Ravenry × Oaktree Insights & Consulting
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For teams who attended Session One

Session One framed one decision. Your team owns dozens more.

The Research Masterclass picks up where Session One stopped: from research readiness to decision-ready evidence, in-house, on the live decisions your organisation is facing right now.

30 minutes. No obligation, and we will say so if your team does not need this.

Led by
Emma Eichbaum
Founder & Director, Oaktree Insights & Consulting

Leads research readiness: turning a business issue into a research-ready brief.

Made Ayu Priyanka
Senior Research Manager, Ravenry

Leads research design: evidence need, method fit, and triangulation.

3,000+
Projects completed
300+
Clients served
1,000+
Researcher network
2018
Researching across APAC since
The problem you already know about

You saw it in 90 minutes. It is not a 90 minute problem.

Good research starts before the research starts. Most of what goes wrong happens upstream of method, in the thinking that turns a business issue into a useful brief.

01

"We need a survey"

The method gets chosen before the decision is defined. The study runs perfectly and answers a question nobody needed answered. Outcome and decision come before method.

02

Hidden assumptions

Assumptions are not the enemy. Hidden assumptions are. Teams repeat a claim often enough that it starts to feel like a finding, and repetition is not validation.

03

Speed without judgement

AI generates an answer quickly and confidently. Someone still has to supply the missing context, test the assumptions, and decide whether the output holds up in reality.

Where Session One stopped

What Session One did not cover

In 90 minutes we framed a decision and shaped a research question. Twelve things sit between that and evidence a board will act on.

The through-line

From research readiness to decision-ready

Clarity tells us what we need to know. Research design determines how we will know it. The Masterclass walks the whole chain, in order, on one live business decision.

01 Business issue 02 Research readiness 03 Decision 04 Evidence need 05 Evidence sources 06 Methods 07 Triangulation 08 Decision-ready evidence

A business problem, a research question and a research brief are not the same thing. The brief is the output of upstream thinking, not the starting point.

AI challenge & guardrails

AI can be a thinking partner.
It should not own the judgement.

AI helps throughout research readiness. It can structure, challenge and communicate the thinking. What it cannot do is decide whose perspective wins, whether the evidence is sufficient, or whether the organisation is ready to proceed.

Where AI helps

Useful across every stage of readiness.

FrameStructureChallengeIterateCommunicate

It can also synthesise stakeholder perspectives, compare evidence, surface contradictions and gaps, generate alternative hypotheses, and critique a draft brief.

What humans still own

Judgement stays accountable throughout.

ContextualiseValidatePrioritiseResolve trade-offsDetermine accountabilityDecideAct

AI should not determine which stakeholder is right, whose perspective prevails, whether evidence is sufficient, which trade-off is acceptable, what level of risk to accept, or whether the organisation is ready.

Watch for bias

AI reflects the inputs, framing and evidence it is given. Be alert to:

Leading prompts Incomplete context Missing perspectives Outdated or partial evidence Repetition mistaken for validation Synthesis mistaken for evidence Disagreement smoothed away Minority signals flattened into themes
AI can challenge readiness. Humans determine readiness. Don't let synthesis erase disagreement.

AI Challenge & Guardrails

The full handout from the Research Readiness Starter Toolkit, including the stakeholder worldview discipline and the complete guardrails checklist.

Download the toolkit

© 2026 Oaktree Insights & Consulting and Ravenry. For personal and participant use. Sharing the original document is permitted; reproduction, adaptation or commercial use requires permission.

What exists at the end that didn't exist at the start

Eight assets your team builds in the room

Built on a real business decision your organisation is facing rather than a generic case study.

Business decision statementThe decision the research exists to serve, written so leadership agrees with it before money is spent.
Research briefProblem, objectives, key questions, and scope, ready to issue internally or to an agency.
Sampling and respondent planTarget population, screening criteria, quotas, and a sample size you can defend.
Tested research instrumentA drafted questionnaire or discussion guide, reviewed and revised in the room.
Fieldwork quality checklistThe internal standard your team applies to every study from here on.
Agency evaluation scorecardA consistent basis for comparing proposals beyond price and relationship.
Evidence-to-action frameworkThe route from finding to insight to prioritised recommendation.
Executive research presentationA capstone presentation delivered to, and critiqued by, senior stakeholders.
The case we carry through

The Customer-Centric Growth Challenge

The request as it lands

"We want to become a more customer-centric organisation and strengthen our brand. We need research to understand what customers really want and where we should improve."

Vague, familiar, and not yet briefable. By the end of the session that request has become a specific leadership decision with a deadline: which customer-centric growth priorities should we act on first, with enough evidence to choose within three months?

Brand promisePropositionCustomer experienceInternal delivery

What a design for this case could look like

01

Synthesise

Use what already exists.

CRM, experience data, complaints, digital analytics, previous research, market information

02

Explore

Understand what existing evidence cannot explain.

Customer interviews, internal interviews, focused qualitative exploration

03

Validate & size

Test which patterns matter most.

Targeted quantitative research across priority customers and markets

04

Triangulate

Bring the evidence together.

What do the sources collectively tell us about the decision?

The goal isn't more research. It's sufficient evidence for the decision.

Teams can work the shared case, or apply the same questions to a live business issue of their own. In-house delivery uses your decisions by default.

The full case brief

The Customer-Centric Growth Challenge as participants receive it, including the leadership decision, the four priority areas, and the questions the team works through.

Download the case brief
The programme

What the three days cover

End-to-end research design, from framing the business decision through to a recommendation leadership can act on.

