Our method

How we work

Good research earns trust by being clear about where it comes from and what it can and can't tell you. Here's how ours is done.

Who we speak to

Owners, directors and leaders of Geelong businesses, plus the advisers who work across many of them: accountants, lawyers, bankers and consultants. Edition 01 aims to draw on more than 20 conversations, plus the Beyond Growth podcast archive.

Conversations, not surveys

Findings come from in-depth interviews built around a consistent set of questions per theme. They show what leaders are experiencing, not statistics for the whole region.

The sample, always stated

Every finding says how many people it rests on. "Of the leaders we spoke to," never "Geelong businesses."

Public data, cited separately

Where we use figures from the ABS, council, state or Chamber reports, we cite them and keep them apart from what we heard.

Every side of the story

We seek out businesses that have chosen a different path, not only those who agree with the prevailing view.

Quotes with permission

Nobody is quoted or named without agreeing to it. Anyone can ask to be anonymous.

What participants get

Everyone who takes part sees their quotes before publication, is credited by name and business or kept anonymous as they choose, and gets an early look at the findings before the edition is released.

Who's doing this

Independent research on the Geelong business community

Growth Intelligence is a business research practice based in Geelong. It was founded by Reyan Fernando, who has worked in and around Geelong business for more than twenty years and now works with leadership teams across the region as a Certified EOS Implementer.

That experience shapes the questions asked in every conversation. The research and its conclusions are Growth Intelligence's own, and findings are published even when they don't flatter anyone.

About Growth Intelligence