Research and Insight Programme to inform a growth strategy

Chartered Institution of Wastes Management

Requirement:

The waste and resource management industry is fast-changing and growing.  The challenge for CIWM was to determine if and how to move out of its traditional core and grow membership, customers and revenues by:

• Market development: engaging with and meeting the needs of more professionals and organisations across the evolving sector of sustainability, resource and wastes management.
• Product development: ensuring CIWM’s membership package, products and services are precisely and competitively meeting the needs of current members and customers, potentially developing new products and services to better meet the sector’s wide-ranging needs.

 

Methodology: A comprehensive research and insight programme involving staff, committee members and trustees, CIWM members, customers and non-members.

- Consultation and intelligence-gathering through face-to-face interviews

- Secondary market research and competitor analysis.

- Quantitative member, lapsed and non-member research by online survey

- Qualitative research with individuals in sectors not well represented in the CIWM membership, by telephone interview

Outputs: Reports of findings at all stages. Overall recommendations for actions and next-steps.  Delivery of a post-research workshop with senior management, to discuss and prioritise the strategic recommendations for growth.

We had a broad research requirement; Ashridge Communications were able to design and deliver a mixed-methodology research programme to uncover the insight we needed.  Their experience - not only in research but also as strategic consultants - added huge value to the work, providing us with detailed reports and actionable recommendations that have enabled us to take the next steps in developing CIWM’s offer.

Sarah Poulter, Managing Director, CIWM Enterprises Ltd