Programme component
Depth
Research fundamentals
Included
Business problem formulation
Included
Methodology selection
Included
Respondent & sampling design
Included
Questionnaire development
In-depth practice
Qualitative guide development
In-depth practice
Fieldwork quality management
Included with simulation
Quantitative analysis
Hands-on
Qualitative analysis
Hands-on
Agency management
Included with simulation
Final assignment
End-to-end research project
Best suited for
Internal research practitioners and project owners

Onsite or live virtual · 15 to 25 participants · English, Bahasa Indonesia, or bilingual · 7 to 8 learning hours per day

Talk through how it would run
The full agenda

Session by session

Three consecutive days, each building on the last, worked through a live business decision.

Day 1 · Framing & designing the research
Session 1 · Research as a business decision tool
  • Research and business uncertainty
  • Decision-first research
  • Types of research decisions
  • Common causes of research failure
Session 2 · Translating business challenges into research questions
  • Defining the business decision
  • Identifying information gaps
  • Developing research objectives
  • Formulating and prioritising key research questions
Session 3 · Selecting the research method
  • Primary and secondary research
  • Quantitative and qualitative approaches
  • Surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation
  • Mixed-method design and selection criteria
Session 4 · Respondent and sampling strategy
  • Defining target populations and respondent criteria
  • Sampling techniques and sample size
  • Quotas and recruitment requirements
Group workshop · Design a study for a live business challenge

Participants develop a full research design based on an actual challenge drawn from your organisation.

Day 2 · Developing & executing the research
Session 5 · Secondary research and source validation
  • Identifying relevant secondary information
  • Assessing source reliability
  • Triangulating information
  • Organising desk research findings
Session 6 · Questionnaire development
  • Translating objectives into survey questions
  • Question wording and response scales
  • Sequencing, screening questions, and testing
Session 7 · Qualitative research guide development
  • Developing interview and discussion topics
  • Sequencing qualitative questions
  • Probing technique and moderator neutrality
Session 8 · Fieldwork and research quality
  • Recruitment, screening, and fieldwork preparation
  • Data quality standards and progress monitoring
  • Identifying invalid responses, managing bias and ethical risk
Simulation · Research agency management

Participants evaluate a real research proposal and run a simulated agency briefing and kick-off.

Day 3 · Analysing, synthesising & communicating
Session 9 · Practical quantitative analysis
  • Frequency and percentage analysis
  • Cross-tabulation and comparing respondent groups
  • Identifying meaningful patterns, interpreting results accurately
Session 10 · Practical qualitative analysis
  • Coding and categorisation
  • Identifying recurring themes and comparing perspectives
  • Using respondent quotations, synthesising findings
Session 11 · Developing research insights
  • Identifying the meaning behind the data
  • Connecting evidence to recommendations
  • Prioritising recommendations and building an action roadmap
Session 12 · Research storytelling and management presentation
  • Structuring the research narrative
  • Selecting evidence and visualising data effectively
  • Communicating limitations, presenting to decision-makers
Capstone · Executive presentation

Each group presents the business challenge, objectives, methodology, sampling strategy, instrument, findings, implications, and recommended actions.

How an engagement runs

Built around decisions your team already owns

Scoping call

Thirty minutes. We map the decisions your team owns, their current research practice, and whether this programme is the right intervention.

Alignment discussion

Participant roles and experience, internal versus agency research, industry context, and the outcomes you expect.

Customisation

The case, tools, exercises, terminology and assignments are rewritten to your business environment. Teams work your live decisions rather than the shared case.

Delivery

Three consecutive days, onsite or live virtual, 15 to 25 participants, facilitated by practitioners who run this work commercially.

Embedding

Your team keeps the artefacts, templates and quality standards, and runs the next decision without us.

Before you book

The questions we usually get

Is this an AI course or a research course?

A research course, taught for the way research actually gets done now. AI appears at every stage, because that is where your team is already using it. What the programme adds is the judgement layer: where AI genuinely helps, where it inherits your bias, and who stays accountable for the decision.

We already work with a research agency. Why do we need this?

The quality of agency work is capped by the quality of your brief and your ability to challenge what comes back. This programme is mostly about the upstream thinking that produces a research-ready brief, which is the part no agency can do for you.

Our team aren't researchers. Is this too advanced?

It is built for research users and project owners, meaning people who commission, interpret, and act on research rather than field it. No statistical background is assumed.

Can this be run virtually?

Yes. Live virtual delivery follows the same structure with adjusted pacing and breakout facilitation. Onsite tends to produce a stronger final exercise, but the artefacts come out the same.

How much of it is customised to us?

The case, tools, exercises, terminology and assignments are adapted to your business environment after the alignment discussion. Participants work a real decision your organisation is facing rather than the shared case.

What does it cost?

In-house pricing depends on participant numbers, delivery mode, language, and customisation depth. You get a firm number after the scoping call, and we will tell you if a shorter engagement or a different intervention would serve you better.

Can we run a pilot with one team first?

Yes, and we usually recommend it. A single-team pilot with a real decision at stake is the fastest way to know whether to roll this out more widely.

Can it be delivered in Bahasa Indonesia?

English, Bahasa Indonesia, or bilingual. Materials follow the delivery language.

Next step

Book a 30-minute call

We walk through the decisions your team owns, where evidence currently breaks down, and how the programme would be shaped around them. You leave the call with a recommendation whether or not you engage us.

  • We spend the call on your team's actual gaps instead of a pitch deck.
  • We will say so if this is not the right intervention for you.
  • Firm pricing and a draft outline within three working days.

We reply within one working day. Your details are never shared with third parties.

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