ranging from current market information to trends in trade
and production statistics. They are also interested in how government
policy or other changes – such as disease outbreaks – will affect their
businesses.Inordertorespondtotheseneeds,LMACprovidesinformation
forthoseworkinginarangeofsectorsfromPoultrytoPorkandfrommeat
processing to stock feed manufacturing.
Much of the information provided is a ‘repackaging’ and dissemination
of existing information. The sources drawn on include government
data and publications, trade data collected by other organisations and
intelligence gained by LMAC – for example when they attend workshops.
LMAC also distributes bulletins produced by other organisations, such
as the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA), to members. LMAC is
skilfully drawing on what is already out there, not seeking to reinvent
the wheel. It is collecting the information itself and then ‘funnelling’
it out to members via email, its website, newsletters (Livestock Today)
and through other channels.
LMAC has received good feedback from its members as well as from
government and non-governmental organizations.
Note: The full range of sources used by LMAC include: DLPD; DLVS; AMA; Dairy Services;
ZIMSTAT; ZIMRA; SARS; ZPA and SMA Quarterly Returns from members; UNCOMTRADE; ITC
Trademap; Government Gazette; National Budget and Monetary Policy Statement; any
other information from members; meetings and workshops attended by LMAC members.
LMACisskilfully
drawingonwhatis
alreadyoutthere,
notseekingto
reinventthewheel.
Tip:Repackagingexistinginformationtomakeitaccessible
is important. When your BMO is acting as a “funnel”,
repackaging the information and presenting it as assessable
as possible is important. The information is unlikely to be
useful for your (very busy) members without editing it down
andpresentingitinamoreaccessibleform.Someofthetipsin
the“InDetail”sectionnumber4onpage29 maybeusefulhere.
The good news is that repackaging information in this way is
far easier, cheaper and less time consuming than carrying out
most other forms of research.
19. 14
When Zimbisa held a workshop with BMOs in November 2015, participants said they consider surveys to be an
importantresearchtoolthattheyhaveeitherusedinthepastorplantouseinthefuture.Inresponse,thisresearch
manual dedicates a section specifically to this research tool.
Surveys are questionnaires that are used to capture primary, or new, data. For a BMO they can be used for a
number of purposes, including:
• Finding out what your members want: for example, you may survey your members on how satisfied they are
with the services you provide.
• Betterunderstandingofyourmembers’viewsinordertohelpwithadvocacy:youmightuseasurveytobetter
understand the views of your members on a proposed policy or regulatory change. This could be used as the
basis of subsequent advocacy work.
• Surveying non-members, or the public, to help generate useful information for your members: for example,
a survey to gain market information on the changing demand for a product; or using a survey to see whether
public opinion supports the membership view on a particular policy.
Therearearangeofdifferenttypesofsurvey,fromanon-representativesurveyofmembersorthepublicdesigned
to provide a snapshot of opinion on a given issue, to a formally representative poll designed to allow you to infer
the views of a group of people (e.g. a country population) by surveying a sample of this group.
Furthermoretherearearangeofdifferentmodelsforcarryingoutsurveys,frominternet-basedmodelstotraditional
face-to-face interviews. Each type of survey and model has its own pros and cons.
What You Asked For...
What Can BMOs Use Surveys For?
A Menu of Survey Options
SURVEYS6
A representative poll is important if you want to be able to use a sample of a particular group to say
whattheythinkaboutaparticularissue(forexampleX%oftheZimbabwepopulationbelieveY).But
representative polls are expensive to run and take a lot of time to carry out. Moreover, it isn’t always
necessary that a survey is scientifically representative of a group;
For BMOs the key will often be to use a survey to demonstrate what your members think about an
issue. When this is the goal the important thing will be to make sure you get a good response rate
from your members to the survey;
Surveys carried out over the Internet (see SurveyMonkey at www.surveymonkey.com) or via a mobile
phone (see Voto Mobile at www.votomobile.org) can be carried out much more quickly than face-to-
face surveys, but of course, this method is restricted to those people who have access to the internet/
mobile phone.
20. 15
You will need to make a decision about which specific approach to use depending on both the purpose of the
survey and the resources you have at your disposal.
Ifyouhavethemoneyavailable,itcanbebesttocommissionresearchfromanexpertorganisation. Theywillhave
the technical expertise to design and implement a good survey. However, this can be costly.
Surveys can be very useful ways of
understanding the different views
or experiences of diverse groups of
respondents.
This includes different age groups; different
income groups; differences depending on
where firms are located, or where people live;
different size of firm and so on. One important
demographic dimension to consider is gender:
How are women’s views or experiences
different to those of men? And how do female
headed companies’ experiences differ to their
counterparts led by men? Some points to
consider when designing and implementing a
survey include:
• Is there any risk of a selection bias towards
men? Thisoccurswhenthesurveyincludes
a disproportionate number of men.
