4.3.3 Social market research

Principles
Social market research is used to gain a better understanding of Tasmanian society and to identify the needs, expectations or emerging concerns of members of the community.

It may be used to assess the public's response to proposals or to possible changes or initiatives; to assess the effectiveness of policies, programs and services; to measure progress in service improvement; to evaluate the effectiveness of communication activities such as advertising; and for marketing purposes.

Policy requirements
When contracting social market research to quantify, qualify or evaluate the views, attitudes or perceptions of a given population, agencies must comply with the requirements of the Treasurer’s Instructions and the specific requirements for the procurement of communications goods and services.

Copies of final reports of social market research should be deposited with the State Library of Tasmania as well as with the National Library of Australia.

Social market research findings should be made available to other Government agencies where relevant, and the final research results released to the public on request.