Consultancy

Data has the potential to solve the thorniest and most intransigent challenges faced by all sorts of different types of organisations – businesses, universities, third-sector bodies, and government departments. Harvested, sorted, and treated right, data can form the foundation stones of better decision-making and more powerful, purposeful communication.

Yet many individuals, teams, and entire organisations can feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data that surrounds them. Some struggle to ask the right questions to surface the right data. Others find it challenging to move from data to insight (or wouldn’t recognise an insight if they saw one). And others yet struggle to move from insight to action, always seeking out “just one more bit of evidence” to convince them that the time for research is over and the time for action is now.

Asking Smarter Questions

So how do you make genuinely smarter use of data, and what approach do we Agents of Insight take to empower you and your teams to do precisely that?

Our approach never starts with off-the-peg products or services. And it always starts with the forgotten art of Asking Smarter Questions. Like a good doctor or psychologist, our straightforward line of enquiry always seeks to determine – in data terms – where it hurts, why it hurts, and where there’s room for improvement.

We run consultancy projects to help companies make smarter use of data in a wide variety of different categories, including: pharma and medical, media and marketing, transportation and logistics. In fact, we are sector-agnostic and can apply our “smarter data” lens to any industry.

How is data getting in the way of your organisation making better decisions and communicating with impact? Do get in touch and let’s have a no-strings, exploratory meeting.

Case study: Novartis “Insights for Innovation”

Like all drug companies, Novartis recognises the vital importance of incorporating the voice of the patient into drug design, development, and delivery. Regulatory authorities around the world demand this to ensure better levels of safety and efficacy, compliance and tolerance – such as the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)’s Patient-Focused Drug Development (PFDD) program.

In recognition of the need to become increasingly patient-centric, we worked with Novartis to develop a by-Novartis, for-Novartis insights discovery process. The process – known as i4i, or “Insights for Innovation” – was developed, piloted, refined, and rolled out across the company in 2020-21. It enables Novartis associates to triangulate all sources of patient data – from primary market research to social media listening, focus groups to patient advisory boards – and articulate genuine insights into the patient, care partner, and health care professional reality in every therapeutic area. We have run this intensive process more than 30 times for Novartis teams, a process which culminates in data-driven, insight-rich action planning.

As a pioneering approach to moving from data to insight and from insight to action, we have presented i4i to pharma and research peers on the conference stage (ephmra and Reuters Pharma). We co-authored a peer-reviewed academic paper on the process in the International Journal of Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Marketing. And i4i has won prestigious awards too – from DataComms in 2021, the “Made for Patients” award from the PFMD in 2023, and from the PM Society for Digital Excellence in 2024.

All of this came from Novartis’ Global Executive Director for Insights and Analytics asking Insight Agents how we might help them to make smarter use of data to bring the voice of the patient into drug development. It’s been quite the journey.

Click the image below to read or download the full paper as PDF.

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