Front Room
Demographic breakdowns and quantitative research only go so far. To understand the people we are trying to reach we like to have regular contact. Talking to them about their concerns and aspirations gives us better insights. We regularly hold focus groups to get under their skin on an issue or theme. Here's some of what we've heard from the Front Room.
Communities may be ready and willing to take more responsibility locally, but will perhaps need help from the private sector to get organised, was one conclusion from our recent Front Room looking at understanding of and attitudes to the Big Society. The research group dwelled for some time on some of the issues that the Big Society faces in getting widespread acceptance, which will surely need to...
In this session, we spoke to a cross section of consumers to explore how they feel about giving away personal information or data, in particular to private-sector organisations. We looked at the common fears and concerns they have when giving out information, and the ways in which businesses can address them in order to secure our trust. Three main pointers emerged for organisations to reass...
Our relationship with healthcare providers is a complex and often contradictory one. Our recent Front Room focus group looked into people’s attitudes towards their health and healthcare provision – in particular examining their views on the private healthcare market. Our relationship with healthcare providers is a complex and often contradictory one. While we are heavily reliant on them and can find reassurance in having private health insurance ‘just in case’, when it com...
Job insecurity, complex offers and eroded trust in the institutions all contribute to people’s uncertainty about where to go for financial advice, but there is a real opportunity for the institutions that can get it right. These were the main findings from our focus group looking at what people are doing with their savings, and what might make them act differently, in the context of the globa...
The 'advo-mate' may be influential when encouraging people to trying new thingsThe influence of advo-mates in reaching hard-to-reach audiences was a key finding to come out of our recent Front Room, when we discussed the issue of digital exclusion with a group of people who are not yet online. The research group identified the advo-mate as someone who not only encourages them to explore new horizons, but also helps them to overcome the practical barriers they face in doing s...
The UK's ethical consumption is increasingIn this session we spoke to a group of ethical shoppers to find out what influences them when choosing morally-sourced products. Despite the economic downturn, the UK’s ethical consumption is increasing. The difficult economic climate is reducing consumer spend but as the market for green products continues to grow, eco-fatigue seems a long way off yet. Attitudes towards company ethics and CSR...
Heath messages need to burst through the scepticismWith improving the health of the nation so high on the public agenda, we wanted to get a better understanding of what real people think about the efforts to change their behaviour. Our focus group looked at attitudes to public health among adults aged 35-45. Intelligent scepticism acts as a barrier between ‘us’ and ‘them’ While people draw information from a wide range of sources, th...
Pharmacists offer valuable support and adviceIn the latest Front Room, we’ve taken a look at pharmacists. Pharmacists play a key role in delivering the advice, care and resources that make up major public health campaigns. By talking through some issues of concern with this group, we discovered that pharmacists are increasingly being seen, by the public and the wider health services, as front line health providers. The profession ca...
At the centre of people and money is the issue of trustIn this session we spoke to people about their attitudes to their personal finances. There has been a lot of talk suggesting that we are now experiencing a crisis of confidence, but in fact we think we’re seeing a crisis of uncertainty. Few people know what lies ahead and this has made an impact on their choices and actions, especially in relation to their money. At the centre of this, tr...