• Are there any specific questions which you
want to target towards men or women?
• When it comes to analysing the data from
a survey, which issues do you most want
to explore from a gender perspective? This
will inform your analysis.
Onespecificpoint,whensurveyingthepublic,is
whetheryoufocusonhouseholdsorindividuals.
If a survey samples its respondents based
on households then there is a risk that men,
often the head of the household, will dominate
responses. Sampling based on individuals is
more likely to give you representative samples
of both men and women, and therefore allow
you to accurately explore gender differences.
A similar issue may arise when surveying firms.
If you are interested in the views or experiences
of employees then it may be necessary to
randomly sample within the firm, instead
of simply asking each firm to nominate one
employee. (Where a survey is focused more on
strategic decisions made by businesses – for
example, an investment decision – then what
is likely to matter more is the seniority and role
of the interviewee, rather than their gender).
Box 3: Assessing Gender Differences Through Surveys
Disaggregating survey findings by gender is a useful way of understanding how the experiences
of female-headed companies differ with their male-led counterparts
21. 16
Youcanalsocarryoutyourownsurvey. Ifyoudecidetodothis,thereareanumberofpointstoconsider. Without
careful thought about the design of your survey and how to deliver it you risk failing to get useful results. For
example, without careful thought at the start you risk getting a low response rate. Points to consider include:
What is your core research question? Being clear on this will help you know if you are asking the
right people the right kinds of questions;
In order to answer your core research question, who is the “target group” that you are interested
in the views of? Researchers sometimes call this target group your population. An important
question is whether is it possible to identify the target group and contact some of them. Some target
groups are relatively easy to reach (your membership for example) but others may be more difficult
(for example, all farmers in a specific province of Zimbabwe). Do you want to focus on particular
groups, such as women? Being able to identify your target group matters because;
…youthenhaveto“sample” some of the target group. Samplingistheprocessofidentifyingwho
youwantto contactfromyouroverall“targetgroup”. Ifyouarecarryingoutasurveytofindoutwhat
your members think about a particular issue then your sample in this case is your membership and
the key will be to try and get a good response rate from members. If, however, you want to carry out
a representative survey (for instance of the population as a whole, or of a particular business sector)
then you need to use more sophisticated sampling techniques. The most common is selecting via
a random sample from your target group. For example, this could be achieved by taking every, say,
100th person/household/company in your target group;
1
2
3
IN DETAIL #1: CARRYING OUT YOUR OWN SURVEY
Tip: commissioning surveys still takes expertise and
skill. Don’t think that just because you have paid another
organisationtocarryoutasurveythatitwillbegood. YourBMO
will still need to be an “effective commissioner”. This means:
• Being clear in your Terms of Reference about the core
question, or questions, you want the survey to probe and
whoyouwanttosurveyandwhy.Rememberyouwillhave
more knowledge about the issue being surveyed. The
expertise the polling company has is they know how to
phraseandframequestionsinaclearandnon-leadingway;
• Remaining engaged as the survey develops: for example,
a survey should be “piloted” to test it out. Ask to both see
and discuss the pilot’s results;
• Beingabletointerprettheresults. Itisnousehavinggood
new data if you cannot then interpret them and present
them in a way appropriate for your key audiences.
22. 17
Be clear about who you want to answer questions: it can matter a lot who you ask to fill in a
survey because some people will give more accurate information than others. In a household, do
you want the father, mother or any household embers to fill out the questionnaire? In a company
do you want the CEO or any member of staff to fill it out?
Are you interested in qualitative or quantitative data? Surveys can be used to gather both
qualitative and quantitative research. It is important to decide which you want, or what mix of the
two you want, and why;
Design is everything: drafting questions which will get you generate objective results: you
have a set of choices about how to design a survey. The most important is what type of question
to use. Here options include:
a. “Open questions” provide an opportunity for the respondent to give their views in a more
qualitative way. They ask a question that requires a relatively complicated answer and then provide
space for a written response.
b.“Closedquestions”,whichhaveanumberofpossibleanswersinalistforrespondentstochoosefrom.
c. “Ranking scales”, which can help find out the level of importance attached to something.
Respondentsaskedtoputalistofoptionsinorder(e.g.whenaskingfarmerswhatthemostimportant
barriers to expanding their markets are).
d.“Slidingscales”,canhelpfindoutthestrengthoffeelingonanissue.Aseriesofstatementsareprovided
and then respondents asked how much they agree or disagree on a sliding scale. This is usually: 1 =
strongly agree; 2 = agree; 3 = neither agree nor disagree; 4 = disagree; and 5 = strongly disagree.
