CENTRAL TO PUBLIC-SECTOR SUCCESS
The South African economy has suffered numerous setbacks over the past few years and the nation has been driven by economic turmoil. This, in turn, has created a number of challenges for consumers, businesses and – most of all – for the public sector. Budget cuts, coupled with citizen demands, have created a tough working environment and navigating what is really needed versus what is expected has become a much tougher task than ever before. In fact, today, with the advent of technology and the ability for every citizen to become an expert in how municipalities should operate, there is no doubt that times are changing.
Today, it is far more about truly understanding what the people of the country are expecting, if we hope to achieve collaborative workstreams and viable community outcomes. Therefore, research plays a critical role in helping the public sector understand this “new-age” citizen and how to best map services to their needs, while maintaining a healthy business model.
In combining statistical intellect and psychological perceptiveness, a good research team should be able to unveil the answers to the most challenging business questions – in the public sector, this is critical. Research plays a vital role in gaining a detailed view of the mood of the nation and the public’s perception around government’s performance on priority areas. Collaborating with public sector enables the assessment of key nationally run campaigns including the State of the Nation (SONA) and the National Budget Address.
Ask Afrika, the largest independent market research company in South Africa, has proudly collaborated with the Government Communication Information System (GCIS) for five years, conducting nationally representative quantitative tracker research that informs government policy and communication. Through this research, results have been presented to the relevant parties in various government communication clusters and DG cluster meetings to enable improved strategic decision-making – creating sustainable progress. In order to ensure change can be implemented and sentiment better understood,
the nation’s perception of performance is tracked twice a year, with the requisite information used to consistently inform government policy and communication strategies.
“With 23 years of experience in market research, we are extremely proud to be tasked with such critical work, which aligns well to our vision of amplifying the voices of Africa’s consumers through credible and sound research,” says CEO of Ask Afrika, Andrea Gevers. “We go above and beyond to ask the right questions, challenge the status quo and uplift the voices of Africa’s people through multi-layered, creatively applied research science – giving clients insight from their selected target audiences.”
Today, research companies need to customise solutions to meet the business needs of their clients, looking at co-crafting such strategies. For example, Ask Afrika uses a multi-disciplinary approach – with extensive experience in public-sector research including: reputation management, impact assessments, experience measurement and database audits.
“To truly affect change, businesses have to really dig deeper, to understand clients and to ensure that they can effectively change brand position and affiliation, based on data of the highest integrity – backed by statistical and psychological expertise,” concludes Gevers.