/
RESEARCH OPERATIONS & FRACTIONAL RESEARCH AGENCY
Research Operations
We give you the expertise of a team of qualitative, quantitative, and AI innovation researchers for the price of one.
Why teams choose PH1
/01
Kickoff and finish research studies faster
We can get you initial insights within 10 days.
/02
Experts at complex & challenging projects
14 years of working with executives, complex orgs, sensitive audiences & topics, and in regulated environments.
/03
Build up your team's capabilities & tooling
We not only do great work, we upskill your team, processes, and AI research operations infrastructure.
The research & strategy partner for teams building intelligent experiences
/
FOUNDED IN 2012 /FROM STARTUPS TO THE FORTUNE 500
TRUSTED BY 300+ COMPANIES
/
RESEARCHOPS & FRACTIONAL RESEARCH CONSULTANCY
We get you the answers that improve your products, marketing, and sales functions.
Product, research, and business leaders bring us to:
Run recruitment and incentives for a testing programme.
Build a custom panel of your own customers.
Cover a research lead on leave or a vacancy.
Set the research standard across several teams.
Build an AI-native research repository.
/
INTERVIEWS · PERSONAS · JOURNEY MAPPING · SURVEYS
Scale your research capabilities without increasing your budget
We run the research your teams need, when they need it. Discovery and GTM research. Surveys and panels. Usability testing and product audits. Win/loss and onboarding research. Continuous improvement programmes that run against your release cadence. All of it recruited, fielded and reported by us, and stored in a repository your team can actually search. We do this either on-demand or on retainer.
Recruitment, incentives, consent and panel upkeep sit with us, and we stay outside your reporting lines so a study that is not worth running gets called as such.
Fractional Research Leadership
Senior research direction on a monthly basis
Participant Recruitment & Incentives
Sourcing, scheduling and payments handled for you
Research Panel Management
Power users, new users and churned users on demand
AI Research Operations & Repositories
An AI-native repository your team can actually search
Usability Testing & UX Research
Moderated sessions on live products and new builds
Workshops & Executive Briefings
Consensus, requirements and decisions, documented
Surveys & Quantitative Research
Evidence at scale to build the business case
Customer & User Interviews
In-depth sessions with the people your product depends on
Product Impact Podcast
Secrets to unlocking the value of AI
Our podcast, started in 2023, is the ultimate hub for learning from the leading voices in AI. We focus on delivering essential lessons for product teams determined to stay ahead of their competition.
/
BLOG
Latest insights
digital-transformation
/
Jul 9, 2026
Search: The Digital Transformation Project Quietly Hurting Your Customers
Broken site and enterprise search quietly erodes perception, acquisition, retention, and revenue. See why it's the transformation fix to prioritize now.
digital-transformation
/
May 23, 2026
AI Will Destroy University Website Traffic. There's Only One Path Forward.
Google's AI is replacing your website in the applicant journey. Here's how university marketing teams should respond before it's too late.
/
BLOG
Latest insights
digital-transformation
/
Jul 9, 2026
Search: The Digital Transformation Project Quietly Hurting Your Customers
Broken site and enterprise search quietly erodes perception, acquisition, retention, and revenue. See why it's the transformation fix to prioritize now.
digital-transformation
/
May 23, 2026
AI Will Destroy University Website Traffic. There's Only One Path Forward.
Google's AI is replacing your website in the applicant journey. Here's how university marketing teams should respond before it's too late.
/
BLOG
Latest insights
digital-transformation
/
Jul 9, 2026
Search: The Digital Transformation Project Quietly Hurting Your Customers
Broken site and enterprise search quietly erodes perception, acquisition, retention, and revenue. See why it's the transformation fix to prioritize now.
digital-transformation
/
May 23, 2026
AI Will Destroy University Website Traffic. There's Only One Path Forward.
Google's AI is replacing your website in the applicant journey. Here's how university marketing teams should respond before it's too late.
/
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is research operations (ResearchOps) and what does it cover?
Research operations is the infrastructure that makes research repeatable: participant recruitment, panels, tooling, templates, repositories, standards and governance. It covers everything around the study rather than the study itself, and it is what separates a team that runs research from a function that compounds what it learns.
What is fractional research leadership and how is it different from a contractor?