Always remember to provide a “Don’t know” option, or an “other” for open-ended questions.
4
5
6
23. 18
Tips: avoiding common mistakes in survey design. All surveys are
different and there are few hard and fast rules. But some common
mistakes to avoid include:
Don’t
have a sequence for the survey which does not make sense or which can prejudice the way they respond
to the rest of the survey.
make questions unclear or “open to interpretation”.
Ask long and complicated questions – keeping things simple is key. Don’t use jargon and abbreviations (if
you use abbreviations you must say what they stand for). Don’t use double negatives e.g. do you favour
or oppose not continuing with a particular policy.
include biased or “leading” wording in questions. This can skew your results and also reduce the credibility
of your results. In a survey a larger number of respondents will “favour” the question “Do you favour or
opposethecountrysigninganeconomicPartnershipAgreement(EPA)”,whileasmallerpercentagearelikely
to say “favour” to this: “Do you favour or oppose the country signing an economic Partnership Agreement
(EPA) even if it meant that local industries might suffer from the influx of cheaper goods from the EU and
compete at par with technologically advanced MNCs?”
make the survey too long overall – people get bored and will stop answering accurately if a survey goes
on too long.
CASE STUDY 5
SURVEY CONDUCTED BY A BMO IN ZIMBABWE
TheConfederationofZimbabweIndustries(CZI)istheleadingorganisation
for industry in Zimbabwe and runs several Business Environment (BE)
surveys every year. Part of their core business is to, “proactively engage
Governmentwithrecommendationsonkeyeconomicissues,andprovide
members with economic analysis,” which involves carrying out regular
surveys for evidence-based proposals. One of their well-known surveys
usedbybusinessinZimbabweandwhichhasconductedformorethan20
Do
test your survey design, including against all the points made above, by carrying out a pilot. This can be
vital in picking up any problems and then ironing them out. For example, a leading Zimbabwean market
research organisation, PROBE Market Research, always pilot their surveys to make sure questions
make sense.
24. 19
yearsistheirannualManufacturingSectorSurvey.In2015theylauncheda
quarterlyBusinessConfidenceIndex(BCI)andPurchasingManagersIndex
(PMI) with technical cooperation from ITC and funding from European
Union(EU).TheBCIuseskeyindicatorstodevelopacompositeindexwhich
measures levels of business confidence in Zimbabwe:
• Economic situation of the establishment;
• About the manufacturing sector of the establishment;
• Economic situation of the country;
• Investment; and
• Profitability.
In terms of sample selection, their target population is manufacturing
establishmentsorenterprisesactiveatanytimeduringtheperiodcovered
by the survey, including any forecast period. They used the Stratified
Probability Sampling method based on the national establishment
distribution of the 2011 Enterprise Survey of the World Bank (WB) for
Zimbabwe. The data is collected between July 2015 and September
through self-enumeration, telephone and in-person interviews with
either a paper or electronic questionnaire with 88% (283) completed
questionnaires which is impressive.
They are able to produce survey results disaggregated by sectors, size of
business and regions surveyed, over and above the overall BCI.
The composite business confidence index for quarter one 2015 stood at
-33.9 for quarter-on-quarter and -37.2 for year-on-year. The general rule
is that a value above zero indicates business optimism, a value below
zero, pessimism, and 0 indicates neutrality. The figure thus indicates that
respondents feel pessimistic about the prospects of their companies/
organisations (in 2015). This indicates the view that overall, business
managersfeelthesituationisworseoffthanitwasinthepreviousquarter
as well as in the same quarter of 2014.
TheCZIruns
severalsurveys
eachyear,suchas
theManufacturing
SectorSurveyand
BusinessConfidence
Index(BCI).
25. 20
Inadditiontosurveys,thereareanumberofotherresearchtoolsyoucouldconsider. Eachhasitsownadvantages
and disadvantages. In the table below we set out a menu of options, and include comments on both when to
consider using different options and some issues to consider for each of them.
Other Research Tools To Consider
OTHER RESEARCH
TECHNIQUES TO CONSIDER
7
Research Tool When should you use it? What issues need
considering?
Large scale surveys or polls:
for example with a nationally
representative sample.
Seminarsandworkshops: small
group discussions with experts
and key stakeholders.
Focus Group Discussions:
typically around 10-15 people
having a moderated discussion
about an issue.
When you need robust and
rigorous insights into what a
particular group (e.g. the public
or businesses) think. It can help
achieve a range of purposes
from advocacy to understanding
members’ views.
See “In Detail X” below for full
details. In short these can be
used to: develop solutions to
problems, generate new ideas
andtoengagearangeofdifferent
stakeholders. Theyarealsogood
opportunitiestocommissionand
‘road test’ papers.
