FAQs.

Thiscovery supports innovation and improvement in health and care by unlocking the knowledge and experience of patients, staff and the public. Our expert team and digital platform use robust qualitative research methods to engage diverse participants and deliver robust insight that helps organisations solve real problems with evidence-based solutions. 

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We work with a wide range of organisations across health and care, including NHS teams, government bodies, charities, universities, and companies developing new health technologies and services. Our clients share a commitment to listening to patients and staff, and to grounding their decisions with a practical evidence base

Yes. We are on G-Cloud 14 and the latest Management Consultancy Framework (MCF4), making it straightforward for public sector organisations to work with us.

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The Thiscovery crowd is our growing 13,000+ community of healthcare professionals and people with lived experience who choose to take part in research. They give informed consent to be contacted about relevant projects and can share their views quickly and easily through our secure online platform. This means we can bring the right voices into each project, combine them with bespoke recruitment where needed, and deliver high-quality insights at speed.

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Our roots are in academic health research, which gives us rigour and depth. At the same time, we are accredited by the Market Research Society to ensure we meet the highest professional and ethical standards for applied research happening outside of an academic context. This means our work combines academic credibility with the practical quality assurance clients expect.

Every project follows a clear four-step process. We start by working with you to understand your goals. We then explore design options and agree the best approach. Next, we build and test prototypes to make sure everything works for your audience. Finally, we launch the project, collect insights and deliver practical findings. Throughout, our team does the heavy lifting so you can focus on using the results.

Find out more about Thiscovery projects here.

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At the end of a project you receive a clear insights report, setting out the evidence gathered and what it means for your organisation, with practical recommendations you can act on straight away.

We specialise in online qualitative research designed for health and care. Our methods go beyond surveys and include:

• Qualitative surveys
• Audio and video diaries
• Asynchronous discussions
• Co-design activities
• Vignette studies
• Discrete choice experiments
• Consensus-building tools

We also support qualitative elements of clinical trials, such as recruitment and consent. All projects are delivered securely on our purpose-built platform, with rigorous qualitative analysis supported by rapid tools like AI transcription. This ensures findings are flexible, inclusive and insightful.

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Because we bring decades of experience in health research, evaluation and digital engagement. We know how to ask the right questions, avoid common pitfalls and reach the people whose voices really matter, so you get reliable evidence instead of guesswork.

We work with organisations of all sizes, and our projects range from simple to highly complex. Costs vary depending on what is needed, but our focus is always on delivering the greatest impact and ensuring value for the resources invested.

Most projects take several months from design to reporting. We can move faster when needed, with our quickest project delivered in seven weeks. Whatever the timeline, we keep momentum and deliver to agreed schedules.

We don’t run offline surveys, but we use proven methods to reach people who are often digitally excluded. Our approach combines accessible online design with creative recruitment so that a wide range of voices can still take part.

Taking part in a Thiscovery project is designed to be easy, flexible and meaningful. People can contribute in different ways, from quick polls and surveys to deeper discussions, diaries or co-design activities, always in clear, accessible formats that respect their time.

We recruit thoughtfully so that participants feel included and valued, especially those whose voices are often overlooked. Projects are hosted on our secure platform, creating a safe and welcoming space where contributions are taken seriously.

Most importantly, participants see how their input makes a difference. We close the loop by showing how their insights are used, building trust and making the experience rewarding as well as impactful.

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We design a bespoke strategy for every project, making sure we reach the people whose voices matter most, including those who are often overlooked or under strain. That might mean using online spaces like community groups or social media, or more traditional routes such as local organisations, newsletters or posters. However we do it, the focus is always on inclusion, ethics and respect, so participants feel informed, safe and valued.

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We generally do not offer financial incentives, except in specific circumstances. Our experience shows that when participation is transactional, people are less emotionally engaged with the subject matter. Instead, we focus on creating a meaningful experience where participants feel valued and can see how their contributions make a difference.

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Yes. You will be able to see how many people are taking part in your project, and we can provide regular updates on participation levels and engagement so you have a clear view throughout.

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Yes. We can provide interim updates while your project is live, giving you early visibility of emerging themes and participation levels before the final report is delivered.

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Accessibility is built in from the start. Our platform follows best practice standards for digital accessibility and is tested with diverse users. We use clear language, screen reader compatibility, adjustable formats and flexible participation options to make sure people with different needs can take part with confidence.

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A Thiscovery community is a secure, private online platform built on enterprise-grade open-source technology. It provides a dedicated space where researchers, patients, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders can collaborate on research projects, share insights, participate in discussions, and contribute to studies. Communities are organised into spaces focused on specific projects, topics, or research areas, with customisable access controls to ensure appropriate information sharing.

Find out more about Thiscovery communities here.

There are no hard limits on the number of community members or administrators. The platform is designed to scale from small working groups of 10-20 people to large communities with thousands of members. You can designate as many administrators as needed to effectively manage your community, with flexible role-based permissions allowing you to distribute management responsibilities appropriately.

