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Research Services

Research driven solutions that foster innovation.

If you are looking for insight, creativity and experience then you have come to the right place. Crucible’s Research Services Division draws on a wealth of both research and implementation experience to provide its clients with targeted, relevant research. Our strength lies in our ability to provide research driven solutions that foster innovation.

We are focussed on people who take their future seriously. People who know that their future depends on what they do, and that what they do depends on what they know. Crucible knows that to re-search is to look again at the line of business you are in and the impact of new market trends on your organization.

Client Value Added:

• Cost-effective access to Crucible’s collective industry knowledge and research alliances.
• Leveraging of cutting edge technologies in the performance of our research.
• Understanding of the implications of emerging new media technologies and business models on your organization.
• Fast time to knowledge which will feed innovation and ensure the viability of your organization.

Crucible’s current research agenda includes the following areas which inform all the research that we do:

• Corporate Portals
• New Media Services
• Organizational Informatics
• Healthcare Informatics
• Knowledge Management

Crucible is committed to conducting a full range of research services. Our current research agenda is focused on tracking industry activities in these areas and in developing a clear understanding of the implications of these for our clients.

If survival is part of your organization’s future than Crucible needs to be part of its present. Living in an age in which change is the only constant, your organization needs to be driven by research. Crucible can help diagnose problems and effectively find solutions to address them. Drawing upon our extensive industry experience, we offer you a wide range of solutions. Our research provides insight and will help to shape your future.

The type of research services we offer can be customized to best suit your needs.

A Full range of Research Services

Our Research Services include the following:

Contract Research

Contract Research Services involve fulfilling specific research tasks as defined by our client. Projects of this kind could include:

• conducting a survey to gauge the attitudes towards a particular product or service,
• facilitating a seminar or Conference to educate members about a new emerging technology,
• producing a report intended to understand the current state of affairs within your organization and to suggest an appropriate range of alternatives and
• performing market research to assist in shaping your organization’s understanding of either a particular product offering or a competitive intelligence study of your competitors.

Syndicated Research

If an association, or collection of companies, wished to pool their resources in a joint research study, then Crucible would be able to facilitate the design and production of such a study. Crucible provides the resources to organize collaborative research across market sectors that a particular organization belongs to, by providing trusted independent research.

Our Research Methods include:

Online Surveys

Utilizing online survey tools, Crucible will make use of an appropriate medium to conduct survey-based research. This includes the option of conducting online surveys to do research on a variety of topics that are of interest to an organization.

Competitive Intelligence

Crucible provides competitive intelligence services to assist organizations in their ability to better understand the dynamics within which they are operating. This includes the identification of an organization’s core competencies and the niche markets in which an organization can leverage these abilities. Living in an age with change as its only constant requires that organizations remain vigilant in their efforts to understand the market spaces within which they are operating.

Market Research

If you need to evaluate a particular product or service offering of your organization, then Crucible can assist. If you need a study of emerging new market opportunities and how these will affect your organization, Crucible can help.

Market Or Technology Watch Services and

Research Letters that are tailor made to address the specific research needs of an individual.

Internal Seminars.

Crucible has conducted seminars and workshops for a wide range of associations and organizations.

We strive to provide our clients with research that is innovative, creative and future sensitive that will make a difference to your organization. Our Research Services Division is focussed on understanding both the line of business your organization is in and the business environment within which you are operating

Our Research Agenda

Our ongoing research agenda includes:

New Media

An effective research study would provide information about the impact of New Media on your organization. According to the Columbia University School of Journalism’s website, New Media research is intended to address "the exploration, development and application of digital technologies". (Source: http://www.cnm.columbia.edu/html/resources.html) Crucible’s strength in this area lies in its ability to understand the implications of New Media on business practices within industries that we know exceptionally well.

Social Informatics

Organizational Informatics is devoted to the impact of information technology on organizations. According to Rob Kling, social informatics refers to "..the interdisciplinary study of the design, uses and consequences of information technologies that takes into account their interaction with institutional and cultural contexts". (Source:

Kling, Rob. "A brief introduction to social informatics." Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science. Volume 23, No, 1-2, p. 52 It is particularly interested in the effects new technologies have on the work performed by individual employees, teams and the entire organization. In order to properly conduct research of this kind, Crucible would draw extensively on its industry specific knowledge. We strive to understand the disruptive nature of new technologies and the impact they have on individuals’ daily work.

Knowledge Management

Knowledge management refers to the attempt to leverage the expertise and knowledge inherent within organizations in order to cultivate innovation. According to a leading academic in the field: "Knowledge Management caters to the critical issues of organizational adaption, survival and competence in face of increasingly discontinuous environmental change. Essentially, it embodies organizational processes that seek synergistic combination of data and information processing capacity of information technologies, and the creative and innovative capacity of human beings." (Source: Malhotra, Yogesh. "'TOOLS@WORK: Deciphering the Knowledge Management Hype'". Journal for Quality & Participation. special issue on Learning and Information Management (July/August 1998), v21n4, Jul/Aug 1998, pp. 58-60.) Crucible’s research offerings in this area would attempt to assist organizations in developing a customized knowledge management solution that is relevant for their particular industry.

