Note: An abridged version of the ESOMAR study “Leveraging and Empowering Cambodia’s Other Half” is available here

When initially conceptualizing our study, Leveraging and Empowering Cambodia’s Other Half, the need for the research was clear. What we didn’t realize at the time, however, that our selection of the research methods would be the most critical piece regarding the study’s actionability. I’d like to walk you through my experience, which demonstrates how the inclusion of a compelling narrative aided the study’s resonance among both NGOs and the research community.

Let’s start at the beginning.

Need for the research

Gender inequality is a pervasive issue in Cambodia, manifesting itself in daily life in the form of domestic violence, a culture of male impunity, higher suicide rates among women, limited involvement in politics and public leadership among women, and lastly, the education of Chbab Srey (“code of moral conduct for women”) in the public school system.

Chbab Srey is a traditional poem written prior to the 1860s in Cambodia’s pre-colonial era. Certain lines in Chbab Srey (translated) include:

“Remember that you are female so don’t say anything that implies that you are equal to your husband.”

“You must serve and trust your husband, don’t make him feel unsatisfied.”

Additionally, there is an insufficient amount of publically accessible data on Khmer gender issues, and none specifically exploring gender across generations.

Further, from a global perspective, studying gender is relevant as women comprise half the population and even the most developed markets still have work to do (e.g., pay equity issues in the U.S., U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015).

Given the scale of the issue, my colleagues and I were particularly drawn to exploring Cambodian gender dynamics. The aim of the study was to understand the current state of gender (in)equality in Cambodia, particularly analyzing differences across gender and generations.

Let’s talk about methodologies

We chose to conduct a survey and in-home interviews. A nationally representative survey was necessary as it was important for the findings to be projectable to the larger population. We included a qualitative component (in-home interviews) in order to unearth applications of the trends we learned from the survey research and to gain richer insight into Cambodian women’s lived experience at a personal level.

Study takeaways

At a macro level, the survey research revealed:

• Education: There’s a staggering disparity in the education gap between men and women, however, younger cohorts are quickly closing the gap (distinct divide between Cambodians under and over 30)
• Media: There’s lower internet penetration and digital device ownership among women than men, however, a sizeable and growing number of women (more than half) have access to a smart phone and/or computer
• Chbab Srey: Cambodians still support Chbab Srey, however, most acknowledge that it’s being practiced less now than in the past
• Traditional gender roles: Traditional gender roles are still the norm, however, views are slowly becoming more progressive, driven by younger women

The study made a broad array of recommendations, both relevant to Cambodia (e.g., encourage a ban on teaching women to adhere to Chbab Srey in the public school system, promote diverse role models, encourage civil participation and activism, etc.) and applications to other markets (e.g., speak out against traditional codes of conduct that persecute certain groups, encourage women to become financially independent from men, invite men into the conversation, advocate for Internet access and digital literacy, and encourage women to support each other, etc.).

While these findings isolate key gender gaps and provide suggestions for a way forward, they don’t evoke a particularly strong emotional response.

And that’s where the case study came in.

Toward the end of the study we included a case study, the story of Channa*. This allowed us to provide a real, compelling narrative about the personal journey of a rural, uneducated Cambodian woman’s rise to becoming a community thought leader and a financially independent entrepreneur through technology and non-institutionalized education. In particular, the case study demonstrated the power that digital literacy can have, especially for empowering rural, uneducated women.

The Story of Channa
How technology and informal education is changing the lives of rural, uneducated women

 

The Impact

Dissemination of the study came in two forms:

1. My colleague, Sao Layhour, and I presented the study at the 2016 ESOMAR Congress
2. A team of researchers at Kantar TNS presented the study to various Cambodian and international NGOs (e.g., Palladium, BBC Media Action, ActionAid, and RoCK Cambodia) who have a vested interest in understanding and helping women thrive

In both cases, the case study – the story of Channa – was the component that spoke to listeners/readers.

