ESOMAR Foundation announced today it had awarded its last 2014 Local Initiatives Programme grant to Italian local charity C.I.R. (Italian Council for Refugees). The grant, worth a minimum of €5000 has been earmarked to support organisation’s awareness-raising activities of the challenges facing refugees moving from Africa to the coasts of Italy.
ESOMAR Foundation’s Day-to-Day Delegate Kim L. Smouter commented, “We are delighted to be able to support the work of charities that are at the frontline of welcoming those most desperate to flee war-torn countries where their lives are at risk.”
ESOMAR Foundation, founded in 2013, is the foundation of the market, social, and opinion research sector channelling the expertise and resources of the sector to achieve social good. Through its funding programmes, the ESOMAR Foundation supports researcher families facing emergency situations, access to education on market, social, and opinion research, charities, and the philanthropic sector.
The Consiglio Italiano per i Rifugiati (CIR) (Italian Council for Refugees) is a nonprofit and nongovernmental organization, formed in 1990 with the support of UNHCR. Since its founding, CIR has provided direct services to over 100,000 individuals, among which legal, psychological, medical, and social assistance, including housing and work integration assistance.
This aligns fully with the objectives of ESOMAR Foundation’s Local Initiatives Programme, which supports local charitable activities to continue to be the champions of social change in their countries. The programme is open to local charities operating in countries where sister society ESOMAR organises its major regional and global events throughout the year.
Both ESOMAR Foundation and C.I.R are delighted to be able to provide additional capacity to support international refugees arriving in Italy. Both organisations will be communicating the achievements of the project in the hopes of inspiring further support to the programmes of C.I.R.
ESOMAR Foundation announced today it had awarded its fourth 2014 Local Initiatives Programme grant to French charity Clowns Sans Frontiers. The grant, worth a minimum of €5000 has been earmarked to support psycho social research into the clowns effect on children suffering from PTSD. The research will take place in Chad
ESOMAR Foundation’s President Gunilla Broadbent commented, “2014 has so far been a very interesting and exciting year for the foundation and we are very pleased to be able to give this grant to CSF, especially since the money will be used to do some research into a very “under researched” topic, trying to understand PTSD better
ESOMAR Foundation, founded in 2013, is the foundation of the market, social, and opinion research sector channelling the expertise and resources of the sector to achieve social good. Through its funding programmes, the ESOMAR Foundation supports researcher families facing emergency situations, access to education on market, social, and opinion research, charities, and the philanthropic sector.
Clowns Sans Frontier’s Project Co-ordinator Sebastien Bris commented “We thank the French market research community for nominating us for this grant. The money will go toward psychosocial research in Chad, which is a new project, aimed at helping central African refuges. ”
Clowns Without Borders organisations are unique and dedicated to performing arts in areas of crisis. Artists and project leaders work in partnerships with INGOs, Local NGOs, UN agencies, researchers to imagine new approaches and new methodolgies. Every project is specific and artists have to improve, create and innovate all the time to answer partner needs.
This aligns fully with the objectives of ESOMAR Foundation’s Local Initiatives Programme, which supports local charitable activities to continue to be the champions of social change in their countries. The programme is open to local charities operating in countries where sister society ESOMAR organises its major regional and global events throughout the year.
Both ESOMAR Foundation and Clowns Sans Frontiers are delighted to be able to provide additional capacity to the research project. Both organisations will be communicating the achievements of the project in the hopes of inspiring further support to the programmes of Clowns Sans Frontiers.
Pravin Shekar, Treasurer of ESOMAR, is a passionate supporter of the ESOMAR Foundation’s drive to enable the potential of market, social, and opinion researchers to achieve social good.
To prove it, last year, Pravin organised a 1000km bike-a-thon which raised the ESOMAR Foundation’s first EUR 1000 donation enabling it to fund half-a-dozen deserving charities throughout the world.
This year, Pravin Shekar is participating in a 50k Ultra run in support of the ESOMAR Foundation’s planned programmes in 2015. An ultra is any run beyond a ‘marathon’ distance of 42.2k.
Help us to continue to support local charities throughout the world to achieve their social aims. Help us to provide support to research families in need.