Fractional research leadership is a senior research lead working on a monthly basis rather than a salary. A contractor executes studies you have already scoped. A fractional lead decides which studies are worth running, sets the quality standard, translates findings for executives, and builds the capability of whoever eventually takes over.
Can we use you on-demand, or do we need a retainer?
Either. On-demand suits occasional studies with no standing need: you brief a project, we run it, you pay for that project. A retainer suits continuous research, where a monthly cadence covers leadership, recruitment and whatever studies the quarter needs, and works out cheaper per study than commissioning each one separately. Most clients start on-demand and move to a retainer once the volume is steady.
How much does fractional research cost compared to hiring a researcher?
A senior research hire is a salary, benefits, and the three to six months it takes to find them, committed before you know the shape of the function. Fractional leadership is a monthly fee that scales up and down and stops when you want it to. You also get more than one discipline for it, which a single hire cannot give you at any price. Each expertise page carries its own range.
Can you train our team to run research themselves?
Yes, and on longer engagements it is usually part of the brief. We build the templates and quality criteria, run the sessions alongside your team, then assess their work against the standard rather than against taste. The goal is that your researchers keep the methods after we go, not that they keep calling us.
What is a research panel and is it worth building our own?
A panel is a managed group of your own customers and non-customers who have agreed to take part in research, recruited and maintained so you can reach the right profile quickly. It is worth building when you run research regularly, because per-study recruitment is the cost that scales worst, and because power users, new users and churned users are hard to source externally.
What is an AI-native research repository and why does my team need one?
A repository structured for retrieval rather than storage, so a person or a system can find the evidence that answers a specific question. Your team needs one because research nobody can find gets commissioned twice, and because an AI workflow can only use insight that has been structured for it.
How do I cover a research lead on parental leave or a vacancy?
We cover defined periods, take on the studies in flight, hold the standard, and hand the function over with the documentation a returning or incoming lead needs on day one. Handling the logistics is part of it.
Who handles participant recruitment, incentives and consent?
We do. Screener design, sourcing, scheduling, reminders, no-show management, incentive administration and payment, and consent and privacy handling to enterprise standard. This is the operational cost that scales worst in-house and the most common reason internal programmes stall.
How do I set a research standard across several teams?
By writing it down and making it usable. We build the templates, quality criteria and governance your teams work to, train the people using them, and assess work against the standard rather than against taste. Findings then carry the same weight regardless of who ran the study.
Can you deliver research under our agency’s brand?
Regularly, and often as project lead. Work runs under your brand with complete confidentiality, and your client relationship stays yours. A significant share of our portfolio has been delivered this way.
Can we just use AI to run our research operations?
AI does real work here, and we build it in: transcription, tagging, repository retrieval, individualised insight delivery and curated evals that hold quality as volume grows. What it cannot do is recruit a hard-to-reach participant, decide a study is not worth running, or defend a standard to a team that would rather skip it.
Should we build research operations in-house or outsource it?
Build it in-house when research volume is steady and you have someone to own the standard. Outsource it when volume is spiky, when you have no lead, or when you are building toward a permanent hire and want the function in good shape before they arrive. Most clients start outsourced and move parts in-house over time.
What happens to the panel, repository and templates if we stop?
They are yours. Repositories, panels, templates, standards, trained people and documented methods all transfer, with the documentation a new lead needs. Nothing is built to work only while we are being paid.
What research operations work has PH1 done, and for whom?
Three engagements for Simon Fraser University, functioning as a standing research capability for a team without one. Two engagements across rider research programmes for TransLink. Research delivered under the brands of agency partners including Proximity Lab, Insights Matter, Agency 39A and Major Tom, usually as project lead.
How long does it take to set up, and what does it cost?
Recruitment and fielding support can start within a week. A fractional leadership engagement typically begins within two weeks, with the first month spent on what exists, what is missing and which studies are worth running. Panel builds and repository work take longer to stand up. On-demand work is priced per study or per panel; retainers run monthly. Each expertise page carries its own range.
/
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is research operations (ResearchOps) and what does it cover?
Research operations is the infrastructure that makes research repeatable: participant recruitment, panels, tooling, templates, repositories, standards and governance. It covers everything around the study rather than the study itself, and it is what separates a team that runs research from a function that compounds what it learns.
