Appendix - Consumer Insights Tracker (CIT) Review Stakeholder Interview Guide

Introduction

As you probably know, a review is being undertaken of the Consumer Insights Tracker that is commissioned monthly by the FSA.  The review is being undertaken by the Wider Consumer Interests Working Group of the Advisory Committee for the Social Sciences (ACSS).

As part of the review, we are talking to individuals in various parts of the FSA, and across Government, that make use of the data provided by the Consumer Insights Tracker.  Our aim is to ascertain the value of the Consumer Insights Tracker and to identify areas, if any, where it might be changed in order better to meet the needs of FSA colleagues, and other Government stakeholders.

We are interested in obtaining the honest views and reflections of FSA, and cross-government colleagues on the Consumer Insights Tracker.  Note that all responses will not be attributed to the individuals we talk to.

Before, we start, do you have any questions?

Section 1: General thoughts on The Consumer Insights Tracker

To start, we would like your views on the overall value and importance of the Consumer In sights Tracker.

1. Overall, how valuable is the data provided by the Consumer Insights Tracker to your work?

Probe: What does it allow you to do that you would otherwise not able to do?

Probe: What are the various ways in which you use the data?

2. What specific data provided by the Consumer Insights Tracker do you use most often?

Probe: Which data?

Probe: How often?

Probe: Data on food security

Probe: Data on food availability

Probe: data on consumer concerns related to food

Probe: Data on consumer confidence in the food supply chain and the FSA

Probe: data on consumer behaviour related to food safety

3. Can you think of a particular example where the information provided by the Consumer Insights Tracker was essential or important to a specific task you were undertaking?

Probe: What was the task?

Probe: What specific data did you use?

Probe: How were the data used?

Probe: What would you have done if these data not been available?

4. If the data provided by the Consumer Insights Tracker were not available, what alternative data would be available to you?

Probe: What other data are available?

Probe: What are the strengths and weaknesses of this alternative data?

Probe: Are there any areas where alternative data would not be available?

5. How well informed are you about how the Consumer Insights Tracker is undertaken, and the data collected?

Probe: Areas where well informed

Probe: Areas where less informed/uninformed

 

Section 2: Methodology

Now we will turn to how the Consumer Insights Tracker data are collected and the issues that are covered.

6. Do you think the sample for the Consumer Insights Tracker is suitable/adequate?

Probe: Geographical coverage, representativeness, etc.

Would you like to see more data collected from particular population sub-groups?

Probe: Which groups (for example specific demographic groups, by nation, etc.)?

7. Do you think that the monthly frequency of data collection is appropriate?

Probe: Why?

Probe: What changes would you suggest?

Probe: What if this impacted the speed of data delivery and/or the quality of the research?

8. Are there any additional issues/questions that you would like to see included in the Consumer Insights Tracker?

Probe: Which issues?

Probe: How would data on these issues help you in your work at the FSA?

Probe: How do these issued align with the FSA’s 3^rd pillar that food is healthier and more sustainable?

9. Are there any issues/questions that are essential to your work and that should NOT be removed?

Probe: Which ones?

Probe: Why are these essential?

10. Are there any questions that you would like to be revised and/or asked differently?

Probe: Which ones?

Probe: How?

Probe: Would it matter that, in doing so, the ability to make comparisons with results from previous surveys would be compromised?

11. To what extent does the Consumer Insight Tracker overlap with other surveys?

Prompt: Which other surveys (for example, Food and You2)?

Prompt: Is there value to these overlaps?

Prompt: Could the comparability of data between these surveys be improved?

Prompt: Is there a case for removing these overlaps?

12. What types of data analysis are most valuable for you?

Prompt: Sample averages

Prompt: Trends over time

Prompt: Sub-group analysis (for example, comparisons across demographic groups, regions/nations, etc.)

13. Are there any types of data analysis that you would like to see?

Section 3: Outputs and reports

We now turn to the outputs of the Consumer Insights Tracker.

14. What is your preferred way to receive the latest findings from surveys, such as the consumer Insights tracker?

Probe: What types of output are most useful to you (for example, slides, executive summaries, full reports, toplines, etc.)?

Probe: What ways of getting results are most useful to you (for example, newsletters, email, Yammer, etc.)?

Currently, the social science team produces several different outputs for the Consumer Insights tracker. This includes a set of slides that is shared across Government via email each month, a new monthly bulletin report for publication on the FSA website, and full publication reports which are more detailed and are produced a few times per year. We would like to ask you about each of these outputs.

First the monthly slide decks that include Consumer Insights Tracker data, social media listening data, Ipsos polling data and Food Price Commodity tracker data.

15. Were you aware that the social science team produces a monthly slide deck?

16. How frequently do you make use of the monthly slide decks?

17. Do you typically make use of the full slide deck or just certain sections?

Probe: Which sections are more or less useful to you?

Probe: Why?

Probe: Do you make use of different sections according to the work you are doing and/or from month to month?

Probe: How does this change and why?