Focus groups are generally used
either when you want to find out
why people think something or
when you want to probe an issue
in more detail.
Focus groups can be used to
provide quick insights that can
be used for advocacy.
A large representative poll can
be costly. They require a high
degree of technical skill.
See section 6 for details on
options.
It is important to be clear about
the objective of a seminar
or workshop. An additional
challenge is making them
engaging and interesting,
including through good
presentations/speakers. And
finally planning is critical! (See
“In Detail X” for further detail).
There are far less resource
intensive,butstillrequireexpertise
to conduct well. Questions
include: how do you recruit
participants?andhowshouldyou
guide & record discussions
The results are just qualitative
and not as ‘robust’ as is the case
withasurveywithalargesample
size. Don’t over claim!
26. 21
Research Tool When should you use it? What issues need
considering?
Elite/“keyinformant”interviews:
unstructured or semi-structured
interviewswithkeystakeholders.
Desk-based literature reviews.
Theycanbeusedtogainindepth
information and add weight to
your argument by allowing you
to cite the views of influential
figures. If you interview the right
people it can be a “short-cut” to
knowledge.Theycanalsobeused
for for advocacy, both because
they help you understand what
key people think and because
one interviewee may refer you
onto another influential person.
See “In Detail #2” below for full
details. In short, they can serve
a range of purposes, from (i)
providing scope to a new issue,
to (ii) exploring possible answers
to a problem.
Will you get access to the people
who matter? You’ll need to think
about how to approach people
with the maximum chance they
will talk with you.
Elite interviews also need to
strike a balance between being
structured and free flowing.
Typically you should use an
“interview guide”, to direct a
conversation, but leave as much
space for the interviewee to talk.
A literature review assumes, of
course, that the literature exists.
An important consideration for
a BMO is what type of literature
review is most useful. Generally
it should not just be of the
academic literature. Instead it
shouldincludearangeofsources
and does not necessary have to
be comprehensive.
Notes: (i)Foragoodadditionalresourcethathascomprehensiveinformationonalltypesofqualitativeresearchmethodsseehttp://ctb.ku.edu/
en/table-of-contents/assessment/assessing-community-needs-and-resources/develop-a-plan/main; (ii) An excellent source to learn more
about“desk-basedliteraturereviews”canbefoundathttp://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/manual_guide_proced/
wfp203200.pdf (iii) a good source that clearly outlines conduct of focus group discussions and sample questions http://www.eiu.edu/ihec/
Krueger-FocusGroupInterviews.pdf
Someoftheresearchtechniquesinthetableabovewillonlybepossiblewithsignificantresourcesand/orcapacity
inside the BMO. For example, carrying out focus groups can be costly to commission from external researchers
and difficult to do well yourself.
Below we give some more detail on the “In Detail” of two techniques, which are more likely to be affordable and
achievable options for BMOs. These are literature reviews and workshops or seminars.
27. 22
IN DETAIL #2: CARRYING OUT LITERATURE REVIEWS
Literature reviews can be a very good option for BMOs conducting research. They can be relatively quick, cheap
and require less specialist expertise than many other approaches. However, that does not mean they are easy.
There is a ‘knack’ to doing a good literature review. This “in detail” box gives some tips for carrying out effective
literature reviews.
Be clear about the question you are addressing – what is your intended audience really
interested in: before you start you should make sure you are very clear about the issues you are
looking into. This will help you keep focused on the information and literature that matters and not
drift off course. Write down your key ‘research question’ in a few lines and keep referring back to it
as the work continues.
Make an argument – don’t just collect everything ever written on an issue: academic literature
reviewstendtoaimtobecomprehensiveandhavetheaimofneutrallycoveringallaspectsofadebate.
They often look into detail at each book or essay on an issue. In contrast a literature review by a BMO
will need to be more selective and ‘purposive’ – the aim is less to be comprehensive, but instead it is
to develop an argument.
Use a range of sources relevant for your members and policy makers: do not focus only on the
academic literature. A good literature review from a BMO should draw on a range of sources, many of
which will be freely available online and easy to find via Google. Sources can include:
a. Government documents, including policy statements, data and evaluations;
b. Work by think tanks and research institutes;
c. Publications by organisations such as the World Bank and IMF.
But do think about the reliability of different sources: alwaysaskyourselftwokeyquestionswhen
looking at different sources of information in a literature review: first, “where is the author coming
from?” In other words, are they biased and therefore unreliable? And second, “how ‘robust’ is any
information?” In other words, do you think the information in the literature is likely to be accurate?
Sometimes you may decide not to include information where you think it is not reliable or accurate.
But sometimes you may still include it but make clear its limitations.
