Research Effectiveness Awards 2021 | MSC Insight Communication Entry

Research Association Effectiveness 2021 Awards Awards Category: Insight Communication Nominee: New Zealand Mountain Safety Council (MSC) Nominated by: Emanuel Kalafatelis, Director, Research NZ, Fellow of the Research Association New Zealand

Copland Track, Westland Tai Poutini National Park

Organisational Background New Zealand Mountain Safety Council (MSC) is New Zealand’s leading outdoor recreation land-based prevention organisation.

Its mandate is to ‘encourage safe participation in land-based outdoor activities’.

MSC meets this mandate to successfully prevent safety incidents through a combination of three key platforms; by developing safety resources on an evidential basis, working closely with partners who can reach and influence users, and delivering targeted safety messages and campaigns which positively influence safety behaviours and improve safety outcomes for people recreating outdoors.

Reason for nomination With respect to developing safety resources on an evidential basis, after completing a review of its strategic direction in 2016, MSC emerged with a significant focus on its decision-making based on insights. It made a commitment that these insights would be the driving force behind its prevention work.

Today, MSC seeks and generates these important insights via multiple, complementary approaches. Namely by: • Conducting formal market research.

• Sourcing and re-analysing secondary information.

• Engaging with subject-matter experts.

• Consulting (testing) widely about its findings and its initial conclusions based on above.

The end result is an organisation that is very different from the organisation it once was; not only smarter, and more decisive and innovative as an organisation, but also more successful in terms of its mandate at not only a national level, but also an international level. This is important for an organisation with such an important goal, but relatively limited resources.

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Kauaeranga Valley, Coromandel

Most significant achievements Over the last five years MSC has achieved numerous significant outcomes. Here is a summary of the most significant:

World leading database and comprehensive analysis leads to ground-breaking insights MSC has developed partnerships with eight agencies to build New Zealand’s only database of outdoor recreation safety incidents. It is believed that this database is the most advanced of its 1 kind in the world. Comprehensive analysis has resulted in three world-leading publications : There and Back, A Hunter’s Tale and A Walk in The Park? Each of these have generated insights that MSC and its partners use daily to improve outdoor safety.

Tramping videos MSC’s track specific alpine safety videos have been independently proven to positively change tramper’s behaviours and successfully reduce safety incidents. The videos are possible because of the in-depth insights which drive their content and promotion.

To measure and evaluate the videos impacts, MSC has calculated the average number of Search and Rescue incidents across the summers (November to April) of the five years prior to the launch of the videos (2013-2018).

It has then compared this average with the number of Search and Rescue incidents for the same period for the year immediately after the videos were launched (November 2018 to April 2019).

The averages are 67 and 35 respectively, clearly pointing to a significant reduction. Find more 2 information here .

Duck shooting campaign and statistics Using insights to drive prevention, MSC has successfully reduced shooting incidents to zero, for the first time in 16 years. Through highly targeted video campaigns, the 2020 duck shooting season ended with no one shooting themselves or anyone else, a first since reliable records began.

Project ACC Research After completing all possible analysis of tramping-related ACC claimant data, but with many questions remaining unanswered, MSC successfully completed a research project that was endorsed by ACC’s research ethics committee to survey up to 5000 historical tramping claimants.

This ground-breaking research will pave the way for the development of even greater insights, and new prevention initiatives.

Impact and Influences Research Every second year MSC conducts an on-going research project surveying approx. 600 outdoor recreationalists to monitor key factors relating to their participation, information sources, retail habits, and factors that influence their outdoor safety.

This on-going research significantly influences business planning and strategic decisions. For example, early research indicated users preferred outdoor retailers, this lead MSC to establish a collaborative group known as the ‘Outdoor Safety Retail Partnership’, this collaboration effectively enables safety messaging direct to thousands of customers.

Research Association Effectiveness Awards 2021

1 https://mountainsafety.org.nz/explore 2 https://mountainsafety.org.nz/explore/video-impact-research/

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How MSC develops and encourages the use of insights Insights Dashboards MSC builds, and uses, tools that enable the effective use of insights as an every-day part of their world.

TextFerret (AI marketing listening tool) MSC listens to their community of users, understanding what they are interested in and how they work.

Effective communication When there is a story to share MSC does this through the effective use of digital and in-person communication. MSC gets out in communities around NZ and presents to partners and stakeholders.

Innovation MSC has a culture of innovation and isn’t afraid to tackle the ‘big things’.

MSC staff relish a challenge and thrive on turning the impossible into reality.

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Kepler Track, Fiordland national Park

Other important details Partnerships are essential. MSC shares what it knows with others so the knowledge benefits even more people. For example, the Department of Conservation uses MSC insights to influence its daily decision-making, visitor risk management policies and long-term management plans.

As MSC refine their participant-centric insights they are finding new ways to monitor how their target audiences participate, what motivates them, what influences their decisions and behaviours and what is causing them to get into trouble. These insights save lives.

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mountainsafety.org.nz

Research Association Effectiveness Awards 2021

researchnz.com

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