Work on CCNA’s massive national readership research project reached a new milestone last week when Requests for Proposals (RFP) were sent out to eight qualified research firms. Of those eight, seven have indicated that they will be submitting full proposals.
The RFP, prepared by members of the task force along with technical expertise from GPC Research in Calgary, calls for a pilot study covering up to five communities of varying sizes. The firm will be asked to refine the survey, establish sampling methodology, and present the material to a standard acceptable to recognized media buying software tools.
Final choice of a firm will be made in late April after a process of consultation and technical review. Work on the pilot will begin immediately with preliminary results expected in early summer.
The task force has also begun the process of searching for a suitable candidate to function as project manager for research undertaking. Task force chair Jim Cumming explained that the project needs a manager because of its sheer size and the highly technical nature of the work. It is expected that once the pilot project is complete and analyzed, work will begin almost immediately on preparing a national rollout of the study.
Most members will have a first hand opportunity of learning more about the project in the coming weeks. All regional associations have scheduled time in their spring meetings for a full presentation and discussion. David Stanger, a consultant with DSA Baron and co-chair of the tri-partite committee advising the task force on this project, will make the presentations to MCNA, BCYCNA, QCNA, and ACNA. He will also be available at the CCNA Conference in Saskatoon in July. There will also be presentations at upcoming meetings of OCNA and AWNA.