Research for organisations that exist to do good
Instinct & Reason was built on not-for-profit work. Our first major relationships were with the Heart Foundation and Cancer Council, and two decades later we still bring the same rigour to charities, foundations and member organisations both paid and pro bono.
Not-for-profits face a particular set of pressures. Every dollar has to be justified to donors. Volunteers give time, not just money, and can walk away at any point. Brands carry trust that takes years to build and moments to lose. And the audiences that matter most are often the hardest to reach.
We help NFPs make decisions with evidence: who to talk to, what to say, how to keep supporters engaged, and where to focus next.
Where it began
Our earliest projects, from 2004, were for the Heart Foundation and that work involved more than 20 studies over ten years. We tracked the Foundation’s reputation and brand health, measured how the Tick program performed in supermarkets and food service, tested the new Health Star Rating on food, benchmarked walking behaviour, and helped name the Heart Line.
Alongside that we worked with Cancer Council on branding, men’s cancer and sun-safety campaigns, and led bequest research for a consortium of Cancer Councils. That bequest work continued with Include a Charity, tracking how Australians think about leaving a gift in their will.
Over the years the list has grown to include the Melanoma Institute (brand health), Beyond Blue (concept testing), Diabetes Australia and Diabetes NSW & ACT, Arthritis Queensland, Amnesty International, Surf Life Saving Australia, NextSense, Creative Partnerships Australia and several disability organisations.
Pro bono: Assistance Dogs Australia
Helping restart a puppy breeding program by understanding what it takes to recruit and keep volunteer puppy educators.
The challenge. Assistance Dogs Australia trains dogs that change the lives of people with disability. Every dog starts life with a volunteer puppy educator who raises it in their home for its first year or more. To restart its breeding program, the organisation needed more educators, and needed them to stay.
Our approach. We designed a pro bono mixed-method study with current and potential puppy educators:
- Four focus groups to explore motivations and the realities of raising a puppy
- An online survey of 400 people
- Choice modelling to test which changes to the educator offer would make the biggest difference to both
The outcome. The research identified the key barriers to volunteering, distinct motivational segments, and the flexibility levers that most increase willingness to sign up. Assistance Dogs Australia used these findings to redesign its educator offer to lift recruitment and retention’
As the CEO said:
“With a shortage of volunteers generally across many sectors, Instinct & Reason completed critical qualitative and quantitative research for Assistance Dogs Australia, providing key insights to help create a compelling value proposition to support volunteer recruitment and experience. We are immensely grateful to David and the team for this exceptional pro-bono work.”
Tim Taylor
CEO
Assistance Dogs Australia
2024–25. Instinct & Reason is continuing to support Assistance Dogs Australia pro bono in 2026.
Pro bono: Feros Care and Be Someone for Someone
Testing whether a Danish approach to loneliness could work for Australians.
The challenge. Loneliness is a growing public health issue. Feros Care, an Australian aged and community care provider, wanted to bring Be Someone for Someone — an app-based platform developed in Denmark that connects lonely people with volunteers — to Australia. Before investing, it needed to know whether the idea would land here.
Our approach. Following earlier work with Feros Care on its End Loneliness initiative (2019–20), we researched the needs of lonely Australians and tested their willingness to use the app, both as users and as volunteers.
The outcome. The research gave Feros Care an evidence base for understanding the needs of lonely Australians and assessing how the platform could be adapted for the Australian market.
2020–21. Pro bono. Instinct &Reason Director David Donnelly sits on the Be Someone for Someone advisory board.
Evidence that helps organisations doing good, do it better.
From strengthening volunteer programs to tackling loneliness, our research helps purpose-led organisations focus their resources where they can make the greatest difference.