[Guest post] Just Enough Research: in practice
Guest author Anna Krajewska shares a practical view on how education organisations can use 'Just Enough Research' to design better experiences
Hello!
I’m Lucy Blakemore, a qualitative research and education specialist based in Sydney, Australia. Get in touch if you need someone who asks great questions, designs creative research, has intense listening skills and can summarise almost anything on a single whiteboard.
I take messy, ambiguous human data and extract insights and frameworks we can apply to organisational challenges in practical ways. I’ve worked in both client-side and agency roles and collaborate on projects directly, or as an extra pair of hands for busy insights teams.
I love working across diverse projects and sectors, and specialise in international education and the behavioural drivers informing digital innovation.
Consulting services
If you need to use research to see things differently, want to make your insights work harder or build some research muscle in your own teams, here's how I can help:
Research and insights
Defining research needs and designing creative approaches to meet objectives
Expert interviewing, group moderation and workshop design/facilitation
Collaborative analysis, compelling presentations and communication of insights
Insights into action
Surfacing and summarising research you already have, so you get more value from it
Exploring how to share your insights and get people talking
Working with you on practical ways to apply insights across projects and innovation work
Build research skills
Training and guidance in core research capabilities for non-researchers
Creating guidelines and templates to help you run your own research projects
Practical tools for better conversations, active listening, analysis and mindmapping
"I have learned much from working with Lucy Blakemore over the past decade. She has brought new perspectives, creative approaches and a rigorous qualitative research framework to engaging with consumer needs and change management in complex situations. Lucy’s work is evidence-based and people-centred, collaborative, and robust. She captures the complexity of systems, behaviours and organisations in ways that involve and engage, and provide roadmaps for meaningful outcomes."
“The [research] frameworks now underpin every decision I make - they’ve literally changed the way I approach my work with students. Whether it be supporting my teachers to think about their students differently, or participating in projects to improve business operations, these frameworks are always at the front of my mind and I have no doubt our practices have improved immensely from a student experience perspective. Bring on more workshops!”
Peta Bollen
Program Convenor, Sydney Institute of Business & Technology
Mind mapping helps you clear the fog and focus on key concepts and connections between ideas. Creating mind maps is a process of intense listening and analysis, leaving you with a compelling visual record you can use for recall, revision and as a springboard for creativity and action.
Mapping as a thinking tool
Take notes, revise topics, organise, plan, braindump and brainstorm. Use them to untangle complex concepts that refuse to be tamed with linear tables, lists and paragraphs!
Education and Covid-19
A condensed summary of themes relating to student experience, education and the global pandemic. Draws on material from two webinar events and written articles from industry experts.
Shifting to Online
Informal notes from a working session identifying goals and objectives for a face-to-face consulting company creating an online presence. The outcome was the development of an online learning portal and a revamp of the existing website.
Just Enough Research: in theory
How much research is enough? Erika Hall responds by showing how research can be focussed, human, collaborative and develops skills for all.
In Praise of In-Person
Has in-person research become an act of defiant rebellion now? How do we make the most of being present, now we know what we've missed?
Going the distance: learning fitness for tiring times
How do you train for an event when the finish line keeps moving? Four education leaders talk us through their recent 'marathon' experiences.