Empower us to support social projects of market, social, and opinion researchers, to provide access to affordable basic training on market, social, and opinion researcher and support us to bridge the worlds of market research and the philanthropic sector.
Support Pravin Shekar and through Pravin, support our vision for a better future for all of us.
ESOMAR Foundation announced today that it has awarded its first capacity building grant to the MMSA. The grant, worth a minimum of €3000, is being used to fund a 5 day training workshop alongside MMSA in Myanmar. The objective of the grant is to share market research knowledge from all over the world with researchers in Myanmar.
ESOMAR Foundation’s President Gunilla Broadbent commented, “We are very grateful to be able to help the Myanmar market, social and opinion research industry gain access to training and education. None of this would be possible without our volunteers from all over the world and the incredible dedication of the team at MMSA.”
ESOMAR Foundation, founded in 2013, is the Foundation of the market, social, and opinion research sector channeling the expertise and resources of the sector to achieve social good. Through its funding programmes, the ESOMAR Foundation supports researcher families facing emergency situations, access to education on market, social, and opinion research, charities, and the philanthropic sector.
MMSA President Anna Khin Khin Kyawt commented “In my 23rd year of being an industry leader in Myanmar, I have seen many
firsts. I am so proud to be hosting this first ESOMAR Foundation training event and to have brought this in partnership with the ESOMAR Foundation to our market. Our market researchers really need this training for the quality of the profession, I am delighted to support the initiative.”
Myanmar Marketing Services Association (MMSA) is the key industry grouping of local companies and agencies involved in the Myanmar marketing sector for decades. Its core aim is to build the main platform for local organizations to share knowledge, expertise and in-depth understanding of the Myanmar market and its consumers.
This aligns fully with the objectives of ESOMAR Foundation’s Education Programme, which supports innovative projects that break down barriers and give a chance to the current and future generations of market researchers coming from all walks of life.
Both ESOMAR Foundation and the MMSA would like to thank the 4 volunteers who have given so generously of their time to make the training a reality – Anna Thomas, Silvina Neder, Anagha Kanhere and Phyllis Macfarlane.
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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Kim Smouter at +31-20-589-7818 or email at info@esomarfoundation.net.
ESOMAR Foundation announced today that it has awarded its third 2014 “Local Initiatives Programme” grant to Swedish charity New Hope. The grant, worth a minimum of €5000 has been earmarked to support the basic education programmes for one year of the PEFAN Centre in Addis Adaba.
ESOMAR Foundation’s President Gunilla Broadbent commented, “It gives me great pleasure to hand over this grant to New Hope. Helping to support education of young people is at the heart of our mission”
ESOMAR Foundation, founded in 2013, is the foundation of the market, social, and opinion research community channelling the expertise and resources of the sector to achieve social good. Through its funding programmes, the ESOMAR Foundation supports researcher’s families facing emergency situations, access to education in market, social, and opinion research, local charities, and the philanthropic sector.
New Hope’s President Elisabet Lanz commented “We are very happy and proud to receive this grant! It means a lot for New Hope and now 25 children at the PEFAN center in Addis will be able to go to school for another year!”
Initially financed by the travel industry, New Hope, each year finances up to 15 different projects around the world. New Hope has no salaried employees and relies solely on volunteers, guaranteeing a high degree of involvement and low overheads. New Hope’s projects range from supporting schools, health clinics or children’s homes to provide food, shelter, or education for children
The ESOMAR Foundation’s programme is open to local charities operating in countries where sister society ESOMAR organises its major regional and global events throughout the year.
ESOMAR Foundation President, Gunilla Broadbent commented, “It gives me great pleasure to be giving this grant to Fundacion Tzedaka, a charity that fits very well with the ESOMAR Foundation’s mission. The ESOMAR Foundation is a very young foundation and this is only the second grant we have awarded. More local charities have the opportunity of being selected for a grant in countries where ESOMAR is having an event.”
ESOMAR Foundation, founded in 2013, is the foundation of the market, social, and opinion research sector channelling the expertise and resources of the sector to achieve social good. Through its funding programmes, the ESOMAR Foundation supports researcher families facing emergency situations, access to education on market, social, and opinion research, charities, and the philanthropic sector.
