Our Approach

We ask almost as many questions when designing your project as we do when conducting it. We want to fully understand the nature of the information you seek and how it will be used. That tells us if it will be a research, facilitation, or engagement gig... if it should be conducted online, over the telephone or face-to-face... and what kind of exercises to run, which questions to ask, or what projective techniques to use.

When developing a research or engagement plan, our priority is to create an effective forum for gathering feedback and insights, while making it comfortable and rewarding for your target audience.

Qualitative Research
  • In-depth interviews
  • Face-to-face and online focus groups
  • Workshops
  • Bulletin boards
Facilitation
  • Idea generation and brainstorming
  • Strategic planning
  • Problem resolution
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Public Engagement
  • Stakeholder interviews
  • Public events
  • Webinars
  • Survey and input tool
    development
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Experience & Expertise
  • Product and service assessments
  • New product development
  • Program and policy development and evaluation
  • Social marketing, advertising and communications assessments
  • Brand evaluations
  • Website development and assessment
  • Needs analysis
What our partners say...

Sandra Johnston is quite simply one of the best listeners in the business. Research begins with this seemingly obvious, but often oversimplified, skill -- listening.

For Sandra, designing research that gets to the heart of an issue, allows voices to be heard, never assumes an outcome and truly pays attention to the nuances of feedback are the pillars of a successful process. Add to this that she is respectful of clients' expertise, considerate of research participants' needs and masterful at synthesis and you have the secret sauce of terrific qualitative research.

Sandra is also a delightful collaborator -- clear, accountable and highly service-oriented, she not only gets the job done but commits to an authentic and collegial relationship along the way."

Catrin Owen

Deputy City Manager, City of Edmonton

"Sandra and her partners at Trend Research are the most talented and insightful research group that ARCHITURE has worked with. Their ability to take complex data and translate it into meaningful, usable and implementable information is unprecedented."

Tim Antoniuk

Owner, Architure

"We trust Sandra immensely. We’ve worked with her on an annual project for over a decade now, and every year, the focus groups and Sandra’s insights inform major decision making for our client."

Cheryl Meger

Director, Account Services