The public sector in Northern Ireland is a major user of social research, with both local and central government bodies increasingly using market research organisations to help with policy development, stakeholder consultation, and community feedback.  Although traditional forms of governmental public consultation (e.g. public submissions and community forums) still have their place, the increased financial and performance pressures faced by much of the public sector have led to a greater demand for more accountable, accurate and strategic research. 

Such research must be sensitive to the underlying political issues at hand, as well as totally robust and able to withstand public, political and media scrutiny.  In contrast, the public consultation process of submissions does not provide a representative reflection of the views of the whole community - properly conducted surveys with a genuinely random sample of the population are required to ensure that community opinion is understood.