We don't want to overload anyone with jargon, but some words are perfect to describe what we do. Here are some of the main ones, each with a definition of exactly they mean in relation to research and nfpSynergy.
Awareness - This is people's awareness of your charity. It could mean awareness of your name, your logo, your cause, your specific campaigns or your media work, depending on which Monitor you have chosen. We track whether people know who you are and what you do.
Benchmarking - This is comparing your charity to others in your area and it is a crucial step. The data you will receive as part of your subscription will be recent and help with the challenges and issues you're facing, but it will also mean you can see how you're doing compared to others. The wealth of trend data that comes with your product also means you can benchmark against your own past performances.
Bespoke - We can offer questions on our Monitors designed by you to target exactly what you need from your audiences. We also offer tailored projects and we carry out over 30 of these every year. To us, bespoke means working with you to help you tailor our products and services to gain the information you need to progress.
Cluster analysis - A form of segmentation where a market is classified into subsets (segments) so that respondents behave in a similar way or have similar needs to each other. The resulting message is often a more targeted approach, where performance and priorities are tailored.
Focus groups - During research for our products, we often speak to people in small groups to gain specific insights into the issue you're interested in. We’re experts in sensitive subjects and recruiting the hard-to-reach audiences. Talking to people about personal and private matters in our research often represents the first time they have been given a safe space to think and reflect and the experience can be a powerful one.
Monitors - nfpSynergy's Monitors track the opinions, engagement and awareness of a wide range of groups. They run throughout the year and are based on representative surveys of groups like the general public, journalists, MPs and young people.
Nationally representative - All of our national surveys are representative of the population. For example, our Charity Awareness Monitor surveys contain at least 1000 people with a margin of error of 0.5 to 3%. Our ability to provide robust samples means all of the data you receive is based on the right numbers of people in each social grade, region, age group and gender, meaning all results are statistically significant.
Qualitative research - A variety of techniques to provide a more in-depth understanding of attitudes and behaviours. Methodologies can range from focus groups and in-depth interviews to ethnography. As it's in more depth with smaller samples, quantitative methodologies tend to be used to verify hypotheses from the qualitative stage.
Quantitative research - This is any data that is presented as a statistic, most commonly as a percentage. It is used to assess how common attitudes or behaviours are among a population. The caveat is achieving a sample size that ensures it is representative of the larger population, typically 1000 respondents for the UK.
Stakeholder - In this case, we mean the people with an interest in your organisation, be it your supporters, staff or service users.
Syndicated tracking research - This is the research we carry out using our surveys. The syndicate is the charities who have signed up, sharing data, insights and costs.
Trend Data - All of our Monitors come with detailed trend data as part of your subscription. Some of our Monitors are relatively new at three years old, while some have over a decade of data you can access, all for the same price.