Our Approach

The standards and commitments that guide every assignment.

HOW WE WORK

Quality assurance and ethical practice built into every assignment.

Our quality assurance protocols are embedded from tool design and enumerator training through to data cleaning, analysis and final reporting. We apply rigorous back-checking, real-time monitoring and structured validation processes, and we work across a range of data collection platforms tailored to each assignment, including KoBoCollect and ODK.

Where clients and contexts permit, we use BlueData®, our proprietary data collection platform. Built to perform in any setting, including remote and high-risk environments, BlueData® supports multilingual surveys, offline data capture, audio and image recording, real-time quality monitoring and encrypted data transfer. Its customisable architecture and controlled user permissions keep data protection under our direct oversight.

Our approach is aligned with the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability, UN ethical standards in research, and UK and EU GDPR requirements. We also comply with the data protection and research laws of each country where we collect data, such as Türkiye's Law on the Protection of Personal Data (KVKK).

Controlled user permissions and role-based access
Device-level access management
Secure data transfer and encrypted storage
Full internal oversight of all data flows

OUR ETHOS

Rigour that works in the real world.

We design our work to reflect the realities on the ground. That means adapting methods to local conditions, building teams from the communities we work in, integrating conflict-sensitive approaches, and drawing on embedded contextual knowledge at every stage of an assignment.

We treat expertise as something built jointly across roles. Our country researchers, analysts, and sector specialists set the methodological standard for an assignment. Our enumerators and monitors, recruited locally, are what make that standard hold on the ground, ensuring linguistic access, cultural sensitivity, and the trust of research participants, particularly in hard-to-reach and politically sensitive areas where rapport is earned. Neither role substitutes for the other. Both are held to the same standard.

We apply the same methodological standards in a conflict zone as we do anywhere else. The context changes how we work. It does not change what we expect of the work.

OUR STANDARDS

Uncompromising quality

Protocols and Ethics

Respect the rights, interests, and dignity of all participants regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, ability, age, orientation, language, or political affiliation; informed consent without coercion; protect participants from harm; anonymity is paramount.

Working in Sensitive Environments

All staff trained in conflict-sensitive methods; a "Do No Harm" approach grounded in local legal, political, and cultural understanding; site selection, team composition, and question wording reviewed so our work does not deepen tensions; daily security monitoring and rigorous Health, Safety, and Security policies, with remote or flexible methods where in-person contact would create risk; researchers empowered to put their own and their respondents' security first.

Data Protection

We comply with the data protection laws of every country where we operate, as well as each client's own requirements, and collect only the data a study needs, avoiding personally identifiable information wherever possible. All staff are trained in confidentiality and data handling before deployment, data is retained and deleted as each client requires, and any breach is reported to the client promptly.

Localisation

Our field researchers are well-known, trusted members of the communities where we work and speak local languages and dialects. Local staff lead on context and access, supported by our technical and methodological specialists.

Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP)

We aim for data that reflects communities' real needs and opinions, and give every respondent clear information on their rights and how to raise feedback or complaints, including anonymously. Feedback is logged and reviewed, serious concerns go directly to our Safeguarding Focal Point, and recurring issues inform how we train teams and design tools.

Gender Balance

At least half of our field researchers are women, and teams work in mixed-gender pairs where needed so that women and girls can be interviewed by women. All researchers receive gender-sensitivity training, tools are reviewed for gender-sensitive language, and data is disaggregated by gender wherever possible.

Child Safeguarding

Research with children requires written consent from a parent or guardian as well as the child's own agreement, and uses age-appropriate methods. All field staff complete child protection training, the best interests of the child guide every decision, and concerns are reported in line with national child protection law.

Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH)

We have a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, aligned with the UN Secretary-General's Bulletin ST/SGB/2003/13, and all staff, enumerators and subcontractors sign our Code of Conduct and complete mandatory PSEAH training before deployment. Anonymous reporting channels are available, and allegations are handled through a survivor-centred process with referral to support services and prompt reporting to the client.

Sustainability

We limit our environmental footprint by recruiting locally to reduce travel, collecting data digitally rather than on paper, and running a largely remote workforce. We also build lasting local capacity, so the skills and systems developed through our projects remain in the countries where we work.