FAQs

This project is a collaboration between Traverse (an independent research organisation), the Ada Lovelace Institute and  Involve (two charities that work on technology and public involvement in decision-making, and Bang The Table (specialists in online engagement).  

You can read more about each organisation on their websites by clicking on the links in their names above. 

Traverse is running most of the adminstration to do with the project, so please contact the Traverse team at covid19engagement@traverse.ltd if you have any questions or feedback about the project. 

This project is not run by the government or the NHS, and is an independent study, aiming to provide useful evidence to inform decisions about COVID-19, and to show the value of discussing these issues with the public.

We take notes of the discussions, and collect the information you share on the online platform. This data is anonymised, and then analysed. We hope to be able to share some of our findings with you at the final wrap-up session on 3rd June so you can help us ensure we've heard you clearly. 

After that, we will produce a range of materials to share the findings of the discussions. This will include a written report, and maybe also an infographic. We may host a webinar to share the findings with other organisations and researchers, and also post some of what we've learned on social media. Our aim is that what we learn together from this project about public views can help inform important decisions that are being made about exiting lockdown.

Traverse is a member of the Market Research Society, the UK body that sets guidelines for research like this. You can read the code of conduct we work to on the MRS website here: https://www.mrs.org.uk/pdf/MRS-Code-of-Conduct-2019.pdf. Traverse is the data controller for this project, we are registered with the Information Commissioners Office (https://ico.org.uk/), registration number is Z5095617.

During the project we will do our best to help you to stay safe online. We will only ask you to use safe and reliable websites, and you do not have to give any information you are not comfortable with. We will use your personal details only to contact you about the project, we will store the information securely and we will not share them with anyone outside the project team. 

After the project is finished, we will publish a report, and share the data you provide with us anonymously so that other researchers can use it. All the data and views you share with us during the project will be anonymised: this means people will not be able to associate the views you share with you personally. Six months after the project has finished we will delete your personal information.

We will make thank you payments at the end of the project on June 4th. We will ask for your bank details nearer the time to transfer the money to your account. It may take up to 5 working days for the money to arrive in your account. 

We will not store your bank details, and will delete them once the transfer has been made. 

If you need to arrange for a different form of payment, please email the project team (covid19engageemnt@traverse.ltd) and we will work with you to find a solution. 

Our aim with this project was to see how quickly we could set it up - so that we can learn from the process for the future when there is a situation where a quick response to social and political changes is needed. 

This means we took a practical approach to recruiting participants, and chose two locations (north London, and Kent) based on where some of the Traverse team live. This meant that we were already connected to local networks, Facebook groups and community groups where we could advertise the opportunity. 

We wanted to make sure we had a diverse mix of people in the group so that we would hear a range of views and be able to consider different perspective. To do this, we asked people to fill in details about themselves (such as their age and living situation) in an initial survey. When we had received a large number of responses to that survey, we then chose the first 30 people that ensured we had a good mix of age, gender, ethnic and social background.