Fundación Tzedaká President, Damian Mindlin commented, “This award is enormously important for our Foundation. We are grateful that ESOMAR Foundation selected us, turning into a partner with whom we can make possible that vulnerable youths in Argentina get an opportunity in their lives.”
The grant will support activities aiming to achieve a series of specific goals including enabling university and tertiary studies completion; contributing to better insertion of young adults living in poverty into the job market; and fostering the social commitment of young adults, particularly women, to the values of solidarity and social justice.
This aligns fully with the objectives of ESOMAR Foundation’s Local Initiatives Programme, which supports local charitable activities to continue to be the champions of social change in their countries. The programme is open to local charities operating in countries where sister society ESOMAR organises its major regional and global events throughout the year.
The everyday market, social and opinion research professionals and agencies are working hand-in-hand with the non-profit sector to maximise the impact of donations and funding on charitable causes throughout the world. ESOMAR Foundation’s Philanthropy programme provides access to inspiring case studies of how the market, social, and opinion research expertise supports concrete projects. You can always contact us if you are interested in securing a partnership with the market, social, and opinion research sector.
LEGALLY BROWN
Using popular culture to overcome dangerous sun exposure behaviour among teens
This paper was first presented at the ESOMAR Global Healthcare event in 2010
AUTHORS
Ainslie Williams
Sofia Khayech
PREFACE
While a serious health issue, getting sunburnt is legal. In fact, it’s probably the least morally wrong of all issues facing teens in Australia today.
This is a case study on how leveraging components of pop culture attractive to teens can not only produce a better research process but solid insights and strategic direction for youth focussed health campaigns.
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever tried to protect a sandcastle against a rising tide? Or swim against a rip in the ocean?
How can you stop something that’s natural? Something that is so a part of an everyday life where the odds are clearly stacked against you because there are bigger forces at play?
There is no denying that as an industry health care research provides great challenges to qualitative researchers. It’s fraught with sensitive and illegal topics but challenges can come from other directions. What about a legal behaviour that is ingrained in Australian society, the results of which form a significant thread in the national identity yet has long term ramifications?
The behaviour is suntanning. The results are tanned skin and the high risk of acquiring skin cancer – something that is almost preventable1) in a country that has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world.
Everyday market, social and opinion research professionals and agencies are working hand-in-hand with the non-profit sector to maximise the impact of donations and funding on charitable causes throughout the world. ESOMAR Foundation’s Philanthropy programme provides access to inspiring case studies of how market, social, and opinion research expertise supports concrete projects. You can always contact us if you are interested in securing a partnership with the market, social, and opinion research sector.
RESEARCHING THE UNRESEARCHABLE
How research helped samaritans in their campaign to reduce suicide
This paper was first presented at the ESOMAR Qualitative event in 2011
AUTHORS
Nick Johnson Nicola Peckett
INTRODUCTION
The World Health Organisation estimates that around one million people die by suicide every year. In the United Kingdom, 6,000 people take their own lives every year, and 4,000 of them are men.
Of those 6,000, more than 200 kill themselves on the railways. Contrary to popular belief, most do not jump off a platform. In fact, 63% chose to die on what is known as ‘open track’, miles from the nearest station. No one really know their reasons for choosing these locations, perhaps it is to ensure they aren’t talked out of it at the last minute; perhaps also because the trains will be travelling at high speed so death is more guaranteed.
Thanks to painstaking work by Samaritans, Network Rail and the British Transport Police, we know a little bit about the sort of people who kill themselves in this way. They tend to be men, 90% are white, and there is a peak around 30-50 years of age. Only 21% were in full-time employment. They worked mainly in heavy manual jobs. Forty-two percent had a history of mental health problems.
In January 2010, Samaritans and Network Rail launched a five-year joint partnership to reduce suicides on the railways. One key element of the initiative was an ad campaign aimed at reaching the sort of man in his 30s, 40s or 50s who fit the rail suicide profile.
