Sponsor The result: a clear preference for the hybrid approach. The human analysis took two weeks and was expensive, but had a lot of granularity, Slavenburg explains. Combining automation with human insight took half the time and we could do it for half the budget. But the machines did not connect the dots. We found it was better to hypothesise, and use that hypothesis to dig into the data. The advantage isnt just in generating hypotheses or saving money, he argues; it enables more agile ways of working, for which clients and agencies need to collaborate. Early passes at the data can reset the research agenda, create new iterations. And so, alongside the creativity and empathy of research, we have the third dimension that, in Carl Benedikt Freys research, protects jobs from being automated negotiation. Research, meet operational data We see that there is a lot of data that can be reused. There are outputs of machines that people just arent using, says Nick Baker, CEO of Savanta. In the agencys work with large clients such as Severn Trent Water, Savanta often discovers potential goldmines of insight that are outside the research framework. One example is the digital experience analytics platform at Severn Trent that is employed to optimise the design of its online presence and analyse customer journeys in that context. Baker says: Were always trying to reapply data within the survey architecture, and have more decisions informed by more data, more often. Were trying to get stuff in place so we can, theoretically, connect research to customer information, and when that ability is in place, you have something thats like a heartbeat monitor for the organisation. This not only provides real-time feedback on the companys health, but can help direct the research agenda when more traditional methodologies are required. To make the most of this opportunity though, researchers will have to build bridges with the human face of the machine. Rather than keeping the analytics function at arms length (take this data away and show me something clever, as Baker puts it), it can be used to adapt traditional market research methods. An example is the data analysts habit of iteratively adjusting the way the data is interrogated asking different questions of it until it yields an insight which is alien to a researchers instincts. Having more people involved with different skills and experience helps us, says Baker. There arent many research agencies with tech capabilities in them. Its either a massive miss or a massive potential for growth in the sector. 34