Our Process
How would we approach your research or evaluation challenge? Every engagement is unique, but over the years we’ve developed a general “inquiry journey” to help our clients (and their communities, audiences, collaborators, grantees, etc.) move from questions to answers to action.
Listening
So we understand not just what you want to learn, but what you want to be able to do, where you want to go. We’ve been told we do listen better than most. And everything else flows from there.
Thinking
About what we’ve heard from you. Bringing multidisciplinary perspectives from across our team. And offering insights and comparisonsto you from around the field of culture...and from our own past research.
Designing
A research study—or sequence of studies—that will turn that thinking outward, bringing your community, audience, or participants into theconversation. No off-the-shelf research here; we bake your insights from scratch.
Conducting
Collecting the data. Asking the questions. Eliciting needs, values, reactions, and ideas. Conducting research—which we also call “doing fieldwork” or “being in the field”—is the heart of the project, and it needs an expert touch.
Analyzing
The data that emerges, qualitative or quantitative, is just the start of the meaning-making process. We analyze deeply and rigorously, bringing a critical eye and a range of techniques—plus a keen sense of context and possibility.
Discussing
The research report isn’t the last word.Our presentations are two-way, creative conversations to unpack what we’ve learned about, from, and with your audiences or community...and what new opportunities have opened up as a result.
Strategizing
With the research in hand, we can help you and your colleagues internalize the insights, play with new possibilities, and plan for action.This thought-partnership often loops back to additional research, to help fuel innovation and success.