What is fractional research leadership and how is it different from a contractor?
Fractional research leadership is a senior research lead working on a monthly basis rather than a salary. A contractor executes studies you have already scoped. A fractional lead decides which studies are worth running, sets the quality standard, translates findings for executives, and builds the capability of whoever eventually takes over.
Can we use you on-demand, or do we need a retainer?
Either. On-demand suits occasional studies with no standing need: you brief a project, we run it, you pay for that project. A retainer suits continuous research, where a monthly cadence covers leadership, recruitment and whatever studies the quarter needs, and works out cheaper per study than commissioning each one separately. Most clients start on-demand and move to a retainer once the volume is steady.
How much does fractional research cost compared to hiring a researcher?
A senior research hire is a salary, benefits, and the three to six months it takes to find them, committed before you know the shape of the function. Fractional leadership is a monthly fee that scales up and down and stops when you want it to. You also get more than one discipline for it, which a single hire cannot give you at any price. Each expertise page carries its own range.
Can you train our team to run research themselves?
Yes, and on longer engagements it is usually part of the brief. We build the templates and quality criteria, run the sessions alongside your team, then assess their work against the standard rather than against taste. The goal is that your researchers keep the methods after we go, not that they keep calling us.
What is a research panel and is it worth building our own?
A panel is a managed group of your own customers and non-customers who have agreed to take part in research, recruited and maintained so you can reach the right profile quickly. It is worth building when you run research regularly, because per-study recruitment is the cost that scales worst, and because power users, new users and churned users are hard to source externally.
What is an AI-native research repository and why does my team need one?
A repository structured for retrieval rather than storage, so a person or a system can find the evidence that answers a specific question. Your team needs one because research nobody can find gets commissioned twice, and because an AI workflow can only use insight that has been structured for it.
How do I cover a research lead on parental leave or a vacancy?
We cover defined periods, take on the studies in flight, hold the standard, and hand the function over with the documentation a returning or incoming lead needs on day one. Handling the logistics is part of it.
Who handles participant recruitment, incentives and consent?
We do. Screener design, sourcing, scheduling, reminders, no-show management, incentive administration and payment, and consent and privacy handling to enterprise standard. This is the operational cost that scales worst in-house and the most common reason internal programmes stall.
How do I set a research standard across several teams?
By writing it down and making it usable. We build the templates, quality criteria and governance your teams work to, train the people using them, and assess work against the standard rather than against taste. Findings then carry the same weight regardless of who ran the study.
Can you deliver research under our agency’s brand?
Regularly, and often as project lead. Work runs under your brand with complete confidentiality, and your client relationship stays yours. A significant share of our portfolio has been delivered this way.
Can we just use AI to run our research operations?
AI does real work here, and we build it in: transcription, tagging, repository retrieval, individualised insight delivery and curated evals that hold quality as volume grows. What it cannot do is recruit a hard-to-reach participant, decide a study is not worth running, or defend a standard to a team that would rather skip it.
Should we build research operations in-house or outsource it?
Build it in-house when research volume is steady and you have someone to own the standard. Outsource it when volume is spiky, when you have no lead, or when you are building toward a permanent hire and want the function in good shape before they arrive. Most clients start outsourced and move parts in-house over time.
What happens to the panel, repository and templates if we stop?
They are yours. Repositories, panels, templates, standards, trained people and documented methods all transfer, with the documentation a new lead needs. Nothing is built to work only while we are being paid.
What research operations work has PH1 done, and for whom?
Three engagements for Simon Fraser University, functioning as a standing research capability for a team without one. Two engagements across rider research programmes for TransLink. Research delivered under the brands of agency partners including Proximity Lab, Insights Matter, Agency 39A and Major Tom, usually as project lead.
How long does it take to set up, and what does it cost?
Recruitment and fielding support can start within a week. A fractional leadership engagement typically begins within two weeks, with the first month spent on what exists, what is missing and which studies are worth running. Panel builds and repository work take longer to stand up. On-demand work is priced per study or per panel; retainers run monthly. Each expertise page carries its own range.
/
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is research operations (ResearchOps) and what does it cover?
