2. www.mccrindle.com.au
Foundational principals
1. Be ethical & responsible
2. Be professional: Identify who you are & what you are
doing
3. Remain independent & neutral
4. Be transparent: Give feedback / release results
5. Your research is as strong as your respondents
3. www.mccrindle.com.au
10 Commandments of surveying
1. Clear purpose
2. Short and snappy
3. Maximum question value
4. Incentives
5. Cross section principle
6. User friendly
7. Email properly
8. Think about your response rate
9. Numbers speak for themselves
10. Don’t report out of context.
4. www.mccrindle.com.au
Preparing a moderator’s guide
1. Guides can be used for focus groups, in-depths and
community forums.
2. Purpose: the why
3. Length: 90 minutes
4. Warm up questions
5. Sections & logical flow
6. Get creative…tell a story!
7. Include a survey
8. Stay neutral /
non-biased
5. www.mccrindle.com.au
Running a focus group
Remember:
1. Environment
2. Professionalism
3. Recording
4. Incentives
5. Purpose & demographic
6. Neutral & positive
7. Stay on track
8. All have something to say
9. Timing
6. www.mccrindle.com.au
Example opening of a moderator’s guide:
• Welcome / introduce yourself to participants
- “Did you have any trouble getting here?”
- “Have you been to a focus group before?”
• Introduce topic – “Today we will be talking about our local
community”
• Lay down the ground rules:
– Session is being recorded for research purposes.
– Information used for research purposes only – you have been
specifically recruited because of your demographics, so in a sense
you’re representing a large group of people. So please share your
opinions through the group because we need you to represent that
group.
– “Your opinions are important. So please feel free to speak your
mind.”
• (Fill-in meet and greet for latecomers)
• Hand out incentive
• Have each participant introduce themselves to the group in
terms of:
- Name, how long they’ve lived in the local area and one
thing they like about it.
8. Preparing a community engagement
forum
1. Three C strategy: communication,
consultation & connection =
community engagement
2. Length: 2 hours
3. Participants: 15+ people, diverse
stakeholders
9. Before the forum:
Facilitation guide (similar to focus groups but influenced by three Cs).
Incentives.
Environment:
Cabaret tables preferred for group work (half rounds)
Professional space
Lunch/tea & coffee
Equipment:
Recoding devices
Butchers paper
Surveys or voting technology
Roaming microphone
Team:
2 team minimum + a note taker.
10. Communication (20 minutes)
This is your opportunity to provide information to your key
stakeholders.
•What are the trends that will impact them?
•What changes or challenges lie ahead?
•What timelines and core issues do they need to be across?
•Add VALUE.
11. Consultation (40 minutes)
•Break-out groups around discussion points
•Brainstorming on butchers paper
•Interactive voting as a group
•Bring all ideas back to the table to discuss and vote on
solutions.
12. Connection (40 minutes)
The aim of a forum is to bring diverse stakeholders
together. It’s two way communication where different
groups have an opportunity to understand and relate.
•Experts panels
•Key stakeholder panels
•Facilitated discussion
•Mixed groups
•Meet and greets
13. www.mccrindle.com.au
Running a CEF
Remember:
1. Communication, consultation, connection
2. Positivity important
3. Keep the microphone close
4. Timing is everything
5. Survey data and verbatim critical
