User research to inform longer term strategic planning

In 2020 Apteligen supported Carers First with research to inform the development of the organisation’s ambitious new three-year strategy. This work involved:

An online survey of adult family carers which received approximately 1,150 responses.
1:1 semi-structured telephone interviews with adult carers covering the seven geographical areas that Carers First was operating in. This included carers who were unable (or unlikely) to access the internet, and included discussions on how the coronavirus pandemic had impacted on them as carers and changed the circumstances around their caring role and support needs.
A virtual discussion session with young carers and young adult carers, held over Zoom.
In depth interviews with a wide cross-section of Carers First’s partners and key stakeholders.
A review of the organisation’s operating environment.

The outputs from the project included a short film in which a number of carers were able to tell their story of the difference that the support provided by Carers First had made, and where the organisation could improve as it developed its future plans.