18. How much use do you make of the executive summary slides and the slides with charts?

19. Do you ever share the entire slide deck and/or particular parts of the slide deck with colleagues in other parts of the FSA and/or other parts of government?

Probe: Who do you share these with?

Probe: When and how often?

20. Are there are any changes to the slide deck you would like to see?

Probe: Changes to format

Probe: Missing data

Probe: Length of executive summary

Probe:

21. Are there any aspects of the slide deck would you NOT want to be changed?

Probe: Which ones?

Probe: Why?

For those contributing to the monthly slide decks only:

22. How do you find the current process by which the data in the slide decks is compiled?

Prompt: What works well?

Prompt: What improvements could be implemented?

Now we turn to the monthly bulletin that the food science team now publishes on its website.  This bulletin is short and quotes key findings from the latest survey wave. It was produced so that senior stakeholders could quote the latest figures and is designed to provide top lines only.

23.Were you aware that the social science team publishes a monthly bulletin?

24.Did you read the most recent monthly bulletin published in September 2022?

Probe: How soon after the bulletin was published did you read it?

Probe: If you did not read the bulletin, why not?

25. How useful did you find the bulletin?

Probe: What parts were most useful?

Probe: How did you make use of the information in the bulletin in your work?

26. Is there any data/information you would like to be included in the monthly bulletin?

Probe: What information?

Probe: How would you use this information in your work?

27. Is there any information you would NOT want to be taken out of the monthly bulletin?

Prompt: What data/information is essential to you?

Prompt: Why?

28. Are there any changes in the format of the bulletin you would like to see?

Prompt: What changes would you like to see?

Prompt: Why?

29. How frequently would you like to see the bulletin published?

Prompt: Would you like to see it published more or less frequently?

Prompt: Why?

30. The social science team sends out its monthly bulletin by email with the slide deck as an attachment.  Do you regularly receive these emails?

Prompt: If not, how did you get the monthly bulletin?

31. How useful are these emails?

Prompt: Does the email stand out and is the information clear?

Prompt: Is the content of the email sufficient?

Prompt: How could the format and/or content of the email be improved?

Now we turn to the full report on the Consumer Insights Tracker

32. Were you aware that a full report is published on the Consumer Insights Tracker?

33. Did you read the most recent Consumer Insights Tracker report published in March 2022?

Probe: How soon after the bulletin was published did you read it?

Probe: If you did not read the bulletin, why not?

34. How useful did you find the report?

Probe: What parts were most useful?

Probe: How did you make use of the information in the report in your work?

35. Is there any data/information you would like to be included in the report?

Probe: What information?

Probe: How would you use this information in your work?

36. Is there any data/information you would NOT want to be taken out of the report?

Prompt: What data/information is essential to you?

Prompt: Why?

37. Are there any changes in the format of the report you would like to see?

Prompt: What changes would you like to see?

Prompt: Why?

38. How frequently would you like the full report to be published?

Prompt: Would you like to see it published more or less frequently?

Prompt: How would you feel if it was published quarterly? What about every six months? What about annually?

Prompt: Why?

Section 4: Comms and dissemination

We now turn to how the results of the Consumer Insights Tracker are communicated within the FSA and more widely.

39. Overall, how satisfied are you with the way in which the social science team communicates the results of the Consumer Insights Tracker?

Prompt: What is particularly good about the way in which the results are communicated?

Prompt: How might the way in which results are communicated be improved?

40. Are all the relevant people within the FSA aware of the Consumer Insights Tracker and/or receive the results.

Prompt: Who is not aware and/or receive results?

Prompt: Why are these important?

Prompt: How could these people be best communicated with?

41. Are all the relevant people within government outside of the FSA aware of the Consumer Insights Tracker and/or receive the results.

Prompt: Who is not aware and/or receive results?

Prompt: Why are these important?

Prompt: How could these people be best communicated with?

Section 5: Using the findings

We now turn to how you use the results of the Consumer Insights Tracker

42. How do you use the results from the Consumer Insights Tracker?  Can you provide specific recent examples?

Probe: Policy analysis

Probe: Decision-making and/or priority-setting

Probe: Monitoring of impacts

Probe: Preparing policy briefs

Probe: Communication with external stakeholders

Probe: Other?

43. Do you ever look at the raw data and/or data tables?

Probe: decision making, for information, monthly monitoring?

Probe: for specific examples

44. Have you ever requested further analysis of data from the Consumer Insights Tracker?

Prompt: What did you request?

Prompt: Why?

45. Have you ever created your own outputs based on data from the Consumer Insights Tracker?

Prompt: What outputs (for example, charts, slides, reports, etc.)

Prompt: What were these outputs for?

Section 6: Final thoughts

46. If there was one change you could make to the Consumer Insights Tracker, what would it be?

Prompt: What change would you make?

Prompt: Why?

47. Do you have any other comments or suggestions for the Social Science team with regards to the Consumer Insights Tracker?

 

Many thanks for your time.