By: William Bradford, Business Development Associate, and Vanessa Quintal, Senior Research Analyst
2023 was an exciting year for ORB! We conducted over 320,000 interviews across 103 countries for 263 projects, grew to a team of 63 across our HQ offices in London and Charlottesville, presented at 12 separate conferences around the world, and incorporated AI into our research practices.
Delivering high quality data
ORB spent the year designing, implementing, and analyzing research all over the world. Our industry-leading quality control practices ensured verifiable findings even as we expanded our data visualization and statistical investigation capacity. ORB added eight new interactive dashboards which served a larger array of clients than ever before. We also delivered 18 in-depth statistical investigations using regression and segmentation to reveal drivers of public opinion and identify target audiences. These efforts provide ease of data usage, insight into longitudinal and contextualized trends, and actionable recommendations for our clients.
A bigger team
To keep up with our growth, ORB hired 24 new employees across our HQ offices, bringing our combined HQ staff to 63 social science researchers. These new team members have bolstered ORB’s expertise in Africa, the Middle East, conflict studies, development, governance, and more. They speak multiple languages, including French, Swahili, Wolof, Portuguese, and Arabic. We have been very grateful for these new hires who have worked tirelessly to improve ORB’s research for our clients!
Contributing to community learning
ORB presented at 12 conferences in 2023. We had the honor of presenting our 54 country impact assessment at three separate ANDE and WAPOR Conferences and sharing findings from our 70 country study for the Global Listening Project in New York. ORB also presented at NATO’s Communicators Conference, the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, and the Market Research Council. ORB is grateful for the opportunity not only to share our cutting-edge research but also for the chance to collaborate with some of the world’s leading minds.
Left: Presenting at ANDE’s Metrics from the Ground Up, Right: Global Listening Project in New York
Adapting our methodologies
This year saw many advancements in AI technology across multiple industries. To leverage new capabilities, we have incorporated AI into our research practices! Our new AI tools increase our reach, flexibility, and research speed so we can focus on providing context, analysis, and human validation. One of ORB’s most exciting AI-powered project was in the midst of Panama’s mining protests. We conducted a large-scale virtual focus group when all other research methods were impossible – giving valuable insight to our client in a very short amount of time. We look forward to finding more ways to improve our research practices through AI tools.
To all who joined us in 2023, thank you. We look forward to another great year in 2024!