In addition to positive feedback from ESOMAR Congress attendees, the case study enabled the study’s larger survey findings to be heard among the NGO audience. We’re proud of the following outcomes of this research effort:

• One of BBC Media Action’s focuses this year is advocacy work promoting internet usage and digital literacy to galvanize employment among Cambodian women and promote economic independence. They especially found the case study inspiring for conveying the aforementioned mission and agreed with the study’s recommendation about promoting diverse role models, another of their initiatives. BBC Media Action publishes noteworthy case studies on their website and is hoping to feature “the story of Channa” from the research. In addition, they are hoping that Channa will be interested in appearing on a BBC Media Action program that showcases role models who overcame obstacles, in this case oppressive traditional values and lack of education
• ActionAid intends to use the study’s findings related to Chbab Srey, traditional values and gender-based division of labor to develop an awareness-building campaign to promote gender equality
• Palladium plans to lean on the research’s learnings surrounding female vs male decision-making in order to inform their program planning for electricity and water supply

Using cases studies to humanize quantitative findings

While the survey was more time intensive, the case study brought the study’s findings to life and inspired others into action. My best advice to organizations embarking on a research effort is to incorporate a qualitative research component (e.g., in-depth interviews, observations, in-home visits, focus groups, etc.) into quantitative studies. Doing so translates findings into something human and relatable to your audience, which in turn motivates people to act.

Because, after all, what’s the point in conducting research if it doesn’t inspire action?

• *The name of this participant has been changed to respect her privacy

By Rebecca Norris, former Research Director at Kantar TNS Cambodia

Kantar TNS Cambodia is the fastest-growing customized market and social research agency in Cambodia. Based in Phnom Penh, we lead the industry with our high standards of data collection and innovative tools that enable us to get to the heart of our client’s issues.

 

How research can help to give everyone a voice

 

Customer centricity is the core strategy of many organisations. How can we put clients at the heart of each organisation, delivering a better, more tailored and more streamlined customer experience? Often easier said than done. Especially when your client  is not a typical customer. One of the most challenging aspects of market research is to actually give everyone a voice.

Since 2013,  Beautiful Lives has worked together with Philadelphia. Philadelphia is one of the largest health care facilities in the Netherlands for people with severe mental disabilities. The vision of Philadelphia is to put its clients first. Developments in the Dutch health care landscape however show that an ongoing focus on reforms and efficiency can be at the expense of customer centricity and indeed have led to a strong focus on numbers and benchmarks. Philadelphia, however, believed that profound client understanding could reshape its care programs: built around people’s needs, rather than being gripped by incremental performance improvements.

To gain a true client perspective we realised that we had to find ways to involve the actual clients into the research. Philadelphia, a vivid supporter of the idea, asked us to start the project with their client group that shows ‘behaviour that is difficult to interpret’, which is more precise, instead of defining them as mentally disabled. It is us who have to put more effort in understanding people who behave and think differently. A true challenge for any market researcher! To accomplish this we combined several sources and methods with a main focus on making sure that we used methods that allowed clients to express their needs in an accessible manner and within a safe environment.

From the start we were fully aware of the fact that having a conversation with clients would require more than interview skills. It would require us to build relationships with people who often have difficulties trusting others, to interpret their non-verbal behaviour and sometimes to judge if clients would unintentionally get provoked. This consideration led to the choice to train Philadelphia coaches to do the client interviews. These staff members all have expertise to understand clients, but do not work with them on a daily basis. In this way we avoided that clients would not dare to share their genuine opinion because of their dependency on their care takers.

The first step in the research was the request to clients, family members and caregivers to take part in a self-directed photography task.  In this way we created a natural, participant led set up, that helps participants to feel at ease. These pictures were the start of the conversations with clients and family members; a playful, engaging  and at the same time substantial approach. The photos and the conversations helped us to understand the most important needs, even more so when it was impossible to express them in words.  We chose to talk with clients and family members in in-home settings as this is the trusted context in which they feel comfortable. It helped to put the stories and pictures in a more complete context. The Philadelphia coaches moderated the client interviews and during some interviews a researcher was present as well. In focus groups with caregivers from different care locations, we discussed their perspective on the well-being of their clients. These approaches combined with self-directed photography, provided us valuable direction and input to the interview guides and set-up for the conversations. Finally, at the end of the data collection period we joined thinking with the coaches at a series of analytical workshops. Until today they are still important ambassadors of the outcomes of the project.

The project created a new paradigm within the organisation.  Philadelphia decided to develop their complete client care program based on the output of the project.  They defined core values for the group of clients whose behaviour is difficult to interpret. These values were then translated to all of Philadelphia’s care domains (physical care, housing, day care), basically indicating how care givers should care for clients. The values are now also leading in the annual evaluation interviews with caregivers. They  provide clarity on mutual expectations to the client’s family. Also, self-directed photography became a tool that is used more often within the Philadelphia organisation, as it turned out to be a valuable way to give a voice to those who are often difficult to understand.