Research operations is the infrastructure that makes research repeatable: participant recruitment, panels, tooling, templates, repositories, standards and governance. It covers everything around the study rather than the study itself, and it is what separates a team that runs research from a function that compounds what it learns.
What is fractional research leadership and how is it different from a contractor?
Fractional research leadership is a senior research lead working on a monthly basis rather than a salary. A contractor executes studies you have already scoped. A fractional lead decides which studies are worth running, sets the quality standard, translates findings for executives, and builds the capability of whoever eventually takes over.
Can we use you on-demand, or do we need a retainer?
Either. On-demand suits occasional studies with no standing need: you brief a project, we run it, you pay for that project. A retainer suits continuous research, where a monthly cadence covers leadership, recruitment and whatever studies the quarter needs, and works out cheaper per study than commissioning each one separately. Most clients start on-demand and move to a retainer once the volume is steady.
How much does fractional research cost compared to hiring a researcher?
A senior research hire is a salary, benefits, and the three to six months it takes to find them, committed before you know the shape of the function. Fractional leadership is a monthly fee that scales up and down and stops when you want it to. You also get more than one discipline for it, which a single hire cannot give you at any price. Each expertise page carries its own range.
Can you train our team to run research themselves?
Yes, and on longer engagements it is usually part of the brief. We build the templates and quality criteria, run the sessions alongside your team, then assess their work against the standard rather than against taste. The goal is that your researchers keep the methods after we go, not that they keep calling us.
What is a research panel and is it worth building our own?
A panel is a managed group of your own customers and non-customers who have agreed to take part in research, recruited and maintained so you can reach the right profile quickly. It is worth building when you run research regularly, because per-study recruitment is the cost that scales worst, and because power users, new users and churned users are hard to source externally.
What is an AI-native research repository and why does my team need one?
A repository structured for retrieval rather than storage, so a person or a system can find the evidence that answers a specific question. Your team needs one because research nobody can find gets commissioned twice, and because an AI workflow can only use insight that has been structured for it.
How do I cover a research lead on parental leave or a vacancy?
We cover defined periods, take on the studies in flight, hold the standard, and hand the function over with the documentation a returning or incoming lead needs on day one. Handling the logistics is part of it.
Who handles participant recruitment, incentives and consent?
We do. Screener design, sourcing, scheduling, reminders, no-show management, incentive administration and payment, and consent and privacy handling to enterprise standard. This is the operational cost that scales worst in-house and the most common reason internal programmes stall.
How do I set a research standard across several teams?
By writing it down and making it usable. We build the templates, quality criteria and governance your teams work to, train the people using them, and assess work against the standard rather than against taste. Findings then carry the same weight regardless of who ran the study.
Can you deliver research under our agency’s brand?
Regularly, and often as project lead. Work runs under your brand with complete confidentiality, and your client relationship stays yours. A significant share of our portfolio has been delivered this way.
Can we just use AI to run our research operations?
AI does real work here, and we build it in: transcription, tagging, repository retrieval, individualised insight delivery and curated evals that hold quality as volume grows. What it cannot do is recruit a hard-to-reach participant, decide a study is not worth running, or defend a standard to a team that would rather skip it.
Should we build research operations in-house or outsource it?
Build it in-house when research volume is steady and you have someone to own the standard. Outsource it when volume is spiky, when you have no lead, or when you are building toward a permanent hire and want the function in good shape before they arrive. Most clients start outsourced and move parts in-house over time.
What happens to the panel, repository and templates if we stop?
They are yours. Repositories, panels, templates, standards, trained people and documented methods all transfer, with the documentation a new lead needs. Nothing is built to work only while we are being paid.
What research operations work has PH1 done, and for whom?
Three engagements for Simon Fraser University, functioning as a standing research capability for a team without one. Two engagements across rider research programmes for TransLink. Research delivered under the brands of agency partners including Proximity Lab, Insights Matter, Agency 39A and Major Tom, usually as project lead.
How long does it take to set up, and what does it cost?
Recruitment and fielding support can start within a week. A fractional leadership engagement typically begins within two weeks, with the first month spent on what exists, what is missing and which studies are worth running. Panel builds and repository work take longer to stand up. On-demand work is priced per study or per panel; retainers run monthly. Each expertise page carries its own range.