If the last few years taught us anything in the business world, it’s to expect the unexpected and that change happens fast. Prior to 2020 the world was already on an accelerated change course with technology. Now it seems many of our systems and tools are bursting at the seams with new challenges.
The most resilient and successful organizations aren’t the ones trying to keep pace or reacting to change, they are the ones creating it. To be a changemaker in an already constant state of change, is difficult but simple: always be learning.
Whether part of an organization with resources dedicated to the craft of learning, such as researchers, analysts, and data scientists, or part of an organization that might not have those resources, but you still face complex and challenging problems, learning is more of a lifelong journey for the modern workforce than ever before.
If the last few years taught us anything in the business world, it’s to expect the unexpected and that change happens fast. Prior to 2020 the world was already on an accelerated change course with technology. Now it seems many of our systems and tools are bursting at the seams with new challenges.
The most resilient and successful organizations aren’t the ones trying to keep pace or reacting to change, they are the ones creating it. To be a changemaker in an already constant state of change, is difficult but simple: always be learning.
Whether part of an organization with resources dedicated to the craft of learning, such as researchers, analysts, and data scientists, or part of an organization that might not have those resources, but you still face complex and challenging problems, learning is more of a lifelong journey for the modern workforce than ever before.
About This Guide
This All-in-One Guide to Research Enablement offers an in-depth look at the emerging role of collaborative research inside organizations, institutions, and even governments.
The guide explains how learning and research techniques give organizations a competitive advantage and how research shapes faster, sustainable innovation. We’ll share a new 5-part framework to discover the key components of research enablement. You’ll also find real world examples and practical tips to launch or nurture a research enablement function in your organization.
Beyond the Guide
This guide discusses the category of research enablement. However because this guide goes wide to build a broad understanding of research enablement, there are many topics here that can be explored in much more depth.
Check out our blog, workshops, and sign up for Notably to receive a weekly newsletter that covers topics such as research enablement, research methods and best practices, and tools to help you and your team do better, faster research.
Understanding Research & Research Enablement with the 5 Cs Framework
Research is a key component of innovation across industries. For the purposes of this guide we will be focusing on qualitative research, a special type of research that focuses on how people interpret and make sense of the social world, including elements like conversations, emotions, observations, and behaviors. These elements are often discovered and tracked through methods and techniques like 1:1 interviews, focus groups, usability tests, surveys, diary studies, and more.
The insights gleaned from research can drastically change the way organizations make decisions, prioritize their resources, and build solutions. Teams who leverage research are less likely to make costly mistakes, have better cultures, and are more likely to build solutions with the human experience in mind.
Organizations that don’t do research are at a disadvantage. They are forced to take guesses. They understand less about their customers. The decisions and investments they make involve more risk and teams are misaligned about priorities and the overall direction of the organization.
Thanks to the generations of researchers who have come before us and the advent of new tools, it’s easier than ever for organizations to incorporate research into their process. In this chapter we introduce research, why organizations need to invest in research abilities, and a brief introduction to a 5-part framework, the 5 C’s, that outline the key components of research enablement that will be discussed in more detail throughout this guide.
Research in the modern world
When I tell people, like my mom, that we build software for researchers at Notably, she thinks of white lab coats and pouring neon colored liquids into flasks to watch them bubble. And yes, research is that. But in today’s world of complexity and nuance, research has become so much more. Research isn’t just a specialized role for the few, but a practical skill for the many to understand, appreciate, and practice in varying degrees.
On the global level research represents a $400 billion industry that spans across product research, market research, clinical research, and academic research. Research is proven to improve business outcomes and accelerate the rate of innovation. According to this report published by McKinsey, organizations that leveraged research-centric design increased revenue and shareholder returns at nearly twice the rate of their industry counterparts.
We don’t have to look far beyond the zeitgeist to see the impact of research (or its absence) in the headlines and our everyday lives. Some recent and notable product failures come to mind, for example the short-lived streaming services like Quibi or CNN+. Despite hundreds of millions of dollars in investment both products failed in less than a year when executives realized they built solutions no one wanted or asked for.
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What is research? Why does it matter?
As a society we impress upon children the value of dedicated learning. We structure their lives around education. We teach them. We test them. We measure their progress.
And then as adults the process of learning gets muddled. Many of us enter careers where our perceived knowledge and skills are intertwined with our identity, self worth, compensation, and influence.
It takes courage to say, “I don’t know” and it takes research skills and confidence to follow on with, “.. but let’s find out.” Research is the means to a “let’s find out” end.
We have broken this guide into a framework we call, The 5 C’s of Research Enablement. That includes: Continuous Research, Collaborative Research, Centralized Research, Cumulative Research and Cultural Research.
Each section of this guide breaks down one of the 5 C’s of Research Enablement, the role it plays, some practical tips and how Notably can be used as a Research Enablement Platform.
Here is a brief overview of each section:
- Continuous Research: Continuous research is a learning strategy that enables research teams to collect real-time data over time. This is done throughout the development of a product or service. It allows teams to better track and understand user behavior and improve their designs. At the same time, it uncovers new insights into customer needs. Plus, you can take your research practice to a completely new level by combining both one-off studies with the learnings from continuous research.
- Collaborative Research: Collaborative research is a process of collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing research from multiple researchers within an organization, as well as stakeholders. Collaborative research, sometimes referred to as Action Research, seeks to include stakeholders in an empowering way to inspire action as a direct result of research findings.
- Centralized Research: Centralized research is a strategy of handling research data by creating one single source for your entire org’s data to be stored in. When there are hundreds or thousands of data sources being gathered globally, having one book of truth for research data to be stored helps teams collaborate quickly and more efficiently. Plus, having historical research stored in the same place, opens up the opportunity to build on past research, discover new patterns, and extend the shelf life of research investments.
- Cumulative Research: Cumulative research is an invaluable tool for industry experts who need to stay abreast of the latest developments in their field. By incorporating cumulative research into workflows, researchers can also garner better results, faster. They can also bridge gaps in knowledge with increased confidence. By applying a cumulative learning lens to research, researchers utilize previously acquired information to enable better understanding and application of incoming new knowledge. It involves taking what was learned in the past, reflecting on it, and then using it as a basis for new research.
- Cultural Research: Research has become an integral tool for accelerating learning and improving skills. Positive research culture also results in better research enablement and motivates researchers to create a bigger impact. By striving to foster a research culture that makes everyone feel valued, organizations ultimately generate new ideas, improve research skills, and achieve better business outcomes.
Brittany Fuller
Brittany is the co-founder and CEO at Notably.