We are proud on the impact our work has in the Philadelphia organisation. It’s a key learning to us that if we can listen to their clients, clients all over the world, irrespective of their capabilities to express themselves, can be listened to and acted upon. This research shows that no matter how hard it is too reach out to certain groups of people, a little more effort and creativity pays!

By Gaby Siera, Maurice Palmen and Iris Aarts, Beautiful Lives

If you want to share your thoughts with us, please feel free to do so through info@beautifullives.com

How international values-based surveying provides the Global Goals community with strategic knowledge and tactics for engaging new allies.

 

WHY

On 25 September 2015, the 193 countries of the UN General Assembly convened in New York and adopted the 2030 Development Agenda. This was the beginning of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) campaign, which was supported by numerous organizations and social movements. The SDGs  encompass 169 targets summarized in 17 Global Goals. The first Goal is “No poverty”, which aims to end poverty in all its forms everywhere.

Based on World Bank figures, the world is already halfway in eradicating extreme poverty. In 1990, 1.9 billion people lived on less than $1.25 per day. By 2015, this number had dropped to 836 million, a decrease of 56%[1]. The decrease has been most impressive in South & East Asia and the Pacific Region.

The main question is to which extent the general public is aware of the steep decline in extreme poverty and how awareness can be raised. The purpose of the research project is twofold. First, we aim to contribute to a better-informed discussion on the progress in poverty alleviation in order to help generate momentum for the SDGs campaign. Second, we seek to identify and profile promising groups in society – the frontrunners – which can assist the SDGs campaign in engaging more people globally. Values-based surveying makes it possible to identify frontrunners around the globe, understand who they are, what motivates them and what kinds of narratives the Global Goals  community (mainly governments, charities and involved companies) can use to resonate with the frontrunners and possibly turn them into ambassadors of change.

Motivaction International conducted the second Glocalities survey in 24 countries among the general public. In the syndicated survey various questions on poverty and the SDGs were included. The outcomes show that 87% of people around the world are unaware of the steep decrease in extreme poverty, believing instead that global poverty has either stayed the same or increased over the past 20 years. Only 1% of people across the globe actually know that extreme poverty has halved, as is the case based on the World Bank figures.

The huge discrepancy between people’s perceptions and reality indicates major challenges in efficiently communicating progress in the fight against extreme poverty.

HOW

The research was set up by Motivaction International and took place between December 2015 and February 2016 in two phases. Motivaction worked closely together with international fieldwork partners SSI and Lightspeed GMI.

In the first phase of the survey, 56,409 respondents from 24 countries participated[2]. In this phase the questions that we use for building the values based models and instruments were incorporated. The questions about the SDGs and poverty were posed during the second phase of the project, in which 26,492 re-contacted people from the first phase completed a follow-up questionnaire

The Glocalities database contains more than 2,500 variables covering a wide spectrum of people’s lives, values, preferences and behaviors. When analyzing data, we employed triangulation – using multiple instruments – in order to validate findings and offer robust insights. We used the following tools in the analyses:

• Trends and values: These are statements describing sociocultural phenomena in society that influence people’s behavior and choices profoundly. We integrated a set of 38 trends that are internationally active and 50 everyday life values statements.
• Values cards: 48 visual representations of fundamental human values, based on values inventories from the work of social psychologist Milton Rokeach and cross-cultural researcher Shalom Schwartz. The usefulness of the cards lies in the fact that they activate an additional sense of the respondents – their vision – in order to ‘map’ their values profile.
• Archetypes: Narrative techniques to express the core message in ways that tap into universal feelings and instincts among people. In this way, organizations and brands can have a better positioning and maximize the fit between the values and messages that they want to express and the storylines that resonate with people.

Preparing, writing and releasing the report was a journey in itself. Due to the aim of the project to have impact and raise awareness, we asked several experts from academia, governmental bodies and the charitable community to contribute to the report by giving feedback and advice. The experts consulted include among others Jan Peter Balkenende, former Dutch Prime Minister, Karel van Oosterom, the Dutch Representative at the United Nations in New York, Herman Wijffels , Professor of Sustainability and Social Change at Utrecht University, Matt Grainger, Head of Media at Oxfam International and Michael Sheldrick, Advocacy Director at The Global Poverty Project / Global Citizen. The survey was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We released the report in partnership with Oxfam International and Global Citizen with the objective to help shape anti-poverty work.