Think hard about the presentation of a literature review: it is vital that a literature review is
accessibleandeasytoread,notjustforanexternalaudience,butalsoforyourowncolleagues. Sothink
hard about how you set out your review, adopt a clear structure, use bullet points and boxes to draw
out key points and always have an “executive summary” which captures the most pertinent points.
Make sure you provide good referencing: either yourself, or another person reading the review,
may want to return to some of the information you have found. So make sure you provide very good
and thorough referencing. One globally recognised referencing technique you could consider is the
Harvard method (see https://www.citethisforme.com/harvard-referencing).
1
2
3
4
5
6
28. 23
Tips: avoiding common mistakes in literature reviews. All literature
reviews are different and there are few hard and fast rules. But some
common mistakes to avoid include:
Don’t
just write down everything you can find on an issue. Focus on what matters most;
tryanddoitthewayacademicsdoit:useawiderrangeofsourcesandyoudon’thavetobecomprehensive;
just cut and paste without attribution!
forget your audience - who are you writing the review for? What is the core purpose of it? Keep focused!
assume people will read all of your review – provide a busy reader with a good summary at the start of
the document.
CASE STUDY 6
ZIMBABWE APPLIED ARTS AND CRAFTS ASSOCIATION
USE OF LITERATURE REVIEWS
TheZimbabweAppliedArtsandCraftsAssociation(ZAACA)commissioned
Jimat Development Consultants to carry out research on the Crafts
and Applied Arts Sub-Sector in Zimbabwe. As part of this work they
included a literature review. Not only was the literature review useful in
its own right but it also helped support other elements of the research
– including key informant interviews and focus groups.
Crucial to the commissioning of the literature review was careful thinking
about its focus. Unlike a full academic literature review – which would
aim to be comprehensive – ZAACA focused the literature review on three
key goals. These were first to better define the craft sector (because the
definition of craft seems to be contested); second, to give a historical
overview of the development of crafts as an economic activity; and third,
to explore regional and other African countries experiences.
The result was a clearly focused piece commissioned work and a
literature review that will be useful for the BMO.
Literature reviews
can be a very
good option for
BMOs conducting
research.
29. 24
A workshop or a seminar can be an excellent option for a BMO. They are both relatively easy to organise and
conduct. They are cheap. And they can be used for a range of purposes. This “in detail” section first outlines
some different potential purposes for workshops before secondly providing some advice on holding a successful
seminar or workshop.
Workshops and seminars are very similar.
Workshops are a group-based approach with an emphasis on activity-based, interactive working. They often
focus on developing solutions to problems or developing ideas and use a range of techniques, such as ‘role play’
or‘brainstorming’. Thiskindofapproachmaybebestsuitedtodevelopingsolutionswithagroupof‘practitioners’
– for example a group of BMO members.
Seminars bring together a group of people to discuss an issue. They are less activity based than a workshop and
are,instead,inviteaspeaker(orspeakers)topresentonanissueinordertofacilitateadiscussionbetweenpeople
coming from a range of different perspectives. They are more likely to be suited to gathering ideas about an issue
or improving your understanding of an issue by listening to a group of experts.
All workshops or seminars will be different, but below are five tips, which will apply to any event:
Purposes of Workshops and Seminars
Making A Workshop A Success
Be clear about the objective for the seminar or workshop:areyoutryingtobetterunderstandthe
nature of a problem? Do you want to generate some ideas about potential solutions to a problem?
You should normally be able to write down the core objective for a seminar or workshop initially in
a few simple sentences and then in a short professionally presented concept note. Being this clear
willthenhelpyoudesigntheseminareffectively,forexamplebyinvitingtherightmixofparticipants.
Planning is everything. A significant amount of planning goes into any successful seminar or
workshop. In particular thinking hard about who will present to help provoke debate and discussion
is critical. Once selected you should then brief speakers carefully – what issues should they focus
on? How long do they have to talk? It’s always useful to see presentations before they are given so
you can provide comments and feedback and ensure the presentation is focused on contributing
to the core aims and objectives of the seminar. Similarly, think carefully about the attendees you
want to attend. What mix of perspectives should be represented? Which specific people do you
want to attend – try and avoid organisations sending a junior person who is less likely to contribute?
Make any seminar or workshop engaging and interesting. Making a seminar or workshop
interestingwillmakeiteasiertoattractattendees. Itwillalsomeanthatonceattheeventparticipants
will contribute fully. One key approach to making an event interesting is to provoke discussion. For
example, start an event with an interesting and even controversial presentation. You can also create
debate by deliberately inviting participants with different views.
1
3
2
IN DETAIL #3: WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS
30. 25
Be clear about how the discussion will be reported and used. You should always have a scribe,
writing notes of the event. It is a good idea to always write up the seminar almost immediately
afterwards, while it is fresh in the memory. In addition, you should be clear with attendees how
what they say would be reported. Some workshops or seminars can be “public” – meaning that
everything that people say is “quotable” and on the record. Other events can be “off the record”.
