An increasing number of organisations are commissioning market research on a wide range of issues from external agencies. One should bear in mind that developing a research proposal (particularly if organisation require an on-site presentation) takes considerable professional time and often some initial desk research. Consequently, it is courteous, before approaching agencies for a detailed response, to have: Budget approval for the project (at least in principle) - organisation should always start with idea of what they want to spend and minimum benefits & value they want to get by spending that amount - not use agencies' proposals as a starting point for deciding whether they can afford to do research. A carefully thought out and internally agreed research brief - it is a waste of time and effort to invite proposals without a brief and then decide what organisation really want to do - then rebrief the agency! The quality of response organisation get from outside agencies in terms of their proposal will reflect the quality of organisation's brief. It is, therefore, important from organisation's own point of view to spend some time in deciding what they want, preparing their brief, and getting any necessary internal approval for the project before approaching external agencies for their proposals. The brief should aim to give the agencies all the information they need without being prescriptive, thereby precluding any creativity on their part. Although the detailed methodology will be suggested by the agencies, it is appropriate to indicate in the brief whether you are looking for outcomes in terms of numbers (quantitative research) or direction (qualitative research). The document should include the following sections: There will be a direct correlation between the scale and depth of the research and budget. Most agencies base charges on a straightforward combination of the cost of staff time and direct costs incurred in the research process (fieldwork costs, data inputting, travel and subsistence costs, etc). Buying research is not like buying stationery or other tangible items, it is buying the expertise of the researchers and consultants and have to make a judgement on which agency is likely to offer the best all-round value for money - this will not necessarily be the cheapest. Organisations need to look carefully at the proposed methodology and consider which agency has shown the best insight into the issue. Organisations should take time to find out from the agency the level of commentary/analysis it will provide on the findings as it is this which will add the value to the project (number crunching and table generation is a fairly mechanical process).