The brief
PraxisAuril is the UK’s professional association for Knowledge Exchange practitioners, with a network of over 4,000 practitioners from over 182 member organisations.
PraxisAuril were looking to enhance their strategy, branding and value proposition to cement their reputation as both the most trusted voice and the leader in the field of knowledge exchange, innovation and impact.
The approach
Shift took a qualitative approach to this research to develop hypotheses that could be quantitatively tested at a later date. Interviews with key staff members exposed internal hypotheses and existing knowledge which helped shape our interview topic guides.
We then conducted 45-minute online depth interviews with members across universities, industry and sector bodies. Our interviews included the use of guided imagery techniques to explore current perceptions of PraxisAuril and prompts to uncover wider themes around what knowledge exchange practitioners want from a professional association, current problems in the field and comparisons between PraxisAuril and other organisations.
The value
Shift membership delivered several recommendations to PraxisAuril on their branding, recommendations on naming and terminology, and ways in which they can position themselves to meet community challenges. These insights informed the association’s branding and positioning, updates to which were launched over the following summer.
