Market Reseach for a Project Brains (A future of work platform)

Desired outcome

Are you a motivated Master's level student with a passion for market research? Wish to use your skills as a Research Specialist and play a pivotal role in understanding the market landscape for Future of Work?

You now have the unique opportunity to work independently while collaborating closely with our experienced team, all while making a significant impact to the Future of Work..

Location & Duration: Remote, Fractional 6-8 weeks assignment

Perks
- Gain hands-on experience in market research and strategy development.
- Work on a meaningful project with potential for real-world impact.
- Collaborate with a supportive and experienced team.
- Opportunity to build valuable industry connections.

Initial Problem Description

About Us
Project Brains, helps ambitious businesses scale. We match businesses who have specific needs for projects or outcomes with the best suited fractional specialist. We are embarking on an exciting exploration of future development of our core product. We would like to connect with and explore the needs of our target audience through a market research campaign. We will like to build our marketing and growth plan for the business, on the basis of a formal market research exercise

Project objective
To understand current thinking and process behind current corporate hiring process and the barriers and objections which exist in today's corporate market when it comes to hiring fractional talent. What are the best options to make hiring fractional talent, a mainstream activity.

Context

About Us
Project Brains, helps ambitious businesses scale. We match businesses who have specific needs for projects or outcomes with the best suited fractional specialist. We are embarking on an exciting exploration of future development of our core product. We would like to connect with and explore the needs of our target audience through a market research campaign.

Project objective
To understand current thinking and process behind current corporate hiring process and the barriers and objections which exist in today's corporate market when it comes to hiring fractional talent. What are the best options to make hiring fractional talent, a mainstream activity.

Target Audience
Primary:
- B2B services, e.g. finance, technology, data
- Mid- to late-stage startups & scaleups, e.g. FinTech, Enterprise Tech, Commodities, energy and renewables
- With business operations in the UK
- GBP 5m - 20m turnover, looking to sustain growth and complete business scaling projects. Currently have 15+ employees on their rolls
Roles - Managing Directors/ COO/ CEO/ CFO/ CTO, HR Directors, Technology Leads/ Managers, Heads of Product, Founders of businesses, C-suite and D-suite - based, or managing business operations in the UK

Secondary:
- Larger companies, e.g. GBP20m - 50m turnover with at least a 100 employees - Typically diverse portfolios including regional and international reach.
- Could be in any sector
Roles - VP/ Director of Operations, Head of HR, Department Heads / Senior Managers, Finance and Tech Directors, Head of Product, Head of Compliance - Could be based anywhere in the world

Expectations on Outcomes
a) A mix of following, with at least 75% of responses from the primary sector. NB: Interview protocol should align to the research objective but methods can be mixed & matched to your own combination and design. E.g. you could just pick Email & Online; or Round-table & telephone, etc.
- Email interviews - target 20-30 responses
- Telephonic interviews - target 20-30 responses
- Survey / Online forms - 100+ responses
- Round table / Focus group - 3-5 sessions each with 5-8 individuals
b) We will provide a suggested list of questions and research brief as a guideline. It can be updated and modified by you in consultation with us.
c) Estimate duration of the project 6-8 weeks, excluding reporting.
d) Data responses should be factual, insights clear and data reusable
e) Data records should be securely stored and shareable with Project Brains.

General Responsibilities
1. Research Protocol development. Collaborate with the team to design qualitative and quantitative research protocols, objectives and targets.
2. Participant Identification. Identify and approach relevant participants for interviews, surveys, and studies.
3. Data Collection. Independently conduct research exercises and gather both qualitative and quantitative data.
4. Communication. Engage with senior members in the industry to gather insights and establish industry connections.
5. Reporting. Provide regular reports on findings, insights, and observations every two weeks, highlighting critical information for decision-making.

Connection to cross-cutting areas

Our focus client segments are companies in the CleanTech area and Technology transformation cross industries. Our clients are largely SMEs who struggle to get the best talent to work with them. We work with firms in the renewable space helping solve a variety of business problems across technology, finance and investments. Our model involves working with businesses to do a precise definition of their business problem and then match them with an experienced fractional specialist who delivers the outcome.

Input

We have done a soft launch and have a number of active revenue generating clients. This has allowed us to generate some ideas around the size of the market etc and can share these insights with the students. In terms of the research itself, again we have some initial thoughts around this and the details can be discussed with the chosen student(s)

Expectations

Expectations on Outcomes
a) A mix of following, with at least 75% of responses from the primary sector. NB: Interview protocol should align to the research objective but methods can be mixed & matched to your own combination and design. E.g. you could just pick Email & Online; or Round-table & telephone, etc.
- Email interviews - target 20-30 responses
- Telephonic interviews - target 20-30 responses
- Survey / Online forms - 100+ responses
- Round table / Focus group - 3-5 sessions each with 5-8 individuals
b) We will provide a suggested list of questions and research brief as a guideline. It can be updated and modified by you in consultation with us.
c) Estimate duration of the project 6-8 weeks, excluding reporting.
d) Data responses should be factual, insights clear and data reusable
e) Data records should be securely stored and shareable with Project Brains.

General Responsibilities
1. Research Protocol development. Collaborate with the team to design qualitative and quantitative research protocols, objectives and targets.
2. Participant Identification. Identify and approach relevant participants for interviews, surveys, and studies.
3. Data Collection. Independently conduct research exercises and gather both qualitative and quantitative data.
4. Communication. Engage with senior members in the industry to gather insights and establish industry connections.
5. Reporting. Provide regular reports on findings, insights, and observations every two weeks, highlighting critical information for decision-making.

Desired Team Profile

Qualifications
- Enrolled in a Master's program, preferably in Marketing, Business, or a related field.
- Strong research and analytical skills, with the ability to work independently.
- Excellent communication skills, including the ability to engage with senior industry professionals.
- Proven ability to develop and execute research protocols.
- Highly organised, detail-oriented, and able to meet deadlines.
- Curiosity and a proactive approach to problem-solving.
- Ability to critically analyse data and provide actionable recommendations.
- Flexibility and adaptability in a dynamic work environment.

Additional Information

The traditional model used by firms is hiring full time staff via recruitment agencies or using consulting firms. Both can go wrong and cost in terms of time and money. They will be the biggest competitors who will be disrupted as we become more mainstream. The idea of fractional specialists while very intuitive and logical is still not main-stream as businesses still use job descriptions as there are no tools available in the market to help them narrow down their definition and business problem.

Related Keywords

• Energy Technology
• Digitalization
• Computer related