It is a good idea to make things clearly off the record when you are discussing sensitive issues. It
makes it more likely that you will have the active participation of attendees.
Chairing a seminar or facilitating a workshop is a real skill: Being an effective chair involves
keeping a meeting focused on the objective, bringing all participants into the discussion, probing
specific points in more detail, while not dominating the discussion. The chair or facilitator also
plays an important role in summarising a discussion and drawing out key points at the end. If you
do not have someone at your BMO with the required skills or experience, consider bringing someone
in to help.
4
5
Tip: Killing two birds with one stone – using seminars to help
commissionresearch.Seminarscanalsobeausefulwayofcommissioning
researchbasedpaperstobepresented.Expertscan‘validate’theirpapers
with the audience or use papers as the basis of a discussion. One option
is then to revise and publish these papers in some form, for example in a
compendium of essays. For larger events, a panel of experts can be used
prior to the meeting to assess the content.
A BMO can host a seminar where experts can present commissioned research
31. 26
Thereislittlepointinconductingresearchifno-onereadsitandusesit. Packagingyourresearchwellwillincrease
the chances that it is used.
Whether the audience for work is your members or policy makers, they have one thing in common – they will be
busy people. You need to ensure that your research findings are presented simply and accessibly in a way that is
likely to capture people’s attention.
It is also important to think about what your audience is most interested in. You should “put yourself in their
shoes” and think carefully about what they are most likely to read, understand and then find useful in some way.
Why Does “Packaging” Matter?
PACKAGING AND
DISSEMINATION
8
There are no prizes for “sounding clever” when presenting your research. Instead, the most important thing is to
present your findings as clearly and accessibly as possible.
Simple summaries of both the key findings and also the implications of these findings are critical. This is because
most readers are likely to only read these headlines.
If the research involves presenting complicated data, you can still publish this and make it available. But, this
should only be after you have provided an accessible summary.
Some tips for how to write clearly and accessibly include:
Good Packaging: Writing and Presenting Accessibly
Think carefully about what the most important points are for your audience. For example, if the audience
is your members you need to ask yourself what they are interested in.
Ifyouareproducingareportorpaper,useExecutiveSummaries. Thesecanbeexcellentwaysofforcingyou
to think about what the core argument is which emerges from your research. See below for further details.
Avoidusinglargeamountsoftext–thisputsreadersoff. Instead,useamixofchartsandtables,bulletpoints
and summary boxes. The ZEPARU case study (below) has some good examples of presenting information
accessibly.
Sometimes it will be important to translate reports, or more likely summaries of reports, into local
languages. This will depend on who your target audience is, but if you want your members to access your
findings (rather than, say, policy makers) then often translating work will be important. Don’t let economic
jargon, mostly in English, prevent your members from accessing the work.
32. 27
CASE STUDY 7
ZIMBABWEAN ECONOMIC POLICY ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH UNIT
‘ECONOMIC BAROMETER’ - THE IMPORTANCE OF PACKAGING
The Zimbabwean Economic Policy Analysis and Research Unit (ZEPARU)
has been publishing its Economic Barometer, a quarterly compendium
of economic data, for a number of years. ZEPARU decided to completely
revampthepackagingoftheproducttoimproveitsprofileandensurethat
it was able to contribute to public and policy debates in Zimbabwe.
The pictures below show the Economic Barometer before and after this
repackaging. Inparticular,ZEPARUdramaticallyincreasedtheaccessibility
of the Economic Barometer by:
• Including a clear and short summary of the findings. They even
included a short number of key bullet points on the front page to
“entice” the reader into the document.
• Breaking up the text through the use of bullet points, summary boxes
and charts. This makes it much more attractive for a busy reader.
• Linking the full paper to other forms of dissemination: for example,
ZEPARU used infographics to illustrate some of their key points.
The result has been two editions of the Economic Barometer, which have
raised ZEPARU’s media profile and contributed significantly to public
debate. The document has received positive feedback from a number of
stakeholders from government to academia. And it has helped ZEPARU as
an organisation prove its relevance to critical on-going economic debates
in Zimbabwe.
Before After
33. 3328
A BMO will have a number of options for how to communicate its research. Think carefully about your audience
and what the best way of reaching them is. In addition to publishing reports, options to consider include:
What channels of communication should you consider?
Issuing A Press Release
If you havea clear summary on
your report, this will provide a
good basis for a press release.
Press releases should lead with the
“headline” from the report and be
presented clearly an accessibly.