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Setup and ongoing costs vary depending on your requirements, including customisation needs, expected community size, storage requirements, and support level. We offer flexible pricing models including project-based setup fees and monthly hosting subscriptions. Please contact us for a tailored quote based on your specific needs. We're committed to making communities accessible for research projects of all sizes.

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A basic community can be set up within 2-3 weeks, including initial configuration, branding, and administrator training. More complex setups requiring custom features, extensive branding, or specific integrations may take longer. Once live, you can immediately begin inviting members and creating spaces. We work with you to establish a timeline that aligns with your project needs.

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Community maintenance is a shared responsibility. Thiscovery handles all technical infrastructure, security updates, backups, and platform upgrades. Your designated community administrators manage day-to-day operations including user management, content moderation, and content creation. We provide comprehensive administrator training covering all community management functions, plus ongoing support as part of monthly subscription costs. We provide a suite of guidance documents covering all administration aspects and additional training sessions can be arranged as needed.

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Community members, depending on their permissions, can:

• Create and manage their personal profiles
• Join public spaces or request access to private spaces
• Post updates, share files and documents
• Comment on and like posts
• Participate in discussions and polls
• Receive notifications about relevant activity
• Search for content and other members
• Follow spaces and other members for updates
• Contribute to surveys and research activities
• Message other members directly (if enabled)
• Customise their notification preferences

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Community administrators have extensive management capabilities including:

• Managing community spaces (public and private)
• Inviting and approving members
• Setting up policies and terms and conditions
• Approving new user registration and managing existing users and members
• Setting additional questions for joining spaces (if required)
• Assigning roles and permissions to members
• Moderating content and managing posts
• Customising space settings and features
• Accessing usage analytics and engagement metrics
• Configuring notification settings
• Creating and managing surveys
• Reviewing and responding to reported content

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Yes, communities are fully brandable. We can customise:

• Community logo and favicon
• Colour schemes and themes to match your organisation
• Welcome messages and about pages
• Email templates
• Custom CSS for advanced styling
• Navigation menus and layout
• Footer content and links

All branding is configured during setup, with the flexibility to update as needed.

Yes, spaces offer flexible visibility settings:

• Public spaces: Visible to all community members; anyone can join and view content
• Private spaces: Require approval to join; only members can view content
• Invite-only spaces: Only accessible via direct invitation

Space visibility can be changed at any time by space administrators, allowing you to adapt as project needs evolve.

Yes, we can configure sandbox or test spaces where community administrators can experiment with features or practice before implementing in live spaces. These are particularly useful for training new administrators or testing new approaches to community engagement before rolling out to wider groups.

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Yes, communities include integrated survey capabilities allowing you to:

• Create custom surveys with multiple question types
• Target specific member groups or spaces
• Set response deadlines
• View real-time results and analytics
• Export responses for detailed analysis
• Send automated reminders

For more complex research requirements, we can run surveys on our Thiscovery platform.

Yes, community members can report inappropriate content, spam, or concerning posts. Reports are sent directly to community administrators who can review flagged content and take appropriate action including removing posts, contacting members, or adjusting permissions. This helps maintain a safe, respectful environment for all participants. Administrators receive notifications of all reports and can track reporting history.

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If you have an idea for a community, get in touch with us. We'll arrange an initial meeting to discuss your idea and help you think through the structure and modules (functions) needed to achieve your community goals. We can hold further meetings with you as needed to refine your requirements and finalise the community design. Once we have a clear understanding of your needs, we'll ask you to provide a project brief that outlines:

·       Your objectives for the community

·       Success measures

·       Target audience(s) and expected member profiles

·       Modules and features you require

·       Topics and themes you want members to engage with

·       Data residency requirements

·       Branding guidelines and visual identity preferences

Once we receive your project brief, we'll begin building your community, keeping you informed throughout the development process to ensure it meets your vision and requirements.

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We run all projects on our own secure online platform, purpose-built for health and care engagement. To make sense of free text responses at scale, we use AI tools for transcription and natural language processing. This allows us to analyse input quickly while still applying rigorous qualitative methods to ensure findings are accurate, insightful and trustworthy.

We build everything on the seven principles of UK GDPR: lawfulness and transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity and confidentiality, and accountability. We only collect what is needed, explain clearly how it will be used, and ensure data is secure and accurate. We also follow the Data Use and Access Act (2025) and recognised governance frameworks across health, care and research.

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Data is always collected for a defined purpose and used only in line with that purpose. Clients receive the insights they need, but participants’ personal information is protected under data protection law and handled in line with their consent and expectations. We make ownership and responsibilities clear at the start of every project.

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We are certified under the government-backed Cyber Essentials scheme, which means our systems meet rigorous standards to guard against common cyber threats. We also align with NHS information governance, Health Research Authority regulations, and Market Research Society requirements, so our partners can be confident their data is managed securely and ethically.

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