Since 63% of those who had died by suicide last year did so away from stations, the campaign had to work within the local community – reaching these men long before they made their final journey to the railway track. We had also found out that the railway suicide profile mirrored that of the person most likely to take their own life by any method. Therefore Network Rail accepted their wider corporate social responsibility role and allowed Samaritans to broaden the campaign beyond the station environment.
The ad campaign needed to get more of these men to call Samaritans and to start talking. Anecdotally it was believed that the target audience for the ads would probably be very resistant to calling Samaritans or, for that matter, any form of discussing their problems or emotions openly. This meant that any advertising would have to be very careful in the way it sought to engage with these men. The campaign wouldn’t have a big media spend behind it, so it also had to be very hard-hitting.
Working closely with Samaritans, their creative agency Arthur London, and Samaritans’ Trustee, Stephen Platt, Professor of Health Policy Research at Edinburgh University, we identified key areas where we might find the sort of men who fit the profile:
the Pollok estate in Glasgow
the area around the former Redcar Steelworks in Middleborough
Romford in the east of London
Solihull in the Midlands.
Our intention was to talk to these men, trying to understand a little bit about their lives and carefully exploring how they reacted to the planned advertising and how they thought it would go down in their local communities. In our first round of research, we selected Glasgow and Middleborough, speaking to a total of 10 men (five per location).
Data from the British Transport Police (BTP) also indicated that many men who killed themselves on the railways had previously been picked up by the BTP for trespassing on Network Rail property. This indicated that BTP officers would
ESOMAR Foundation announced today it had awarded its second 2014 Local Initiatives Programme grant to Indonesian local charity Bali Kids. The grant, of €5200 has been earmarked to support the Bali Kids’ medical programmes helping increase access to medical care for disadvantaged children.
ESOMAR Foundation’s Delegate for Day to Day Management, Kim Smouter commented, “As our second beneficiary from Asia, we are extremely pleased to be able to support a charity to significantly increase the medical care it provides to young, disadvantaged children. Bali Kids join a wonderful list of beneficiaries and we are excited to see the results from the operating grant.”
ESOMAR Foundation, founded in 2013, is the foundation of the market, social, and opinion research sector channelling the expertise and resources of the sector to achieve social good. Through its funding programmes, the ESOMAR Foundation supports researcher families facing emergency situations, access to education on market, social, and opinion research, charities, and the philanthropic sector.
Bali Kids’ managing director Nyoman Kusala commented “Education and health is a wonderful gift to give children.”
Bali Kids opened in April 2005. The project provides a clean, safe environment for orphans requiring special care. The centre is open to any children registered in Bali’s orphanages who need medical attention. Children from the local village projects, whose family hold a ‘poor family card’, can also receive free treatment and care. The grant will providing financing towards a new medical team composed of a doctor, nurse, and a driver for a year.
This aligns fully with the objectives of ESOMAR Foundation’s Local Initiatives Programme, which supports local charitable activities to continue to be the champions of social change in their countries. The programme is open to local charities operating in countries where sister society ESOMAR organises its major regional and global events throughout the year.
Both ESOMAR Foundation and Bali Kids are delighted to be able to provide a broader medical care service offering for children. Both organisations will be communicating the achievements of the project in the hopes of inspiring further support to the programmes of Bali Kids.
There are certain countries in the world where access to even the most basic research training can be extremely difficult. The ESOMAR Foundation is hoping to launch its first training programme in Myanmar to help deal with the lack of training opportunities in the country.
Read this article from Research World November/December 2013 o learn more about research in Myanmar
Mingalabar Myanmar! By Marita Schimpl
What comes to mind when you think of Myanmar?
Nowadays, most people might say Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Foreign investors, many of whom are still not sure if the country is called Myanmar or Burma, may praise the huge untapped market potential since 55-60 million locals are hoping to finally improve their standard of living by owning a refrigerator or the latest digital gadget.
But how do you market a brand that is well known globally but often unknown to Myanmar’s consumers?
Experience Myanmar yourself!