The report was launched in New York on 22 September 2016 on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Global Goals. The findings were presented to a highly motivated group of young activists from across the globe, in cooperation with Global Citizen. The full report, the press release and an animated movie clip with the outcomes can be downloaded at http://www.glocalities.com/news/poverty.

WHAT

The findings in the report are valuable for the charitable community in several ways. First the results make clear that the vast majority of people around the world believe that global poverty has either stayed the same or gotten worse over the past 20 years, when the exact opposite is true: it has more than halved. The scale of pessimism and misunderstanding could threaten the tough job of pulling “the second billion” out of extreme poverty.

Oxfam Campaigns Director Steve Price-Thomas said in the press release of the report:

“The halving of global poverty is the biggest unsung success story in recent human history. The achievement shows what is possible – but also highlights what remains to be done. We still have a long way to go and need public energy now more than ever. The success could start to reverse quickly if we don’t tackle with equal passion the rise of inequality and abuses driven by conflict, land grabs and climate change.”

Global Citizens advocacy Director Michael Sheldrick said:

“These findings bear out the fact that more of our supporters are coming from countries where great transformation or high economic growth are taking place. For example, in the top 10 countries represented on one of our Facebook channels, among the 156,000 followers are from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, The Philippines and Kenya. The key is now providing those who believe their actions can make a difference with a way to get involved and to help, including by raising awareness amongst other parts of the public.”

Martijn Lampert, Research Director Glocalities said:

‘’Now we are half way to eradicating poverty, it is time for more enhanced public engagement strategies to help finish the job’’.

People’s opinions and knowledge about the developments with respect to extreme poverty differ depending on who and where they are, what they do and what they believe in. The report proposes smarter new ways for governments, donors and NGOs to engage different people in different countries.

The research resulted in a clearly-defined profile of the frontrunners (full description can be found in the report). For example, these people often already occupy influential positions in society, leadership and the business community. However, in order to gain the highest leverage and really make a difference, it is imperative to promote initiatives that are proven effective. Most importantly, the analyses reveal that storylines and frames which have a strong fit with the ‘ruler’ archetype (setting goals and working towards realizing them) are appealing  among the frontrunners, while people from the charitable community more naturally resonate with storylines conforming to the ’caregiver’ archetype.

Secondly, information about the frontrunners’ lifestyle and media usage was included, which allows identifying promising channels for communications. We recommend, for example, to start with launching a collaborative platform for the Global Goals.

The creative communications material below this blogpost (an animated movie clip and a shareable infographic developed by Motivaction) contributed to the sharing of the findings by the partners.

Motivaction shared the report with the executive office of the Secretary General of the United Nations and the Special Adviser on the 2030 Agenda. With the help of Oxfam and its local affiliates the report was covered by Reuters and newspapers around the world. Examples of publications include:

• USA – The New York Times – The best news you don’t know
• Australia – Probono Australia – Most Australians Have No Idea Extreme Poverty Has Halved
• Croatia – Nacional – Pesimizam zbog prijetnji globalnog siromaštva usporava napore za pomoć
• United Kingdom – Thomson Reuters Foundation – Pessimism over global poverty threatens to stall efforts to help – report
• France – Libération – Pourquoi l’extrême pauvreté recule-t-elle dans le monde?
• Germany – Der Westen – Mehr als jeder Siebte in Deutschland von Armut betroffen
• Indonesia – Kabar24 – Sikap Pesimis Masyarakat Hambat Penanggulangan Kemiskinan
• Spain – Noroeste Madrid – El pesimismo y la confusión socavan la lucha contra la pobreza

The New York Times column by Nicholas Kristof, which was inspired by our survey findings, caught the attention of Bill Gates, who posted a the following tweet about the topic: Bill Gates.

