RESEARCH CHALLENGE SESSION

Got an important decision to make, but no research brief yet?

Bring us the business question, not the research brief. In a focused senior-led session, we’ll challenge what you already know, surface the assumptions and gaps that matter, and work out what evidence will genuinely help you make the decision.

Book a Challenge Session →See how it works ↓

No brief required

Senior-led from the start

Clear evidence route

WHEN THE BRIEF ISN'T THE STARTING POINT

You know the decision. You don’t yet know what research will actually help.

You might know the business problem, the pressure you’re under and the decision that needs to be made. But that doesn’t automatically mean the research question — or even the need for research — is clear yet.

The problem is clear. The brief isn’t.

You know what the business needs to decide, but not yet what evidence will genuinely help.

Different stakeholders want different things.

Marketing, product, insight and leadership may all be framing the problem differently.

A methodology is being prescribed too early.

Someone has already asked for a survey, focus groups or interviews before the real question has been challenged.

Time or budget means you need to focus.

You can’t investigate everything, so you need clarity on which unknowns could actually change the decision.

WHAT THE RESEARCH CHALLENGE SESSION IS

A working session before the research starts.

The Research Challenge Session is a focused senior-led conversation designed to get underneath the business decision before anyone jumps to a methodology. We challenge what you already know, surface the assumptions and gaps that matter, and work out what evidence would genuinely help.

WHAT YOU BRING

The business decision
Existing research or data
Stakeholder views
Current assumptions
Time and budget constraints
Any early ideas about research

WHAT WE CHALLENGE

What really needs answering
What is already known
Which assumptions are driving the thinking
Where evidence is genuinely missing
Which unknowns could change the decision
What level of research is actually proportionate

The aim isn’t to write a better research brief. It’s to make sure you’re asking the right question first.

WHAT YOU GET

Three useful outcomes. One clearer way forward.

The Research Challenge Session turns a business problem into a focused evidence plan — helping you separate what matters from what’s merely interesting before time and budget are committed.

A CLEAR DECISION QUESTION

Turn a broad business challenge into something evidence can genuinely help answer.

THE GAPS THAT MATTER

Separate what is already known from the unknowns that could actually change the decision.

THE RIGHT EVIDENCE ROUTE

Know whether to use existing evidence, validate something specific or commission new research.

No methodology looking for a problem. No oversized brief.
Just a clear view of what needs answering and the best way to answer it.

HOW IT WORKS

Simple by design.

Bring us the challenge as it stands. You don’t need to turn it into research language first — that’s part of the job.

Bring the challenge

Tell us what the business is trying to decide, what’s driving the question and what you already know.

We challenge the thinking

A senior Skopos researcher interrogates the decision, assumptions, stakeholder needs, existing evidence and constraints.

Leave with direction

You get clarity on the question that matters, the evidence gap and the most proportionate route forward.

Business challenge in

Senior Challenge

Clear evidence route out

WHEN TO USE IT

Useful when the decision is real — but the research direction isn’t.

Before writing a research brief or RFP

Make sure the brief is answering the right business question before it goes to market.

When the business question is still fuzzy

Turn a broad challenge into something focused enough to investigate properly.

When stakeholders want different things

Find the common decision underneath competing research requests.

When a methodology has already been prescribed

Challenge whether a survey, groups, interviews or another approach is actually the right answer.

When budget means you need to prioritise

Focus spend on the unknowns most likely to change the decision.

When the decision is moving faster than the research planning

Get senior direction quickly without waiting for a perfect brief to emerge.

A Research Challenge Session is especially useful when you know something needs answering — but you’re not yet convinced what research should happen next.

WHY SKOPOS

The value isn’t knowing every methodology. It’s knowing which one matters — if any.

Good research starts before the questionnaire, discussion guide or sample plan. It starts with understanding the decision, challenging the assumptions and knowing which evidence will genuinely make a difference.

Senior people from the start

The conversation is led by experienced researchers who can challenge the problem, not simply translate it into a standard methodology.

30+ years of research judgement

We know the strengths and limitations of different approaches — and when existing evidence may already be enough.

Method-neutral thinking

We don’t begin with qual, quant or a preferred tool. We begin with the decision and work backwards from there.

The right research question is often more valuable than the first research answer.

RESEARCH CHALLENGE SESSION

Don’t start with the research. Start with the decision.

Bring us the business question, the uncertainty and whatever you already know. We’ll help you work out what really needs answering — and the most useful way to answer it.

Book a Challenge Session →

No brief required

Senior-led challenge

Clear evidence direction