Corporate Portals

Corporate Portals is one possible application of a knowledge management solution which requires research in order to successfully implement. According to the Delphi Group a portal is defined as a "single point of personalized access for the the pooling, interaction, and distribution of organizational knowledge". Crucible’s research interests in this area includes:

• assisting in the development of a portal strategy that would be appropriate to a particular client;
• creation of a taxonomy that will assist in the successful implementationof a portal solution;
• research tasks into the best technology and assistance with vendor selection; and
• a variety of tasks as required to develop and implement a portal solution.

E-commerce

E-commerce research ranges from technical standards such as the ANSI X.12 electronic data interchange (EDI) standard or XML (Extensible Markup Language) to the creation of online communities of interest. "Electronic commerce is a general term for the exchange of valuable information, goods and services that occurs between connected computers. E-commerce technologies are changing the way enterprises are doing business by enabling them to exchange information instantaneously, eliminate paperwork processing, and advertise their products and services before a worldwide market." (Source: Electronic Commerce Knowledge Center http://www.knowledgecenters.org/eccenter.asp) Whether you are making the transition to "dot com"’ing your enterprise, building communities of interest or are simply interested in understanding the impact of e-commerce on your industry, research services needs to utilized in formulating your response. Crucible can assist by drawing on its extensive industry experience to provide useful insights into the impact of e-commerce on your organization. Particular e-commerce research includes doing market product or service offering feasibility studies. It could involve website design analysis work intended to assist in the development of an organization’s online marketing strategy.

Healthcare Informatics

The healthcare industry is very data intensive. "Healthcare informatics aims toward the development of basic technologies to collect, process and use people's healthcare information during their whole lives. The global objective of this field is to contribute to everyone's health across the life-span, in order to improve the comfort and quality of life and to enjoy creative life." (Source: Division of Healthcare Informatics funded by Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. http://monkey.isl.titech.ac.jp/~kitalab/eindex.html)

Healthcare informatics seeks to find ways in which to apply the tools and techniques of information technology to the healthcare field. It does this by addressing the concerns of a wide range of the healthcare industry stakeholders, including patients, physicians, laboratories and hospital administrators for a more efficient, integrated data management solution. Crucible draws upon its extensive healthcare expertise with both physicians and other healthcare workers to assist in healthcare informatics iniatitives.

Crucible’s industry and research linkages include:

Information Technology Association of Canada

The Information Technology Association of Canada is a representative body for the information technology industry. It is a body that attempts to provide a means of communicating between various organizations within the industry, in order to address concerns that extend to all within the Information Technology field.Crucible participates as an active member of the ITAC healthcare committee.

The University of Toronto, McLuhan Program for Culture and Technology @ the Faculty of Information Studies

Associated with the U of T, the McLuhan Program is devoted to preserving the research of Marshall McLuhan on the relationship between technology and culture. As a research body, it offers courses and provides a forum for individuals who wish to research the implications of New Media on technology and culture. Crucible supports various efforts at the McLuhan Program and also participates in the McLuhan Business Council.

Metagroup International Inc.

Metagroup is a Toronto based organization devoted to the study of systems science and its application to New Media. Founded by Dennis Oku in 1986, it is committed to developing a high-level understanding of the convergence of New Media and its impact on the ways in which we work and live. Crucible collaborates with Metagroup on projects.

The Kaieteur Institute for Knowledge Management

The Kaieteur Institute is a virtual organization founded by Bryan Davis and intended to be a leading resource centre for the study of knowledge management. A large part of its mission is to assist individuals, small groups and organizations in their efforts to implement knowledge management solutions. Crucible works closely with the Kaieteur Institute in its efforts to promote the study and implementation of knowledge management. Our support includes providing assistance with website design, research and Conference management.

byDesign, the e-Lab

The byDesign, e-Lab is a think tank devoted to the study of new media and policy. As part of its mandate it is involved in building electronic public spaces intended to facilitate participation in electronic media of all sectors of society. In particular, it is interested in developing public spaces in order to facilitate civil discourse on the Internet. Crucible is a key corporate sponsor of the eLab’s and provides administrative and consulting assistance to them.

Knowledge Spring, the Research Innovation Network.

Knowledge Spring, the Research Innovation Network is a coalition of organizations that has come together to build on their individual interests in New Media and its impact on a wide range of both public and private sector organizations. This coalition includes a range of disparate research interests including: systems science; the works of Marshall McLuhan; electronic commerce; knowledge management; healthcare informatics and participatory design.

Crucible’s Research Services Division strives to provide cutting edge research that will provide radically new insights into the type of business that you are doing today.

Crucible’s clients include several large insurance companies; healthcare organizations in both community and institutional contexts; government agencies; a multinational pharmaceutical company and several leading edge electronic commerce organizations.