[1] http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2015_MDG_Report/pdf/MDG%202015%20rev%20(July%201).pdf

[2] Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, South Korea,  Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States

For more information about the survey: www.glocalities.com/poverty

 

 

 

 

By Martijn Lampert, Research Director Glocalities at Motivaction International, and Panos Papadongonas, Researcher Glocalities at Motivaction International

 

 

Social research addressing burning issues in society can help millions of families live better WHY? According to Porter & Kramer in Strategy & Society, Businesses need good societies and societies need good businesses. In agreement with the concept, TITA Research considers the commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) an important part of the corporate mission. CSR not only makes the world better but will also make the company more sustainable. TITA Research annually performs four CSR programs, one of which is “One is greater than one million”. There are many ways to make the world better. One of the most popular is donation. A sweater helps a person keep warm. A meal helps save a person from hunger or a house accommodates a family. In general, donation is a good way to share something from your heart. However, only an attempt from a Market Research Company to carry out social research to address burning issues in society can help millions of families live better. That is the Meaning of One is greater than One Million Concept. “One is greater than one million”, initiated in 2014 with a project focused on teenagers to help parents and sociologists gain a better understanding on the situation of young people in big cities of Vietnam, thereby offering solutions to help parents to narrow the gap with their children. In 2016, facing the rapid alarm about the horribly increasing rate of unhappy family and divorce rates in Vietnam in the last decade, and pursuant to judicial statistics mentioning 40% of marriages ended in divorce (double comparing to 1998)*, we decided to conduct the project “Happy Family” with the purpose of studying the root of potential risks causing family break, then coordinate with social organizations to bring solutions to strengthen the nest of family happiness. *http://phununews.vn/qua-bom-ly-hon-tang-chong-mat-va-trach-nhiem-cua-dan-ong-viet-75205.html

HOW?  In order to provide a thorough understanding about the family, three key approaches wereintegrated into the research.  In phase 1, we used Desk research to explore the general background about Vietnamese families and the issues mentioned frequently by families and society. Phase 2 Qualitative, it also included 2 stages: we conducted in-depth interview with expert family counselors and famous journalists in family life to identify important matters affecting married couples in Vietnam families and Focus group discussions with married adults sought insights that explained the behavior and attitudes occurring in the daily behavior of Vietnamese couples. Besides that the results helped in the development of the questionnaire for the next stage of quantitative effectiveness. In Phase 3 Quantitative, we randomly interviewed 400 married adults in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. The study offered a comfortable feeling to respondents to answer all questions accurately by combining face-to-face interviews at home with self-administration of sensitive information.  The project was conducted with traditional methods like face-to-face interviews aiming at obtaining the best representation of all urban families in Vietnam.

WHAT? The study found out a lot of insightful findings as follow: Having the first child marks a strong reduction in satisfaction in married life because parents study about how to bring up a baby, but not on psychology, biology for the couple themselves. In addition, there are just few courses on the topic available for parents. Therefore, many parents don’t have enough knowledge to manage themselves and make their spouse happy. So, communicate to newlywed couples that the stage of having the first child is really a very big event in the marriage with consequences. They should together become well prepared. In addition, more special training courses should be made available for this special stage. Normal families (those who do not claim they are happy) gradually share less chores and show less concern compared with happy families. So, the increased habit of displaying love to spouse every day by words and actions will make family full of joy and happiness. Whoever resolves disagreements by facing issues and finding solutions or takes their spouse for granted will feel more comfortable and happier in the family. In order to gain a peaceful atmosphere in the family, parents should learn how to resolve conflict. On the other hands, NGOs newspapers should increase education and communication about the basic differences between males and females. Sex life largely impacts family happiness. Happy couples are more open in sharing, talking with the spouse about the issue, more considerate about their spouse so that both have real satisfaction. Rate of reaching orgasm about six out of ten times. Key barriers preventing from reaching orgasm are tension, lack of concentration, not enough foreplay or lack of sensitivity. With a thorough approach, insightful findings and value for society, the project gained a lot of support from media agencies: e.g. A seminar was organized by Women newspaper, 2 TV stations reported news about the seminar, more than 15 newspapers posted articles to educate and guide couples on how to build a happy family. In addition, a  number of Churches integrated findings in Pre-married courses. TITA Research starts the ball rolling by conducting research to understand root causes which impact family happiness. However, to make the project successful and beneficial for millions of people, we wish to amplify NGOs cooperation as well as organize training courses for couples. That is the practical way to help families be happier and make the world better. By Phan Quang Thinh, Managing Director, TITA Research Vietnam Full report available at  www.titaresearch.com.vn