Seldom Heard

How do researchers engage with voices that are at risk of being overlooked?

Engaging with seldom heard audiences is essential to ensuring the whole public is at the centre of public policy making.

At Verian, we ensure lived experiences of Seldom Heard audiences are placed at the centre of decision-making.  Our teams across the globe work to amplify the voices of those that are at highest risk of being overlooked.

Our experts have developed 10 key principles that guide much of our work with seldom heard audiences, using case studies to demonstrate our expertise in practice. 

Principle 1 - Minimise barriers to participate

Choose methods that actively welcome and empower diverse participants by minimising participation barriers.

Co-designed methodology- a collaborative and participatory approach- can identify and address obstacles to involvement, ultimately ensuring that all voices are heard throughout the process. 

Explore how our teams minimised barriers to participate below. 

Relevant case studies:

• Amplifying the voices of care-experienced young people to inform youth policy
• Using a participatory approach to achieve more inclusive audience insights

Principle 2 - Plan for complexity

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to engaging with seldom heard audiences. Understanding the complexities of engaging with the unique sets of citizens will differ each time, and therefore planning well and budgeting in advance is crucial to making these adaptations. 

Relevant case studies:

• GUIDE Longitudinal Survey Pilot
• Exploring how those who are harming others can be supported to seek help for their behaviour
• Tackling workplace sexual harassment 

Principle 3 - Recognise and reflect diversity

Assumptions made about seldom heard groups can embed biases into research design that are later reflected in fieldwork. The same depth and breadth ambitions held for commonly heard groups must be reflected in minority groups design as well.  

Move away from providing insights that homogenise these voices rather than reflect their diversity by, for example, applying rigorous human rights-based approach (HRBA) to data collection. This principle means that no data collection activity should create or reinforce existing discrimination, bias, or stereotypes. 

• Roma Survey 2021
• DNB Monitor: Reaching seldom heard audiences

Principle 4 - Strengthen partnerships and use peer networks

Collaborate with community groups to build trust, deepen engagement and maximise opportunities for engagement in the design and development phases. It ensures that voices are heard and play an active role in shaping research, as well as making participants feel valued and comfortable.  

Additionally, adopt participatory recruitment approaches to enhance inclusivity while ensuring strategies are tailored to diverse target audiences. For instance, involving participants as community researchers is an effective link to the wider community, though recruitment of friends, family members, and other networks. This approach can efficiently broaden the audience and further amplify seldom heard voices. 

• Understanding the prevalence of lived experience of eating disorders and body image concerns
• Destitution in the UK

Principle 5 - Embed accessibility throughout

Accessibility must be considered in all stages of design. Even with highly motivated participants, if research tools are not designed with accessibility in mind, then their ability to engage is at risk. Adapt timelines, modes, formats, settings, moderators to garner better insights with unique perspectives. Examples include contacting advocacy groups, accessible questionnaires, multilingual interviewers, and create accessible reports for the panellists. 

• Enhancing Immigrant Youth Integration and Wellbeing in Finland
  
  

Principle 6 - Lead with Transparency 

Communicate research findings to participants and explain how insights will be used at the end of every cycle. This transparency will help to build trust and highlight participants’ value in the policy making process. In addition, clearly sharing and explaining the study’s purpose, methods and insights promotes inclusivity, greater participation, and accountability.  

• Voice of Ukraine
• Amplifying the voices of social housing residents in England to deliver social housing reform

Principle 7: Consciously create safe spaces

Prioritise psychological and physical safety of participants and researchers. Both should be provided a safe and supportive environment.

Safeguarding initiatives are important particularly for vulnerable groups, such as support, training, clear communication, confidentiality and anonymity, and addressing potential risks including emotional impacts.  

• Drug consumption levels in prisons
• Observing men's change journeys in challenging relationships

Principle 8: Understand digital expression

Invest in learning how specific communities express themselves online, including digital language and platforms that guide their communication. This understanding will power more authentic engagement in the right forums online.

• Tackling online trends of disrespect to stop gender-based violence in Australia 

Principle 9: Reduce power imbalances in deliberative engagement

Power asymmetries can be a considerable obstacle when engaging with the seldom heard. To create more equal and inclusive conditions for deliberative engagement, provide knowledge and education in advance to ensure robust discussion in forums. 

• Our Water, Our Voice: establishing customer value in Australia’s most precious resource
  

Principle 10: Keep planning for 'What's Next'

As societies rapidly evolve, there are three areas that call for assessment and adaptive planning for each new project to ensure solutions are the right fit for today’s challenges: 

1. Technology –  

How can new capabilities in real time, adaptive questionnaires be used to improve inclusivity while managing the level of investment in research?  

What are the ethical boundaries for the use of AI in public policy research? 

2. Audiences  

What seldom heard audiences are newly emerging and may meaningfully impact this policy area? Recent examples of emerging audiences may include children who never returned to school after Covid-19, adults and teenagers with changing views on masculinity, and migrants shifting from temporary to permanent status. 

3. Adjacent Issues –  

How are emerging social trends outside the core policy area likely to impact engagement in public policy research broadly? Examples may include online harms, loneliness, income inequality, declining civic engagement, declining trust in government and climate change.