Base Insights

03/04/2025

So proud to have played a small part in this - a project close to my heart in a personal and a professional capacity 💙

These new Outdoor Accessibility Design Guidelines are such an important step towards making outdoor recreation spaces welcoming and inclusive for everyone in our community.

I supported part of the evaluation of the pilot project - helping to reflect the experiences of real people and providing feedback to shape a more accessible future.

If you work in planning, design, or commuity development - this is a must read.

Recreation Aotearoa and the Outdoors Accessibility Working Group have collaborated with industry and accessibility experts to develop the guidelines. The working group includes disabled people with expertise in access and extensive experience in outdoor recreation. The guidelines provide detailed, p...

14/11/2024

One of my favourite things about what I do is when I get the opportunity to see how my work is contributing to the wider impact across Aotearoa New Zealand.

For the last few months, I have been privileged to lead the evaluation of a pilot project for Recreation Aotearoa, and a number of other organisations, aiming to improve the accessibility and relevance of information around outdoor trails and tracks for people living with disabilities, with the overall aim of making it easier for these people to get outdoors and participate in trail-based recreation activity.

If you’re interested, check out Page 16 of Recreation Aotearoa’s Impact Report 2023/2024 to read a bit more about this project and the work that is being undertaken in this space.

In this report you will find: Messages from our Chief Executive, Sarah Murray and Board Co-Chairs, Bobbi Clark-Heu and Kirsty Knowles Our achievements against our strategic outcomes Updates from our advocacy and disability and inclusion work Projects we've been involved in Events and awards recaps G...

08/11/2024

The most important thing I've learnt in all my experience evaluating impact, from strategic to project level and everything in between?

✨️ When you have a purposeful plan, you have MORE impact and success doing what you do ✨️

Why?

✅️ Setting focused and insight-driven outcomes from the start gives you a clear direction to work towards.

✅️ Your actions are more targeted and strategic, meaning you can achieve more by doing less.

✅️ When you monitor and evaluate your impact and progress, you have a clear outline of what you are measuring.

✅️ It's easier to tell the story of how your actions and your work have contributed to the change and progress you are seeing - you have evidence to show potential clients the results you can offer them.

Are you ready to achieve more impact by doing less in your business? Follow and get in touch to learn how 🌱

07/11/2024

🌱 Friday Reminder 🌱

Swipe for some reflection prompts to end your work week with purpose and learning, to ensure you’re progressing towards your business goals 📈

03/11/2024

With the refresh of our Instagram page (if you haven't seen it yet - go check it out: ), it’s also a great time to lay out exactly what Base Insights offers! ✨️

We work with not-for-profits, community organisations, and small to medium businesses who work with and for people and communities.

Our mission is to empower you to maximise your social impact and the effectiveness of the work you do through quality insights, evaluation, and purposeful planning.

When it comes to insights, evaluation, and planning, you can’t have one without the others 🔄

But what this looks like for you is unique to your business context.

If you’re keen to understand more and explore how these elements can work together to grow the impact and effectiveness of your business or organisation, get in touch for a chat 💬

30/10/2024

Small business owners—ready to make 2025 your most impactful year yet? 🎯

If you’re a solo business owner juggling multiple roles, now’s the time to set meaningful goals that will empower your business to thrive in the new year. Imagine starting 2025 with a clear roadmap, grounded in purpose, and designed for measurable impact. 📈

I’m excited to introduce a new opportunity crafted to help you bring clarity, focus, and direction into your business planning—without the overwhelm. This is your chance to build a plan that not only supports growth but creates lasting impact in the areas that matter most to you and your community. 🌱

Stay tuned—big things are coming to help you hit the ground running in 2025! 💡

24/10/2024

✨️ Business Headshots ✨️

I had a personal photoshoot with Awhina earlier this year, so when it came to getting my professional headshots done for Base I jumped at the chance to go back for another shoot with her!

Less than 24 hours after I messaged her, I popped into the studio, we had a drink and a yarn about all things business, life, and manifesting; a very brief Pinterest scroll to see what vibe I was after, then we jumped into the studio. She whipped on some music and turned on her full hype girl mode; we had a great laugh at how much more natural and comfortable I was with my camera poses this time around, and less than 45 minutes later I was out the door! 🔥

I can’t recommend working with Awhina enough; if you’re after some updated and fresh business shots, reach out to her for a chat and let her work her magic ❤️

Awhina Russell Fine Art Photographer

10/09/2024

Kia ora all - for those of you who don't know me, I'm Bri, the face behind Base Insights! ✨️

I started working on developing Base Insights two years ago, as I saw the need to challenge the traditional way we evaluate quality and social impact and look at data - particularly around people and communities. I love the challenge of using insights to truly understand people and using that understanding to positively impact communities.

My background is a mix of science and adult education, with a smattering of data analytics, research, psychology, and market research thrown in for good measure. I also do a wee bit of editing and proofreading for tertiary education institutes when I've got some spare time.

My absolute dream job would be the head strategist for a Formula 1 team (I'll shout you a coffee if you can guess for which team 🏎).

Outside of work, you'll find me chasing after my two boys, watching sport, doing anything that involves water (swimming, kayaking, water skiing, boating, you name it), enjoying a good coffee, travelling, baking, making platters, reading, or attempting to (re)learn the piano.

Thanks for coming along with me on the journey so far, and I can't wait to keep sharing with you as we grow! 🌱

29/08/2024

I stumbled across this quote in a case study I read this morning from TIBCO, discussing how data and insights have played a role in the success of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team (if you know me, you’ll know that case study is the perfect collision of two of my passions, and you can probably imagine my excitement to read it!)

We always think we need more data and more information, when, in reality, there is already so much available to us. Most of the time, what we really need to do is look at the information that already exists and understand what that means in our context 🔎

This is one of the reasons why I decided to focus Base Insights towards supporting organisations and businesses to better understand what their data is telling them about the people they serve and the impact they have on those people.

Then, if more information is needed, we can focus resource directly on the crucial gaps in our understanding - saving you time, money, and brain power 🧠

This frees you up to take action on what you’ve learnt and focus your energy on what you’re passionate about - having a positive impact on people’s lives ✨️

I challenge you - next time you think you need more information, stop and reflect on what already exists and how well you understand that, before jumping to planning data collection.

And if that’s something you’d like some support with, reach out for a chat to see how we can help 🤝🏻