DownloadZimbisa’sMediaRelations
Manual for more information on
Press releases and strategies of
using the Media for communicating
research finding. This can be found
athttp://zimbisa.org/wp-content/
uploads/2014/12/Zimbisa-Media-
Relations-Manual.pdf
Create an infographic
Toreachawideraudienceusesimple
graphics to highlight key findings
from your report. You can use free
tools such as Piktochart or Sway
(Microsoft) to develop your own
infographics.
Create An Engaging &
Accessible Presentation
youmaybeaskedtotalkaboutyour
research, for example at an event
or in a meeting with government
officials. Having an engaging and
accessiblepresentationwillhelpyou
get your message across. Over and
abovePowerPointasatoolthereare
online resources such as Prezi (see
www.prezi.com), which you could
use for packaging your findings.
Distributing Fndings To
Your Members
A short summary of any research
can be emailed or included in a
newsletter for your members.
But also think about how you
can provide more access to more
detailed information for members
whoareinterested. Somemembers
may want to see the whole report,
especially if it has implications for
their own business planning.
Issuing Short Policy Briefs
These can be stand alone, short
summaries of the longer report.
Often they can be the same as a
good executive summary from the
full report.
Vlogging
Innovateandthinkaboutcreatinga
vlog.ThiscanhelpaBMOsummarise
research and then upload it onto
YouTubeorontoyourownwebsites.
Therearesometipsonthiswebsite:
http://www.vlognation.com/
Using Social Media
Using the likes of Twitter and
Facebook can be a powerful
complement to more traditional
forms of dissemination. By
tweeting or posting links to your
work, social media can help you
promote a paper, a policy brief,
a blog or infographics. But don’t
just use them when your BMO
publishes something.
You can also continue to promote
your arguments through social
media in a more reactive way.
For example, if a debate flares up
which you have previous carried
out research on, a BMO could use
social media to remind people of
your past work.
34. 29
CASE STUDY 8
ZEPARU’S USE OF INFOGRAPHICS
ZEPARUwerekeenthattheirEconomicBarometerwasusedmorewidely.
They were concerned that it was not accessible enough and that it wasn’t
being well communicated to a wider audience. As well as improving the
presentation of the actual report (see case study 7 above), they also
focused on how to disseminate the Barometer better. One option they
used was an infographic. This quickly and simply communicates key
messages from the Economic Barometer. Another option is look into
developing your own using a tool such as Piktochart.
Piktochartisaweb-
basedinfographic
applicationwhich
allowsuserswithout
intensiveexperience
asgraphicdesigners
toeasilycreate
professional-grade
infographicsusing
themedtemplates.
Sourec: www.zeparu.co.zw
A“researchsummary”isaself-containedsummingupofthecoreargumentandkeyfindingsfromyourresearch.
Itcanbeastandaloneoutput(forexample,ashort“briefing”foryourmembers)orpartofawiderreport(whereit
can take the form of an Executive Summary). It is not simply a condensed version of a longer report or all of your
research. Instead, it is a concise version of the core argument and key findings that emerge from the research.
Most of your audience (including busy BMO members or policy makers) will only read a summary.
IN DETAIL #4: WRITING SUMMARIES OF RESEARCH FINDINGS
35. 30
Donewellagoodresearchsummarycanalsoprovidethebasisforyourwiderdisseminationplans–forexample,
it can be used as the basis for a press release and for newspaper articles.
A good research summary will bring your findings to life. It will make it clear why it is potentially of interest and
useful for your intended audience. A typical structure for a research summary would be:
• Big picture context: this should ‘hit people between the eyes’ and make readers want to keep reading! Why
is this work of interest to them?
• Your findings: this section should set out the key findings from the research including key statistics.
• A discussion: this section would then discuss the relevance and potential implications of the findings. For
example,iftheworkisforadvocacypurposesthissectionwouldincludeadiscussionofthepolicyimplications
• Address any major potential criticisms or counter arguments.
Finally, the style that you use when writing a summary of your research is important. Ten tips on writing
accessible research findings are:
1. Start by setting out a bullet point outline – is the argument clear? Are you focused on the most important
findings from your research?
2. Isthestructureofthesummaryclear with a logical flow–thisismoreimportantthangoodprose. Busyreaders
will “skim read” the summary and should be able to grasp the core argument and key points easily.
3. Use “signposting” by telling the reader what they are reading. It is almost as though you are “holding the
reader’s hand” and walking them through the summary.
4. Usesubheadingsandbulletpoints–thiscanalsomakeitclearforthereaderhowyoursummaryisstructured.
5. Present your key research findings simply: researchers have a temptation to present too much data and
information in a summary. You should avoid this in the summary and include only the most important
findings. An interested reader can look into your more detailed findings.
6. Keep it simple – avoid jargon!
7. Break the text down into short punchy paragraphs. Large blocks of text put readers off. They are much
harder to follow.
