THE BACKGROUND
A German-based research agency commissioned BEAM Fieldwork to provide fieldwork services for a complex, niche-subject research study.
The UK was part of a multi-territory study, commissioned and sponsored by a charity with global reach. Their mission is to create awareness, offer support to those affected by, and to develop effective treatments and medicines to eradicate blood cancer and blood disorders.
The charity had a limited understanding of the extent of their brand awareness and the level of understanding and support across active donation givers, and other charity supporters across the UK.
THE BRIEF
To engage with two distinct audiences:
1: Active registered donor supporters of the charity and mission.
2: Non-registered charity supporters of other charity and mission.
AIM 1: Measure current levels of brand awareness and understanding of charity mission and activities across both audiences.
AIM 2: Share future marketing concepts and ideas. Gain detailed feedback on each concept to expand concept to campaign.
FIELDWORK DELIVERABLES
A series of 120-minute, face-to-face depth interviews across both audience types, moderated by experienced, qualitative specialists.
Viewing facilities in Leeds and London, England, were selected as location cities for the study. A split of locations provided a north-south spread of experiences, awareness, and understanding of stem cell donation.
End client employees attended and observed a selection of interviews in-person.
Interviews were audio and video recorded and a full report written up to detail the findings.
END-TO-END MANAGEMENT
BEAM delivered end-to-end project management of all fieldwork, including:
Participant Recruitment: attraction, selection, validation, incentivise and manage all GDPR data compliance
Venue Management: Find, secure, event manage, and control finances
Client & Moderator Management: Comms, coordination, contract governance, quality assurance procedures, financial management and compliance management
Participant Management: Comms, coordination, completion support, end-to-end quality assurance procedures, compliance management
Incentive Management: Payment detail collection, collation & cross-checks, 5-day payment, remittance
Fieldwork Budget Management: Delivery to the very limited budget was a REAL challenge. Framing the purpose and charity mission was central to keeping project spend down, and the negotiations.
END-TO-END MANAGEMENT
Authenticity was the research agency’s biggest concern.
With the team travelling from Germany to attend fieldwork in the UK, they needed complete confidence that respondents were genuine, engaged, and eligible. Fraudulent participants, no shows, or last-minute venue issues would have had a major impact.
For participants, compassion, sensitivity, understanding and care from recruitment to post-event care was essential.
The research topic of stem cell donation is emotionally loaded, particularly for those with a lived experience. Participants with limited knowledge were understandably cautious about what the discussion might involve, who would be present, and how their contribution would impact the results and findings.
For the end client, accuracy mattered deeply.
Thorough investigation and verification of registered donors, and confirmation of non-registration of non-donors was essential. The charity were nervous about fraudulent documentation for donor certification in the verification process. Genuine donor certification was essential to ensure every conversation would deliver meaningful insight to inform future communications.
BEAM IN ACTION
We recognised early that this project required a tailored approach.
Because we could not recruit registered participants from an existing list, BEAM created a bespoke application process that was shared via trusted third-party channels. This ensured registered respondents came from a credible source while remaining compliant with data protection requirements. Non-registered respondents were fully verified, with additional checks built into screening.
Every participant was screened by phone and taken carefully through the criteria. We went beyond standard screening, asking additional questions to understand interest levels, prior awareness, and comfort with the topic. Respondents were also clearly briefed on the nature of the sessions, the moderator, and the presence of observers, giving them time to ask questions and opt in with confidence.
To protect delivery, we included planned over-recruits into our RFQ response, adding additional registered and non-registered respondents to the sample. Our in-house participant panel was central to participant recruitment, bolstered by used location-specific recruitment delivery partners local to both cities, to ensure recruited participants were in accessible proximity to the research facilities. This significantly reduced the risk of no-shows and late arrivals.
Project briefing took place an unprecedented eight weeks before the first day of fieldwork. Whilst this allowed us to seek, connect and onboard a high-calibre of participants to specification, the lengthy wait created the potential for engagement to drop. BEAM implemented a weekly contact structure to provide next steps, expectations, details and the format during their research experience. This played a key role in sustaining engagement, ensuring attendance, and providing reassurances ahead of participation.
BEAM secured high-quality research locations, with trusted venue partners, to provide an environment to care for participants, facilitate the executional requirements of the moderators, and cater for end client comfort, viewing and recording. We worked with each location to keep costs and expenses within the allocated budget.
We provided international clients with travel recommendations, schedules and itineraries to ensure their visiting team were prepared and supported during their visit.
From the project briefing call in June, to final interview at the start of September, client contact was methodical, and consistent to pace progress updates across recruitment progress, venue management, readiness for the go live date.
THE RESULT
Active registered donor supporter attendance was delivered to 95% of the recruited sample.
Non-registered charity supporter attendance was delivered to 100% of the recruited sample.
For participants, the process felt transparent, respectful, and well managed, helping them arrive confident and at ease.
The sample was 100 percent verified, with zero data points discarded.
Early venue booking and tech requirement negotiation, and fixing moderator costs meant the project stayed within budget. The complex recruitment specification, with potential for cost creep was managed to budget. The services and deliverables included in the RFQ response were delivered in full, and within a challenging budget.
Our client reported their experience felt controlled and reassuring despite the difficult brief.
THE LEARNING
This project reinforced the value of planning for complexity rather than reacting to it.
By acknowledging early that this would be a challenging recruit, we were able to build in safeguards, work with local recruiters, and maintain consistent communication with both respondents and the client. That preparation made the difference between a stressful delivery and a successful one.
It also reminded us of the unexpected impact research can have.
One participant later shared with the moderator that taking part in the study prompted them to register as a stem cell donor. They were subsequently matched with a patient in need of a transplant and progressed through the assessment process ahead of treatment. With the odds of finding a match extremely low, it was a powerful and humbling outcome.
WHY IT BEAMED
This project succeeded because BEAM combined rigorous recruitment, empathetic participant care, and hands-on project management.
We anticipated risk, planned for no shows, protected the budget, and stayed close to everyone involved from briefing to final interview. Even with a challenging brief and tight constraints, we delivered without compromising on quality or care.
For our team, it was one of the most rewarding projects of the year, not just for the insights generated, but for the reminder that thoughtful fieldwork can make a real difference beyond the research itself.
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