Any visitor to Yangon, the country’s largest city (with a population of six million), can breathe in the optimism of change. Electronic shops burst with the latest home appliances or TVs. Local hipsters sit in modern-style coffee shops drinking iced lattes and showing off their latest smartphones or iPads. More and more young people have traded their longyis for skinny jeans. Urban women would rather use Western make-up when going out than decorate their faces with thanaka (a yellowish-white cosmetic paste made from ground bark).
On the surface, Yangon may appear to be changing quickly. However, to understand the values, needs and traditions that are still determining local lives, one has to look behind the few familiar signs of global culture. We are quick to compare Myanmar with what we know: we may think or expect Myanmar to be like Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam.
In fact, there are 135 officially recognised ethnic groups in Myanmar; 70% are Burmese. That is why the country is called Myanmar – to include other ethnic groups as well. Those ethnic groups have their own distinct traditions and languages. Not all speak Burmese (the ‘official’ language).
Demand for local research is growing
Most people are surprised when they hear that Myanmar is not a white spot on the global research map. In fact, we have the Myanmar Research Association, which has the biggest local, privately owned research agencies under its belt. Global agencies have also recently set up shop.
One needs to remember that international companies operated in Myanmar until the late 90s/early 2000s. Therefore, market and social research is not a new discipline in a country that got off economic sanctions a year and a half ago.
In this picture taken on August 17, 2012 Myanmar farmers collect paddy seedlings from flooded fields to replant in Ayeyawaddy Division of Myanmar outside Yangon. Recent heavy rains have flooded thousands of acres of paddy fields as seasonal monsoon rains hit the Ayeyawaddy delta region. AFP PHOTO/Ye Aung Thu
What can I expect?
Conductingqualitative research in Myanmar is similar to the process in other Asian countries. Focus groups, home visits, shop-alongs, diaries, ethnographic approaches – they are all there. Make sure you recruit extraverted, creative respondents, and you will be amazed how openly they discuss most topics.
However, there are a few things you need to consider when running quantitative research, because infrastructure is a big issue:
Telephone and internet penetration is way too low to use online research tools or CATI for data collection. Those methods may be used for special urban target groups only. Due to very slow internet connections, it is almost impossible to upload or download videos or do data entry online.
All interviews are conducted face to face with PAPI, so studies may take six to 12 weeks, depending on the sample size; travel to remote areas can be slow due to bad roads; printing a few thousand questionnaires takes a few days; and fieldwork updates can’t be done daily, as interviewers may be in areas without any reliable telephone or internet connection. Be sure that there are no weddings or religious ceremonies going on when you want to do fieldwork in a village, as you won’t find anybody home. Everyone attends!
Depending on the topic of the research, one needs to get the permission of central and/or local authorities. If the fieldwork is conducted outside the urban centres of Yangon and Mandalay, it is a good idea to inform local authorities. Clients need to understand this and show flexibility.
The last national census was conducted in 1983, meaning there is no reliable data on population structures that could be used for weighting any sample. The next census will be conducted in 2014. Until then, we don’t even know the exact population size of the country with 100% certainty.
None of these points should put you off, as projects run smoothly in Myanmar.
Come out yourself, and you will experience very friendly locals who have not been influenced by global consumer culture on a big scale (yet). Try to learn at least one word and people will greet you with a big smile: Mingalabar (Hello).
Author: Marita Schimpl is head of market research at Myanmar Survey Research and ESOMAR country representative for Myanmar
The Consiglio Italiano per i Rifugiati (CIR) (Italian Council for Refugees) is a nonprofit and nongovernmental organization, formed in 1990 with the support of UNHCR. Since its founding, CIR has provided direct services to over 100,000 individuals, among which legal, psychological, medical, and social assistance, including housing and work integration assistance.
Empower us to support social projects of market, social, and opinion researchers, to provide access to affordable basic training on market, social, and opinion researcher and support us to bridge the worlds of market research and the philanthropic sector.
MMSA President Anna Khin Khin Kyawt commented “In my 23rd year of being an industry leader in Myanmar, I have seen many
Both ESOMAR Foundation and the MMSA would like to thank the 4 volunteers who have given so generously of their time to make the training a reality – Anna Thomas, Silvina Neder, Anagha Kanhere and Phyllis Macfarlane.