8. Keep it short: 1-2 pages
9. Get feedback from colleagues
10. Write the summary last … step back from it all
36. 31
BMOsarenotresearchinstitutes. Norshouldtheytryandbecomearesearchinstitute. Youwillalwaysbeoperating
with limits on your budget and limits on your capacity. That is why it is important to think about how best to
resource the research you carry out.
Research can be carried out through a combination of:
Inadedicatedresearchorganisation,themajorityofresearchcanbecarriedoutin-house. Thisispossiblebecause
they have more capacity and a wider mix of skills reducing the need to ‘buy-in’ particular expertise.
In organisations with more limited internal research capacity, which includes many BMOs, it is necessary to
consider how best to use commissioning and partnership approaches. Commissioning is likely to be important
as it allows the BMO to “buy in” expertise. But it should not be thought of as an easy option. It is difficult to do
well. Questions to consider include:
• What is the right balance between internal research, partnerships and commissioned research?
• Should a BMO build up internal expertise in a particular area?
• Does the BMO feel it has adequate commissioning skills and expertise (successfully commissioning external
experts to carry out work is difficult)?
• What ‘partnerships’ could your BMO realistically develop?
BMOs Are Not Research Institutes
FUNDING AND
RESOURCING RESEARCH
9
1 2 3
In-house
Conducted by employees in the
research team.
Commissioned
Where an external organisation/
individual is paid (a more difficult
skill then it often sounds).
Partnership
Wheretwo(ormore)organisations
team up, for example a university
department and a BMO, or several
BMOs collaborating on Syndicated
Research.
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
2-Page Executive summary
1.1. Overall recommended approach
1.2. What benefits this offers the client
1.3. Your USP
Introduction and background
2.1. Background information about the market, the context, the client, the big picture.
Research objectives
3.1. State clearly the questions which the research will answer.
3.2. There should be around 4-6 questions.
Target audiences
4.1. Who will you talk to?
4.2. What do you know about the audiences?
4.3. Which are primary and secondary?
Methodology
5.1. What methodology do you propose for the research?
5.2. What is the balance between qualitative and quantitative?
5.3. How will these methods answer the research questions?
Sampling
6.1. What factors will you consider in designing the sample, e.g., sex, age, locations?
6.2. What is your recommended sample size/ alternatives?
6.3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the different options?
Research processes (will differ for qual and quant)
7.1. Questionnaire design and piloting;
7.2. Coverage of the questionnaire and interview guides;
7.3. Any materials you will show the respondents for reactions;
7.4. Training and briefing of interviewers.
Data entry and analysis
8.1. Quantitative data entry
8.2. Qualitative recording and analysis
8.3. Quality assurance/ checking
This annex presents two potentially useful templates. The first covers “research proposals”, which is for when an
organisation is itself planning on carrying out research. The second template covers the development of some
Terms of Reference for commissioned research. These templates should only be considered guides to help your
thinking. Each piece of research is different and will require different proposals or terms of reference.
These templates have been provided by Philly Desai.
Template For Research Proposals
ANNEX:
SOME USEFUL TEMPLATES
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15
16
17
18
19
20
21
9
10
11
12
13
Introduction and background
14.1. Background information about the market, the context, the client, the big picture.
14.2. Why do you need to do this research?
14.3. Are there any plans/ ideas which want the research to test?
14.4. What decisions will you make based on the research findings?
Research objectives
15.1. State clearly the questions which the research should answer.
15.2. There should be around 4-6 questions
Target audiences
16.1. Who do you need to talk to?
16.2. What do you know about the audiences?
16.3. Which are primary and secondary?
Methodology
17.1. What methodology do you think will be most suitable?
17.2. Are you open to alternative suggestions?
Sampling
18.1. Are there particular factors which must be included, e.g., balance of sexes, regions?
18.2. Do you have an idea of the sample size which you think will be sufficient?
Scope of work
19.1. What exactly do you need the agency to do?
19.2. Are there any tasks which will be shared between agency and client?
Proposal requirements
20.1. What do you expect to see in the proposal?
20.2. Are there specific issues you need covered, e.g., ethics, risk, security?
20.3. Do you have a preferred structure for the proposal?
Outputs required, e.g.
21.1. Reports/ summaries
21.2. Policy briefs
21.3. PowerPoint presentations
21.4. Dissemination workshops
Reporting and outputs
9.1. Written report/ executive summary
9.2. PowerPoint presentation/ infographics
9.3. Dissemination workshop
Work plan
Budget
Details of research team, CVs
Case Studies of related projects
Template For Research ToRs
Philly Desai, February 2016
39. 34
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23
24
Timeline and work plan/ key deadlines
2Budget/ costs
Project management processes/ contracting
Philly Desai, February 2016
