Indigenous Research in the Public Sector

At Decision Point Research, we are proud of our ability to conduct market research from difficult-to-reach audiences. Whether our client is looking for insight into a small population of people, or a hard-to-access community, we make sure that we’re able to provide enough results for accurate and helpful research.

The Situation

Our client, a Public Sector Employers Association, wished to create discussion groups responding to important issues in Indigenous communities. They were searching for a good representation of people from across the country, covering urban, suburban, and rural regions. This project required people who were not seasoned responders (i.e., no participation in research studies within the last six months). Our client was looking for people of various age ranges and genders with diverse incomes and education.

Challenges and Solutions

The main challenge of this campaign was finding enough members of the niche audience to participate. Indigenous communities form a significant portion of the population but it can be a challenge to gather information from.

Some are concentrated in specific geographical regions or don’t have as much representation in some urban areas. In some situations, people are not familiar with research studies or aren’t interested in participating.

We used our current database of members to begin research. We took referrals from these members to connect with more participants in the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities across the country.

Our experience in conducting research in rural Canada allowed us to have the specific knowledge to know how to find this niche group. Participating in random phone sample dialling gathered interest and allowed us to sign up more members for the discussion groups.

Targeted social media campaigns were used to gather a younger demographic’s input into the discussion, and posters and local community outreach gathered other members who were interested in being heard.

Results

While recruitment took longer than expected, our team was able to gather responders of the exact group our client was looking for. From our recruitment practices, we gathered a near 88% show rate, ensuring our client was able to get a complete view of the community and their thoughts on Indigenous issues.

Get in touch today for more information on how Decision Point Research can help you with your niche market research needs.